Johannesburg — Nico Steyn just can’t stop scoring.
And the Lions scrumhalf was at it again on Saturday, scoring a brace to record five tries in two matches next to his name as the Lions beat the Sharks in an entertaining Currie Cup encounter at Emirates Airline Park.
The bonus-point victory propelled the Joburgers to their second successive victory of the campaign and into the top 4 of the standings.
It was a victory built on weathering a Sharks onslaught in the first stanza, even though the first blow in anger was a massive tighthead by the Lions in the 8th minute. Despite that initial dominance, the Sharks managed to hold fast in the subsequent scrums during the half, Khutha Mchunu ensuring that the penalty count swung decidedly towards the men from Durban.
For the most part the Sharks pinned the Lions back during this period, but tentative errors conspired against them from opening the scoring. Both Vaughen Isaacs; and journeyman and former Lions player Fred Zeilinga missed early opportunities to get the scoreboard ticking.
A rollocking run off an error at the breakdown by the Sharks defence saw Jarod Cairns open the scoring, however, as he stormed up-field to bewilder two Sharks defenders before popping a backhanded pass to Tiaan Swanepoel, who dived over in the corner against the run of play.
The Lions failed to clear their lines from the subsequent restart, putting unwanted pressure on their tryline. While they were able to repel the Sharks’ maul on two occasions, they could not deny hooker Fezokuhle Mbatha and Co’s third attempt.
That continued pressure in territory would see eighth-man Thembelani Bholi break the Lions defensive lines to dot down before half-time and increase the visitors lead to 12-5. The Lions would strike back after the break as Tyler Bocks made a powerful run into open space.
He could have off-loaded to Steyn, but the scrumhalf was brought down without the ball resulting in a penalty try and a sanction to replacement hooker Masikane Mazwi to level matters with 35 minutes left in the game.
Due to Mbatha’s non-return after the break, the Sharks found themselves down to 13 players and the scrums uncontested, nullifying their previous supremacy at the set-piece during this period. A frantic and inaccurate Lions, however, battled to make the best of their numerical advantage but did eventually score through Steyn just as the sin-bin timer counted down to zero.
The loss of Mchunu to injury as Mbathta returned ended any thought of the Sharks owning the scrums for the rest of the match. The momentum had now fully swung in the direction of the hosts and it was punctuated by a brilliant break by replacement Jurich Claasens and some slick handling as Steyn crossed for his second.
Hyron Andrews did score again for the Sharks, with Lionel Cronje converting two penalties to keep things interesting in the final 10 minutes, but now chasing the game from deep in their own half, they fluffed their remaining chance, gifting possession to the Lions who completed the triumph with a final try from Ruhan Straeuli.
Point-scorers
Lions 34 — Tries: Swanepoel, Penalty Try, Steyn (2), Straeuli; Conversion: Isaacs (2); Penalty: Isaacs
Sharks 22 — Tries: Mbatha, Bholi, Andrews; Conversion: Zelinga; Penalty: Cronje (2); Yellow Card: Mazwi
IOL Sport