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Lions struggle past spirited Falcons

Friday 04th July 2008

As if to signify the ailments of the Lions as clearly as possible, the Johannesburg team made heavy going of dispatching the Falcons 35-23 on Friday, the team regarded by most as the whipping boys of the Currie Cup.

The Lions did get the bonus point in the end, but the scoreline of 18-18 with 20 minutes remaining should be the most worrying statistic coming out of this game.

Earl Rose was the hero for the home team with a hat-trick of tries and a personal contribution of 30 points to his team's victory.

The Lions went about their job far too enthusiastically. So much good possession was wasted, instead of cold-heartedly breaking down the opposition. When the Falcons did get the ball, the Lions seemed so surprised that they often forgot to tackle. Perhaps you could sum it all up in one word: complacency.

It started well enough though, with Rose kicking a penalty and converting his own try, and Franco van der Merwe also running in a score, all in the first 15 minutes.

But the charged-down kick - ironically from Rose - which let Dewald Pretorius in for a Falcons try was a portent of the slackness to come.

It was 18-8 at half-time, with the Lions good value for their lead by dint of superiority in most aspects of the game bar the scrum.

But the early part of the second half saw the Lions cave in completely for a while, and Pretorius' break saw Rouan Cloete in for a try, and Len Olivier equalised with a penalty.

Rose gave his team back the lead, and then made the game safe, following up one of his box kicks to score.

Emile Verster's try gave the Falcons hope at 28-23 for at least a bonus point, but Rose struck with two minutes remaining to deny the visitors even that.

The scorers:

For the Lions:
Tries: Van der Merwe, Rose 3
Cons: Rose 3
Pens: Rose 3

For the Falcons:
Tries: Pretorius, Cloete, Verster
Con: Olivier
Pens: Schutte, Olivier

Lions: 15 Earl Rose, 14 Louis Ludik, 13 Jaco van Schalkwyk, 12 Walter Venter, 11 Heini Gordon, 10 Louis Strydom, 9 Chris Jonck, 8 Wilhelm Koch, 7 Franco van der Merwe, 6 Cobus Grobbelaar, 5 Anton van Zyl, 4 Dewald Senekal, 3 Lawrence Sephaka, 2 Ethienne Reynecke, 1 JC Janse van Rensburg.
Replacements: 16 Willie Wepener, 17 Gert Muller, 18 Heinke van der Merwe, 19 Justin Wheeler, 20 Jano Vermaak, 21 Michael Killian, 22 Dusty Noble.

Falcons: 15 Jacques Schutte, 14 Ernie Kruger, 13 Rouan Cloete, 12 Hanno Coetzee (c), 11 Luvo Sogidashe, 10 True Blue Smit, 9 Gerrie Odendaal, 8 Sean Plaatjies, 7 Emile Verster, 6 Uwe Sauer, 5 Marius Coetzer, 4 Wouter Moore, 3 Nico Pretorius, 2 Ryno Barnes, 1 Gavin Whittingham.
Replacements: 16 Frik Venter, 17 Rassie van Vuuren, 18 Reggie Perkins, 19 Warren Perkins, 20 Morné Adams, 21 Len Olivier, 22 Dewald Pretorius.

Referee: Phillip Bosch
Touch judges: Jaco Peyper, Peet Badenhorst
Television match official: Michael Cupido
Assessor: Richard Nash