Lions grind out Singapore win

The Emirates Lions used sheer grit and determination to wear down a game Sunwolves side and record a morale-boosting 37-17 win in Singapore on Saturday.

The Lions scored five tries to three, after a dominant forwards performance and some gritty work out wide.

The Sunwolves may well have been expected to provide a statement of intent following their axing from Vodacom Super Rugby, but in the end the Lions forward pack were way too experienced and used their big runners well to take the victory.

But for the first 50 minutes the Lions were involved in an arm-wrestle in the humidity and struggled to get ascendancy against a side that seems more than capable of frustrating other sides.

They were down to 14 men early when the Sunwolves got a penalty try and Sylvian Mahuza was given his marching orders after a deliberate knockdown that otherwise would have seen the Sunwolves score the first try.

The Lions' response was good though, with Malcolm Marx hitting back for the first of his two tries when the team was down to 14, and then adding a second to see his side into the break 12-7 up.

Hayden Parker added a penalty shortly after the break but the Lions were again on the march and finally broke the deadlock after a well-worked maul gave halfback Nic Groom the space to dart over from close range.

You could feel the momentum shift and the Lions up a gear, and for the Sunwolves, the toll of several tackles on the big Lions runners were starting to tell. It wasn’t long before Elton Jantjies spotted a gap and went over the line in between two defenders to extend the lead.

Possibly the try of the game came just after the hour mark when Lionel Mapoe put Aphiwe Dyantyi into a stunning gap, with the winger surging upfield before being closed down by the defence, offloading to Groom just in time. Groom popped a perfect scissor pass to Mapoe to allow the midfielder to finish the move he started.

The Sunwolves found some respite for a try by No 8 Rahbonu Warren-Vosayaco, who went over from close range and he added another right at the end of the game to deny the Lions a bonus point.

The Lions finished off their show with Hacjivah Dayimani plucking a perfect kick-pass cross field out of the air from Gianni Lombard to put the final nail in the Sunwolves coffin.

SCORERS:

Sunwolves – tries: Penalty try, Rahboni Warren-Vosayaco (2). Conversion: Hayden Parker. Penalty: Parker.

Emirates Lions – tries: Malcolm Marx (2), Nic Groom, Elton Jantjies, Lionel Mapoe, Hacjivah Dayimani. Conversions: Elton Jantjies (2). Penalty: Jantjies.