Lions clawed but survive Cheetahs’ attack

Lions (19) 43

Tries: Cairns, Ntlabakanye, Venter, Louw, Nohamba, Brandon; Conversions: Wolhuter (3), Nohamba (2); Penalty: Nohamba

Yellow Card: Louw

Free State Cheetahs (19) 34

Tries: Wentzel (2), Jasper, Sekekete, Paulo, Lourens; Conversions: Wentzel (2)

THE Lions nearly had Jaco Visagie relive a traumatic experience … well, at least for a solid 65 minutes or so.

Earlier this week, the Lions’ captain recalled a previous play-off encounter against the Free State Cheetahs.

Currie Cup finalist for 2024, see you at the Park next Saturday. #LIOvCHE#LionsPride🦁 pic.twitter.com/24Rjb7i060

— Lions (@LionsRugbyCo) September 14, 2024

“When I was at the Bulls,” the hooker remembered, “we played the Cheetahs in 2016 in the final there. It was a jam-packed Bloemfontein Stadium. It was orange wherever you looked.

“I remember my parents came up from Clanwilliam and you could see them, not wearing Orange. That was a bad experience.”

Well, Visagie and Co nearly had a similar experience on Saturday in their Currie Cup semi-final at Ellis Park against the men from Bloemfontein. For truth be told, the visitors started the better team, even though it was the Lions who would end the encounter on a high note.

Indeed, had the Cheetahs taken all of their opportunities presented them, they could have engineered an impressive upset. They quickly built up a 14-0 lead over their hosts Ethan Wentzel scoring a 11th minute brace.

Both tries might have been fortuitous – the first clever little chip-kick, which bounced back into his possession, the second also falling favourably into his breadbasket – but it set the tone for the first half as the Lions battled with the pressure of containing the Cheetahs.

Individual skill by Ethan Wentzel 🤩✨

The Toyota Cheetahs are fighting at Emirates Airline Park 👇

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— SuperSport Rugby (@SSRugby) September 14, 2024

The Cheetahs back-three of Daniel Kasende, Cohen Jasper and Michael Annies were also irrepressible on the day, making the Lions suffer with dangerous attacking play on the counter, as much as with their own possession.

Despite scoring six tries, it will be the missed opportunities that the Cheetahs will rue, and equally, that the Lions will be grateful for.

The Cheetahs missed a handful of conversions – Annies, Wentzel and George Lourens all crucially shanking their attempts. They also crossed the whitewash with less than nine minutes to play and 36-29 down through Carl Wegner, only for the Lions’ defence to hold the ball up over the line.

Had the Cheetahs put those over, the contest would have arguably been beyond the reach of the Joburgers.

Nevertheless, the match evolved into an exciting encounter as the defending champions desperately attempted to overcome the odds, and it was in flux until replacement hooker Morne Brandon picked up a flat pass off his shoelaces around the halfway line, accelerated with mean intent and then hysterically bounced over the tryline as the Cheetahs’ cover defences attempted a vain effort to deny in the 73rd minute.

That put the game beyond doubt, despite Lourens scoring a final try for the Cheetahs.

The Lions should, however, take the experience as an important lesson. They cannot afford in the final, which they will host next weekend, to make the same mistakes or allow their opponents to achieve a foothold on proceedings.

Despite battling with the moment, they scored some scintillating tries, including a fabulous try when they went coast-to-coast to equalise the score 19-19, with Ruan Venter finishing their movement.

Sanele Nohamba also had a noticeable impact on proceedings when he came on as a replacement for Kade Wolhuter, scoring a try and slotting over three shots at goal. He gave a frenetic clash a measured approach which most probably gave the Lions the winning edge in the final 20 minutes.

Visagie, for his part, can start sending out invitations to friends and family for a Currie Cup final, the first for the union since 2019.