Ken Borland

The Canterbury Crusaders used their forward dominance in the second half to beat the Gauteng Lions 23-13 in their SuperRugby match at Ellis Park on Saturday.

The Lions scored their only try four minutes before half-time to claim a 13-10 lead at the break, but struggled to get out of their territory in the second half as the Crusaders’ forwards took control, using tight play and direct running.

The New Zealanders regained the lead four minutes after the break as wing Sean Maitland gleefully ran on to a lovely grubber from fullback Israel Dagg, after the Lions had suffered a costly turnover in their own 22.

Centre Tom Taylor, who played at flyhalf for much of the second half as Dan Carter was substituted after an hour upon his return from groin surgery, kicked the conversion to make the score 17-13.

Taylor then failed with a 51-metre penalty attempt, but succeeded with penalties in the 48th and 63rd minutes to complete the scoring.

“We were really disappointed with our start, we were really inaccurate. But we played with better intent in the second half after sitting back in the first half. We had good field position and we wanted to be a lot more direct and go through the middle,” Crusaders coach Todd Blackadder told a news conference after the game.

“But we absolutely let a bonus point slip because we were really inaccurate, which is frustrating.”

The Lions dominated the first half as they kept possession for long periods. But it proved a false dawn for the SuperRugby strugglers as they battled to penetrate the tight Crusaders’ defence.

There were promising breaks by the home side, but captain and flank Josh Strauss passed straight to opposition centre Taylor with the tryline in sight, and lock Franco van der Merwe was held up over the line by scrumhalf Andy Ellis.

Ruck infringements accounted for the first points of the match for both sides as Lions flyhalf Butch James (19th) and Taylor (21st) kicked penalties.

Taylor’s first kick at goal came after wing Zac Guildford had opened up the Lions defence with a mazy run and the 23-year-old All Black also scored the opening try 10 minutes later when he raced on to Carter’s slick pop-pass on the inside after centre Robbie Fruean had crashed the ball over the advantage line.

Prop Pat Cilliers scored the Lions’ only try as he burst off the back of a ruck.

“The moments after half-time were the turning point. We just didn’t control possession and we weren’t accurate enough. It’s very obvious our lineout’s not working as we’d like and it’s unacceptable,” Lions coach John Mitchell said.

The Lions have now won just one of their five SuperRugby matches this season, while the Crusaders complete their two-match South African tour by playing the Bulls in Pretoria next Saturday.

Scorers

Lions – Try: Pat Cilliers. Conversion: Butch James. Penalties: James (2).

Crusaders – Tries: Zac Guildford, Sean Maitland. Conversions: Tom Taylor (2). Penalties: Taylor (3).

Twenty-year-old flyhalf Beauden Barrett kicked a 78th-minute penalty to give the Wellington Hurricanes a 30-28 (half-time 14-8) victory over the Gauteng Lions in their SuperRugby match at Ellis Park on Friday.

Barrett, who was man of the match in last weekend’s defeat by the Stormers, reaffirmed his reputation as a top-class prospect as he kicked three other penalties and also played a key role in the Hurricanes’ third and final try.

The 2011 IRB Junior World Championship winner put through a deft grubber, which wing Corey Jane ran on to, holding off opposite number Deon van Rensburg to score the try and complete a crucial two-try burst in three minutes midway through the second half for the visitors.

Centre Conrad Smith had moments earlier kicked through a dropped pass by the Lions and then rushed on to the bouncing ball and manufactured a brilliant crossfield kick-pass for hooker Dan Coles to complete the try.

“I do enjoy my soccer, so it was great to get a chance to show my skills. But really, it was more because I couldn’t see myself running another 30 metres with the ball and I heard someone shout outside me. I just didn’t realise it was the hooker,” Smith joked afterwards.

The two tries put the Hurricanes in firm control at 27-18 up but, after conceding a penalty to Lions flyhalf Elton Jantjies, they then made a complete hash of defending a rolling maul, allowing the home side to storm back into their territory. From a ruck close to the tryline, the strength of replacement centre Butch James allowed him to barge over the line.

Jantjies converted to give the Lions a 28-27 lead, but with nine minutes still remaining, it was obvious the Hurricanes would fight hard to regain the lead.

The Lions were unfortunate to lose two props – JC Janse van Rensburg and CJ van der Linde – to injuries in the first half-hour, leading to uncontested scrums and the neutralisation of one of their main weapons. The Hurricanes were thus under no pressure at the set-piece and, having dominated the breakdowns, were able to rumble the ball upfield in the closing minutes, eventually catching the Lions backline offside and allowing Barrett his match-winning kick at goal.

“We were scrumming very well and it made the contest different – we couldn’t add pressure and take energy out of their legs through that route. But we should have finished the contest, we had the opportunity and we just weren’t very smart,” Lions coach John Mitchell told a news conference after the game.

The Lions had scored the opening try in the ninth minute when fullback Jaco Taute reached over in the left corner, after Hurricanes scrumhalf Chris Eaton had dropped the kick-off following Barrett’s opening penalty.

Barrett added two more penalties in the first half, before the Hurricanes went into the break 14-8 up after fullback Andre Taylor had squeezed over in the right corner, the visitors having stretched the Lions’ defences to the limit.

“I’m really pleased, we planned well and we have a very fit team. Playing on the highveld can eat away at you, but I knew the boys would last for the last 25 and they showed great composure too,” Hurricanes coach Mark Hammett said.

Flyhalf Elton Jantjies worked his magic with the boot as he kicked the Lions to a hard-fought 27-25 (half-time 12-19) victory over the Cheetahs in their all-South African SuperRugby match at Ellis Park on Saturday.

Jantjies scored all 27 of the Lions’ points through nine penalties, a SuperRugby record, missing just two attempts at goal.

Jannie Kruger (Northern Transvaal 1996), Willie Walker (Otago, 2003), Meyer Bosman (Cheetahs, 2006) and Derick Hougaard (Bulls, 2007) had all previously kicked eight penalties in a match.

Opposite number Johan Goosen ensured the Lions had to work exceptionally hard for their victory, however, as he kicked even more impressively, landing all seven of his attempts at goal, including a 48m snap drop goal and a phenomenal 57m penalty.

The Lions effectively won the game when the 19-year-old Goosen was out of action, the Cheetahs flyhalf being yellow-carded between the 54th and 64th minutes for twice not rolling away in the tackle, before leaving the field with a head injury in the 68th minute.

Both scrumhalf Tewis de Bruyn and replacement flyhalf Sias Ebersohn missed relatively straightforward penalties while Goosen was off the field.

The Cheetahs ensured that they led from the ninth to the 71st minute as they scored the only try of the match, with prop WP Nel muscling his way over the tryline from close range in the ninth minute.

“If you concede two yellow cards and 16 penalties then you’re not going to win. We didn’t play badly, but bad discipline cost us. Johan Goosen kicked really well, but tactically, especially in the second half, we could have controlled the game better,” Cheetahs coach Naka Drotske said.

With both teams often floundering at the breakdowns, Goosen was presented with several penalties, but it was a credit to Jantjies’ composure that he also kept chipping away at the other end.

“The breakdown was always going to be scrappy, but it was a learning curve for us. It was definitely frustrating, maybe the guys aren’t used to the referee’s calls this early in the season, we struggled with the timing of getting our hands off the ball and leaving daylight. But Elton is an exceptional player, he’s proved it time and time again,” Lions captain Joshua Strauss said.

The match-winning penalty came with seven minutes remaining as Cheetahs replacement flank Ashley Johnson hit centre Doppies la Grange with a high tackle and Jantjies calmly slotted the kick from 40 metres out.

Scorers

Lions – Penalties: Elton Jantjies (9).

Cheetahs – Try: WP Nel. Conversion: Johan Goosen. Penalties: Goosen (5). Drop goal: Goosen.