The Lions and Griquas are set to face off in Super Rugby Unlocked for the first time; both teams come into this fixture after not having played last weekend.
The Lions are hunting for their maiden win in Super Rugby Unlocked; in fact, they have lost their last six consecutive games in Super Rugby competitions.
- Griquas will be searching for their first-ever win in Super Rugby Unlocked; though, they have managed to snag a losing bonus point in each of their two games in the competition so far.
- Only the Bulls (8) have won more turnovers per game in Super Rugby Unlocked than the Griquas (7).
- Elton Jantjies (Lions) has scored 23 points and been directly involved in three tries in his two Super Rugby Unlocked games thus far (1 try, 2 try assists).
Match detail
We are waiting for the kick-off.
1.00: PEEEEP! We are underway at Ellis Park, Johannesburg.
2.00: YELLOW CARD! Stefan Willemse is sent to the sideline for obstruction. 0-0
6.00: Griquas are shipping penalties at an alarming rate. Elton Jantjies kicks to the corner flag.
8.00: Jantjies’ kick sails over the in-goal area; Griquas opts for a scrum on the 10m.
10.00: TRY! Wandisile Simelane breaks the line after Griquas lose their scrum, plays Gianni Lombard, interlinking with Courtnall Skosan. The ball is shifted to Skosan, who races away untouched to score. 5-0
11.00: CONVERSION! Jantjies adds the two. 7-0
14.00: The Lions are dominating territory and possession (76%), Griquas can’t get out of their half.
16.00: TRY! Wandisile Simelane stands up two defenders with a hop and a skip delays his pass to Dan Kriel, who ghosts through a gap to score under the posts. 12-0
17.00: CONVERSION! Jantjies adds the extras. 14-0
18.00: Griquas finally get some ball, driving into Lions territory; they win a scrum between the Lions 22m and 10m.
20.00: Another poor scrum sees scrumhalf Zak Burger lose possession of the bouncing ball. Jantjies’ chip-kick is not gathered by a Lions player; instead, the visitors counter but nothing comes of the attack.
22.00: Lions penalty after the previous scrum; that’s three scrum-penalties against the Kimberley men. Jantjies boots the penalty to about nine metres to the halfway line.
23.00: Griquas win a penalty off the back of the scrum; Whitehead calls for the tee.
24.00: PENALTY! Whitehead nails the kick. 14-3
26.00: Griquas rip the ball away and begin a counter-attack from deep in their half before kicking away the ball. Burger is caught in front of the kicker – penalty to the hosts.
27.00: André Swarts goes off with a knee injury sustained in the tackle. Tinus de Beer enters the fray.
29.00: The last 10 minutes have been mostly Griquas, attacking inside the Lions half, but handling errors keep costing the visitors.
30.00: TRY! Skosan scores against the run of play. One mistake and the Lions pounced, going from their 22 to under the posts. The loose ball was booted into the Griquas half, and the ball sat-up nicely for Simelane to gather. The centre took a tackle before popping to Skosan to score. 19-3
31.00: CONVERSION! Jantjies knocks over another two points. 21-3
34.00: Griquas have an attacking lineout on the Lions’ 5m. The maul is deliberately collapsed by the hosts, so penalty advantage for coming in from the side. Two more penalties for offside leads to Whitehead booting out for another maul.
35.00: Oh, dear! The throw is skew from hooker Hendrik Luus. Scrum to the home team on their line. Another scrum-penalty to the Lions pack; they are mauling the opposition.
38.00: The Lions look to attack from deep through Simelane, Kriel, and Courtnall Skosan, but the move breaks down.
39.00: Ewald van der Westhuizen gives away a penalty at the breakdown; Jantjies kicks to the 22.
40.00: The Lions drive towards the try line, but the maul collapses. The forwards break to the openside; however, they lose possession.
40.00: TRY! The ball is won back by the hosts, sent to Simelane, who takes two defenders before offloading a chicken-wing pass to Stean Pienaar to dive over in the corner. 26-3
42.00: CONVERSION! Jantjies slots the touchline conversion. 28-3
The halftime score was Lions 28 Griquas 3
41.00: PEEEEP! We are back underway in the City of Gold.
43.00: TRY! The home team has another attacking lineout; they set-up a driving maul for MJ Pelser, who breaks off to score. 33-3
44.00: CONVERSION! Jantjies’ kick sails through the posts. 35-3
46.00: Griquas have a promising attack inside the opposition’s 22.
47.00: TRY! Burger breaks around the ruck, slipping prop Sti Sithole’s tackle to score under the poles. 35-8
48.00: CONVERSION! Whitehead adds the extras. 35-10
50.00: TRY! The Lions hit back through Jaco Visagie after another powerful driving maul. 40-10
51.00: CONVERSION! Jantjies makes it six from six. 42-10
52.00: Attacking lineout to Griquas.
53.00: TRY! Griquas go to the back of the lineout, drive towards the goal-line, and score after hooker Hendrik Luus flopped over the chalk. 42-17
54.00: CONVERSION! Whitehead makes it three from three. 42-17
57.00: Griquas starting to get some decent possession as they move into the opposition’s half.
60.00: The Lions turn the ball over, and mount another counter-attack from their 22. They drive towards the opposition’s 22 but lose the ball into touch.
63.00: TRY! James Verity-Amm reads Jantjies’ stary cross-kick, snatches the ball out of the air, and goes the opposite direction to score. 42-22
64.00: CONVERSION! Whitehead adds another two points. 42-24
67.00: Scott Mathie will be happier with his side’s second-half display, they are controlling possession and territory as they search for another score.
70.00: TRY! Simelane finally gets his score, he latches onto his chip-kick, gathers the ball, and scores. 47-24
71.00: CONVERSION! Jantjies makes no mistake. 49-24
73.00: TRY! Tinus de Beer scores from close range. 49-29
75.00: CONVERSION! Whitehead adds the extras. 49-31
76.00: It’s getting heated out there. Little scuffles breaking out as the two teams give the verbals.
78.00: TRY! Reinhard Nothnagel scores from close range after a Griquas knock-on. 54-31
78.00: CONVERSION! Jantjies adds his eighth conversion of the night. 56-31
79.00: TRY! HAT-TRICK for Skosan after a blitz attack from Reinhard Nothnagel and Jantjies. 61-31
80.00: MISS! Jantjies misses, what is going on! 61-31
FULL TIME
To refresh this page, click HERE. Live In-Play Betting.
The final score is Lions 61 (28) Griquas 31 (3)
Scorers
Lions
Tries – Skosan (3), Kriel, Pienaar, Pelser, Visagie, Simelane, Nothnagel
Pen –
Con – Jantjies (8)
Drop –
Cards –
Griquas
Tries – Burger, Luus, Verity-Amm, De Beer
Pen – Whitehead
Con – Whitehead (4)
Drop –
Cards – S. Willemse (Yellow, 2′)
Match Officials
Referee: Marius van der Westhuizen
Assistant Ref 1: Aimee Barrett-Theron
Assistant Ref 2: Stuart Berry
TMO: Jaco Peyper
Teams
Lions
15 Gianni Lombard; 14 Stean Pienaar, 13 Wandisile Simelane, 12 Dan Kriel, 11 Courtnall Skosan; 10 Elton Jantjies (captain), 9 Morné van den Berg; 8 Len Massyn, 7 Vincent Tshituka, 6 MJ Pelser, 5 Marvin Orie, 4 Ruben Schoeman, 3 Carlu Sadie, 2 Jaco Visagie, 1 Sti Sithole
Replacments: 16 PJ Botha, 17 Ruan Dreyer, 18 Jannie du Plessis, 19 Reinhard Nothnagel, 20 Marnus Schoeman, 21 Ross Cronjé, 22 Burger Odendaal, 23 Tiaan Swanepoel
Griquas
15 James Verity-Amm, 14 Ederies Arendse, 13 Harlon Klaasen, 12 André Swarts, 11 Eduan Keyter, 10 George Whitehead (captain), 9 Zak Burger, 8 Carl Els, 7 Stefan Willemse, 6 Gideon van der Merwe, 5 Adré Smith, 4 Mzwanele Zito, 3 Ewald van der Westhuizen, 2 Hendrik Luus, 1 Andrew Beerwinkel
Replacements: 16 Monde Hadebe, 17 Bandisa Ndlovu, 18 John-Roy Jenkinson, 19 Johan Momsen, 20 Ewan Coetzee, 21 Theo Maree, 22 Tinus de Beer, 23 Masixole Banda
