Force too strong for Lions at Coca-Cola Park
The Force continued their late-season revival and condemned Golden Lions to finishing last on the Super 14 log with a 33-12 win at Coca-Cola Park on Saturday.
The match, which started in rain in front of a small crowd, was a forgettable contest between teams who occupied the last two places in the southern hemisphere championship at the kick-off.
But the Force climbed to 11th place, above Highlanders and Cheetahs, with their fourth win in five matches after losing their first six games of the season.
The first half was dominated by penalty goals, with Force fly-half David Hill and Lions counterpart Herkie Kruger landing four each.
Opposing flanks Matt Hodgson (Force) and Wikus van Heerden (Lions) were yellow carded within five minutes of each other late in the half for the same offence – knocking the ball illegally out of opponents’ hands.
Hodgson came back just in time to enable the Force to have a one-man advantage when they mounted the first compelling movement of the match to score the first try on the stroke of half-time, giving them a 19-12 lead at the break.
Fullback Mark Bartholomeuwsz broke from deep in his own half, the ball was recycled efficiently after he was tackled and right wing Scott Staniforth went over unchallenged after a well-worked move.
The quality of the rugby improved in the second half, with the Force doing most of the attacking.
“We stuck to our structures a bit more in the second half and got some reward for it,” said Force captain and lock Nathan Sharpe.
“I’m also happy with our defensive effort. The Lions have scored a lot of tries this season but we kept them out.”
Twice the Force spurned kickable penalties after half-time, opting to set up line-out moves.
They were rewarded for a period of sustained pressure when the Lions finally ran out of tacklers and Hill was able to trot over for a try under the posts in the 58th minute.
The Force added a final try when Bartholomeuwsz scored five minutes from the end.
It was the 56th try conceded by the Lions in a dismal season in which they have lost all 11 matches.
“It’s very disappointing but we can’t give up. We’ve got to stick together,” said Lions captain and loose forward Cobus Grobbelaar.
Lions:
15. Carlos Spencer, 14. Michael Killian, 13. Deon van Rensburg, 12. Walter Venter, 11. Tonderai Chavhanga, 10. Herkie Kruger, 9. Jano Vermaak, 8. Derick Minnie, 7. Wikus van Heerden, 6. Cobus Grobbelaar (captain), 5. Nico Luus, 4. George Earl, 3. Ross Geldenhuys, 2. Charles Emslie, 1. JC Janse van Rensburg
Substitutes: 16. Hannes Franklin, 17. Heinke van der Merwe, 18. Jacques Lombaard, 19. Justin Wheeler, 20. Jacques Coetzee, 21. Jacob Johannes Taute, 22. Bernardo Botha
Force:
15. Cameron Shepherd, 14. Scott Staniforth, 13. Mitch Inman, 12. Ryan Cross, 11. Nick Cummins, 10. David Hill, 9. Brett Sheehan, 8. Richard Brown, 7. David Pocock, 6. Matthew Hodgson, 5. Nathan Sharpe (captain), 4. Sam Wykes, 3. Matt Dunning, 2. Ben Whittaker, 1. Pekahou Cowan
Substitutes: 16. Nathan Charles, 17. Kieran Longbottom, 18. Tom Hockings, 19. Ben McCalman, 20. Justin Turner, 21. Sam Harris, 22. Mark Bartholomeusz
[AFP]
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