‘It was a big focus point for us’: Lions mauled Stormers’ attack

The Lions’ maul defence frustrated and ultimately flummoxed the Stormers as they recorded their first United Rugby Championship (URC) home victory over the Cape side at Ellis Park on Saturday.

The Lions ran out 30-23 victors, doing most of their scoring in the first half before hanging on grimly through stoic defence in the second.

They were particularly effective at stunting the Stormers’ maul.

“Equally proud about our maul stops,” said head coach Ivan van Rooyen when asked about his team’s heroic defence. “It was a big focus point for us. They scored two maul tries against us in the last match and had a third disallowed.

“We knew how much energy that gives them. We showed great fight and great character.”

That the Lions kept the Stormers tryless by the break while scoring three excellent tries from deep laid the platform for their success. Fullback and man of the match Quan Horn excelled as he made telling incursions before setting up willing and able support runners.

On that score centre Henco van Wyk and scrumhalf Mornè van den Berg weren’t far behind.

It was, however, the Lions’ defence that ultimately won the day as they kept the Stormers at bay despite spending much time inside their own 22.

The Stormers could not master the greasy ball while the hosts were particularly proficient at ripping the ball from the visitors.

Despite a sustained attack the Stormers drew blanks on the cusp of halftime.

“We had some attacking opportunities in the first half and really used them. Given their selections the Stormers wanted to open up the game in the second half. The defensive energy was huge,” Van Rooyen said.

The win, which was the Lions’ first in the URC over the Stormers since 2021, was timely. With two games in hand on most teams above them on the points table it keeps them in the hunt for a place in the top eight.

Moreover, the win over local rivals helped elevate the status of players hoping to be in the Springbok mix.

“If we as a team play well, the guys will get higher honours,” noted captain Francke Horn. “There is definitely big positivity around the guys. But this is not an individual sport.”

Unlike the Stormers, who had a taxing derby against the Bulls last week, the Lions had to sharpen up on the training field over the last fortnight. They channelled their energy productively.

“There was a huge drive to get to the level where we want to perform. It is a credit to our system,” Van Rooyen said.

Though it rarely happens in derby matches the Lions showed composure in the pressure moments against the Stormers. “We looked comfortable in the chaos,” noted Van Rooyen.

Stormers director of rugby John Dobson lamented his team’s lack of composure when scoring opportunities beckoned. Imprecision dogged them, though the mongrel shown by the Lions also contributed to their downfall.

Dobson agreed his team will have to be near blemish free in the remainder of their league campaign if they want to have a say at the business end of the competition. “Now we’ll have to win at Loftus,” said Dobson about their engagement against the Bulls in two weeks.