The Lions hung desperately onto a possible Currie Cup semifinal berth on Saturday night by beating Western Province 42-36 in a pulsating encounter at Ellis Park.
This was largely due to the efforts of two men with the same surname, Springbok flyhalf Andre Pretorius and centre and man-of-the-match, Jaco Pretorius.
The stakes were high. The Lions had to win with a bonus point to keep alive their semifinal dreams, while Western Province were desperate to boost their chances of a home semifinal.
The game lived up to expectations, with the intensity reaching boiling point as both teams ran like demons on attack and punished the oppositions’ mistakes.
The home team signalled their intentions from the kick-off and almost earned a try in the first minute. But they conceded a turnover five metres from their line. Province were hot on their heels throughout the game and struck back each time the Lions put points on the board.
Andre Pretorius was sensational on attack and defence and he controlled matters well for his side. In fact, Pretorius’ personal points tally at the end of the game amounted to 22 points from five penalties, two conversions and a drop goal.
Western Province, however, used their opportunities well, scoring three tries in the first half — two by giant right wing Sereli Naqelevuki — and had it not been for flyhalf Naas Olivier’s poor goal kicking, the visitors’ would have entered the break with a three-point lead.
The second half was even more riveting, with the Lions running as hard as they could at Province in an attempt to penetrate their defence and secure a bonus point. But the visitors punished every mistake the Lions made by running straight back at them. Province also earned their bonus point try in the second half, and finished the game with five tries.
In fact, if it were not for the Lions’ die-hard defensive effort, Province would have run in a few more tries.
At times during the second half it seemed as though the visitors had the upper hand. But the Lions dug deep and managed to extend their lead thanks to two tries in the last 10 minutes by Jaco Pretorius and Earl
Rose. Rose’s try four minutes before the final whistle also earned
the Lions the vital bonus point needed to stay in the race for a
semifinal berth.
The result means that the allocation of home semifinals will come down to the final round of pool matches next weekend. – Sapa