The Lions outscored Ulster seven tries to five and 35 points to 12 in the second half to pick up a bonus point win.
The Lions will be looking to build on their impressive home form when the United Rugby Championship (URC) resumes after the international break, after ending Irish side Ulster’s winning start to the season at Ellis Park on Saturday.
Ulster went into the match in fine form, having won all three of their games, including a comfortable win over the Bulls in Belfast and a stunning win over a Springbok laden Sharks team in Durban, but were undone by an inspired Lions team that powered to a 49-31 win.
The Lions by contrast had gone into the game off the back of a three match losing overseas tour, and an unconvincing home win of Scarlets a week previously, but managed to lift their game and turn on the style against an in-form Ulster.
Proud coach
Lions coach Ivan van Rooyen was incredibly proud of his team’s performance and explained that his side had to work very hard to secure the win.
“We knew we had to lift our game because Ulster had beaten two good South African teams in the Bulls and Sharks, home and away (in the build-up),” said Van Rooyen after the match.
“They showed their class in those games, so for us to get five points, we are happy with that. But I’m more proud of the hard work we put in and how we did it (won). We can really build on this (going forward).
“The guys really played hard and put in a lot of effort. The 2pm kick-off was as tough for us as it was for them. I think as the game progressed we got more efficient and our error rate went down.
“Our exits still put us under a bit of pressure, but we challenged the guys this week (to put in a big performance) and they responded.”
Second half show
It was a second half show from the Lions that ultimately proved the difference, after Ulster took a 19-14 lead into halftime, despite the hosts being the better team in a tight opening 40 minutes, and Van Rooyen admitted it was small moments that allowed the visitors to lead at the break.
“We were creating the right pictures in that first half. We had unbelievable sets on both defence and attack. If you look at the work that we did in that final defensive set before halftime, and it was inches in the corner, otherwise we could have prevented the try,” explained Van Rooyen.
“That shows how hard we are working. So at half-time, we were quite technical in our talk. We were creating the right pictures, and we needed just one or two changes. We knew we could put them under pressure if we were a little more accurate.”
The Lions now have a month off before returning at the end of November for a massive away derby against the Bulls at Loftus.
