Lions crush Stade Francais to secure first Challenge Cup win

By Wesley Botton

The Lions crushed a fighting Stade Francais on Friday night, securing their first victory of the European Challenge Cup competition at Ellis Park.

After playing to a draw with Dragons in their opening match last week, the Lions produced a dominant performance against their French opponents, earning a 30-12 win.

The hosts were first on the board when flyhalf Jordan Hendrikse knocked over a penalty in the 12th minute, and they gained momentum five minutes later when left wing Quan Horn dived over in the corner for the first try of the game.

Following another successful penalty attempt by Hendrikse, Horn managed to break the line and flew over to secure a brace.

On the back foot, the visitors fought hard to get back in the game and were eventually rewarded when James Hall scored just before half-time, but the Lions had a 20-5 gap at the break.

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Returning to the field, the Lions had to deal with some real pressure from Stade Francais, but they held them off and managed to barge over from a maul, with fullback Andries Coetzee dotting down.

The tourists kept pushing and were rewarded again with less than 10 minutes left on the clock when Leo Barre scored their second try.

It was not enough, however, and another Lions try by Ruan Smith was sufficient to bury their French opponents.