Leinster suffer rare thrashing as Springboks hopefuls steer Lions to crucial victory while Benetton breeze past Dragons

Sanele-Nohamba-of-Emirates-Lions

The Lions kept their hopes of making the United Rugby Championship quarter-finals alive after defeating league leaders Leinster 44-12 at Ellis Park on Saturday.

Leinster made 13 changes to their starting XV from the side that thrashed La Rochelle 40-13 in the Investec Champions Cup quarter-final last week in what was a matchday team that had a healthy mix of youth and experience.

However, it was not enough to see them to victory as the Lions secured the bonus-point win thanks to tries from Morne van den Berg, Marius Louw, Quan Horn, Francke Horne, and two from Emmanuel Tashituka. Sanele Nohamba kicked 10 points, and Jordan Hendrikse added two conversions.

The Irish province were kept scoreless in the first half but looked to stage a comeback with Ciaran Frawley crossing for two tries.

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The hosts shot out of the blocks, racing into a 22-0 lead in the opening 14 minutes.

It took just 30 seconds for the Lions to notch up their first try as fly-half Nohamba – who was included in the Springboks alignment camps and has been tipped to start the first Test of the year against Wales – threw a wonderful flat pass out to Richard Kriel who tore through the Leinster defence.

Kriel found JC Pretorius in support, with the flanker sending Springbok hopeful Morne van den Berg sprinting over the line in a rapid start to the match.

Nohamba’s fine form continued as he added a penalty in the seventh minute and kick-started a flowing attack which saw Van den Berg race into the Leinster half before throwing a superb offload over his shoulder to captain Marius Louw, who extended the Lions’ lead to 15-0 after just 10 minutes.

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Nohamba then picked off a Liam Turner pass and stretched his legs before spreading the ball wide to full-back Horn to score the Joburgers’ third try.

The hosts dominated the opening quarter, and while Leinster attempted to fight back, the Lions’ defence remained resolute.

The visitors were denied a try when the ball was placed just short of the line and that disallowed effort meant Leinster would go into the sheds scoreless.

The Irish province did break the deadlock in the second half when Frawley won the race following a kick through over the Lions’ try line but the hosts responded swiftly through flanker Tshituka.

Van den Berg dabbed a deft grubber upfield, and Kriel regathered the ball before losing his footing and being tackled by Cormac Foley – who was an early replacement for injured winger Andrew Osborne. The Lions wing was able to pass off the deck to Tshituka, who strolled in for the bonus point try.

A well-worked set move saw Frawley grab his second try, but Tshituka’s second try and Horn’s effort, who pounced on a Leinster error, saw the Lions seal an emphatic victory. It is just Leinster’s third loss of the URC season.

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Benetton keep play-off hopes alive

Meanwhile, Benetton kept themselves firmly on course for the United Rugby Championship play-offs by claiming a 36-19 bonus-point victory over the Dragons in Treviso.

The Italian team’s ninth league win of the season should have been even more convincing, given how many clear-cut chances they created.

But it proved a case of a job done in the end as Rhyno Smith, Gianmarco Lucchesi, Andy Uren, Onisi Ratave, Edoardo Iachizzi, and Michele Lamaro scored tries while Tomas Albornoz kicked two conversions and Jacob Umaga one.

The Dragons responded through second-half interception scores from wing Jared Rosser and scrum-half Dane Blacker, with Che Hope also touching down.

Cai Evans and Will Reed added conversions, yet it proved another frustrating away day for Dai Flanagan’s team.

Benetton looked sharp from the start, and it took them just eight minutes to cut open the Dragons’ defence through a brilliantly executed move.

Smith had gone close to a try two minutes earlier, but this time, he made no mistake, assisted by wing Leonardo Marin’s midfield burst that saw the full-back touch down on his 50th Benetton appearance.

Albornoz converted, and Benetton’s free-flowing approach driven by Uren threatened further scores during a dominant opening quarter, but poor execution meant the Dragons were not punished.

Benetton blew three golden opportunities through poor handling, but they had success after adopting a more direct approach, with Lucchesi rounding off a strong lineout drive to make it 12-0.

The Dragons were pedestrian and predictable in comparison, and they gifted Benetton a third try before half-time when centre Aneurin Owen’s pass was intercepted by Uren, with the former Bristol number nine sprinting 60 metres unopposed and Albornoz adding a simple conversion.

It was damage-limitation for the visitors, but they gave themselves a glimmer of hope when Rosser intercepted Albornoz’s pass, who surged away to score from deep inside his own half.

But normal service was quickly resumed as Benetton claimed a bonus-point score when Albornoz’s pinpoint kick into space was gathered by Ratave and he applied a powerful finish.

Blacker took the Dragons into double figures when he intercepted another wayward Benetton pass, but Iachizzi and Michele Lamaro crossed in the closing stages before Hope’s try, and the Dragons fell to an 11th defeat of their URC campaign.