The Hurricanes brought the Lions back down to earth with a big bump by smashing the Johannesburg side 17-50 at Emirates (Ellis) Park.
The Hurricanes victory is their seventh consecutive victory against the Lions as the Lions last beat the Hurricanes in 2007.
The Hurricanes outscored the Lions by seven tries to three in the match which earned them the try bonus point.
The victory is the Hurricanes sixth this season from nine matches and the Lions third loss from nine starts.
The Lions execution was poor especially in the first half and basic facets of the game such as their passing was error-strewn. The Hurricanes scored two of their seven tries from intercept passes.
At scrum time, the Hurricanes were also far superior and to top it off a dangerous backline ended any chances the Lions had of competing in the clash.
The Hurricanes open the scoring with their first real attacking move in the Lions 22 in the opening 10 minutes, with the final pass falling to wing Julian Savea who trotted over for the five-pointer. Beauden Barrett added the extra two to make it 0-7 to the visitors.
Less than two minutes later, centre Matt Proctor snapped up an intercept pass while the Lions were on the attack and he sprinted away from the hosts to score under the posts. Barrett obliged from in front to hand the Hurricanes a 0-14 lead.
With an attacking scrum on the five-metre line with 18 minutes gone, the Hurricanes moved the ball to wing Cory Jane at first receiver who slipped a tackle and score under the posts. Again Barrett made no mistake with the simplest of conversions to help his side to a 0-21 lead.
Barrett added another three points in the 27th minute through a penalty to see the Hurricanes ahead 0-24.
The Lions finally made an impression on the scoreboard through a driving maul as Armand van der Merwe fell over the line for a try on the half-hour mark. Lions flyhalf Elton Jantjies was wayward with his first attempt as the Lions had to settle for a 5-24 deficit.
Just as the Lions were clawing their way back into the match, Jane held onto a loose Jantjies pass to sprint away for the Hurricanes’ second intercept try. Barrett nudged over another conversion from in front to make it 5-31.
The Hurricanes were over the line yet again as prop Reg Goodes went on a surging run on the touchline, first knocking Courtnall Skosan over before dotting down in the corner. The conversion was missed, but the Hurricanes extended their lead to 5-36 going into the break.
A rare moment of magic from the Lions with a quick pass on the touchline from Ruan Combrinck allowed Lionel Mapoe to run over for his side’s second try. Jantjies converted to bring the score back to 12-36.
The Lions continued their fightback and on the hour mark, they notched up their third try. After a number of phases in the Hurricanes 22, Jaco Kriel held onto the final pass to score in the corner. As Jantjies had gone off through injury, Jaco van der Walt missed the conversion from the touchline as the score moved to 17-36.
The Hurricanes thwarted the Lions comeback in the 67th minute, as they moved the ball through the hands at pace in their opponents’ 22 as centre Vince Aso darted through for the try. Barrett added the conversion.
To rub salt into the wounds of the Lions in the 70th minute, Savea sprinted away along the touchline before rounding off near the posts for his second try and the seventh for the visitors.
Barrett had no problem in slotting the conversion to bring up the half-century and that is how the scoring finished.
The Lions have a bye next week while the Hurricanes move to Durban as they play the Sharks.
Final Score Lions 17 (7) Hurricanes 50 (36)
Scorers
Lions
Tries -A.Van der Merwe, L.Mapoe, J.Kriel
Pen –
Con – E.Jantjies
Drop –
Cards –
Hurricanes
Tries – J.Savea 2,M.Proctor, C.Jane 2, R.Goodes, V.Aso
Pen – B.Barrett
Con – B.Barrett 6
Drop –
Cards –
Match Officials
Referee: Marius van der Westhuizen
Assistant Ref 1:Jaco Peyper
Assistant Ref 2:Ben Crouse
TMO :Johan Greef
Teams
Lions
15 Jaco van der Walt, 14 Ruan Combrinck, 13 Lionel Mapoe, 12 Howard Mnisi, 11 Courtnall Skosan, 10 Elton Jantjies, 9 Faf de Klerk, 8 Warren Whiteley, 7 Warwick Tecklenburg, 6 Jaco Kriel, 5 Franco Mostert, 4 Andries Ferreira, 3 Pieter Scholtz, 2 Armand van der Merwe, 1 Dylan Smith
Replacements: 16 Ramone Samuels, 17 Corne Fourie, 18 Jacques van Rooyen, 19 Ruan Ackermann, 20 Cyle Brink, 21 Ross Cronje, 22 JW Bell, 23 Rohan Janse van Rensburg
Hurricanes
15 Jason Woodward , 14 Cory Jane , 13 Matt Proctor , 12 Vince Aso , 11 Julian Savea , 10 Beauden Barrett , 9 TJ Perenara (vc) , 8 Victor Vito , 7 Ardie Savea , 6 Brad Shields , 5 Michael Fatialofa , 4 Vaea Fifita , 3 Jeff Toomaga-Allen , 2 Dane Coles (c) , 1 Reggie Goodes
Replacements: Motu Matu’u, Chris Eves, Loni Uhila, Blade Thomson, Callum Gibbins, Jamison Gibson-Park, James Marshall, Willis Halaholo.
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