Emirates Lions roar to victory
Emirates Lions started their tour in Australasia on a winning note.
The Emirates Lions were clinical in their 29-0 dismantling of the Waratahs in Sydney on Friday morning and in doing so, set a unique new South African Vodacom Super Rugby record. They became the first-ever SA side in the history of the competition to keep their opponents scoreless while on tour abroad – in 118 SA victories on foreign soil. It was also the Emirates Lions’ first-ever triumph in Sydney.
The Highvelders defended resolutely to keep the Waratahs from breaching their line in the opening quarter and they led 7-0 at half-time through a Madosh Tambwe try. They were able to wrap up matters after the interval thanks to tries from Kwagga Smith, Harold Vorster and Marnus Schoeman.
In the meantime, in South Africa, the Cell C Sharks managed to beat DHL Stormers in the dying minutes of the match on April 21.
A 73rd minute try by Thomas du Toit handed the Cell C Sharks a hard-fought 24-17 victory in their Vodacom Super Rugby derby over the DHL Stormers in Durban on Saturday, adding to good victories by the Emirates Lions and Vodacom Bulls over Australian opposition this weekend.
Experienced hooker Adriaan Strauss scored his fifth try of the season while further efforts from Jesse Kriel, Divan Rossouw and Andre Warner secured the Vodacom Bulls well-deserved 28-10 bonus-point success over the Rebels in Pretoria.
John Mitchell’s side played some enterprising rugby at times to clinch their third consecutive win after leading 21-3 at the interval.
In the other South African conference match played on Sunday in Canberra, the Jaguares won their second successive match on Australian soil by beating the Brumbies 25-20.
Following the weekend’s action, the Emirates Lions increased their point tally at the summit of the South African conference table to 30 points after nine games. They are followed by the Vodacom Bulls on 19 (from eight games) and the Cell C Sharks (18 points).
Despite their Friday defeat, the Waratahs are still in front on the Australian log with 24 points, while their win over the Sunwolves enabled the Crusaders (24 points) to edge past the Hurricanes (on a bye) on the New Zealand table.
Other Round 10 results:
April 20:
Blues 16, Highlanders 34
April 21
Crusaders 33, Sunwolves 11
Reds 12, Chiefs 36
April 22
Brumbies 20, Jaguares 25
Bye: Hurricanes
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