United Rugby Championship: The Lions 15-9 Edinburgh - visitors fail to complete South African double
- Published
Emiliano Boffelli scored two penalties for Edinburgh as they lost to the Lions
United Rugby Championship |
|---|
Lions (5) 15 |
Tries: Hendrikse, Tshituka Con: Hendrikse Pen: Hendrikse |
Edinburgh (6) 9 |
Drop goal: Immelman Pens: Boffelli 2 |
Edinburgh failed to complete a South African double as the Lions inflicted a 15-9 loss in the United Rugby Championship in Johannesburg.
Mike Blair's men beat the Sharks in Durban last weekend but tries from Jordan Hendrikse and Vincent Tshituka were enouhg to condemn the Scots to defeat and help the Lions win for the fourth championship match in a row.
Fifth-place Edinburgh were limited to nine points through the boots of Henry Immelman and Emiliano Boffelli on a difficult afternoon.
Immelman opened the scoring for the visitors with a drop goal in the 12th minute, the only points of a tight opening quarter with Hendrikse off target for Lions with a penalty.
Boffelli doubled Edinburgh's advantage from a penalty after 28 minutes, but that lead was reduced to one point soon after.
Morne Van Den Berg made decent ground before getting an excellent offload to Edwill Van Der Merwe, who charged down the wing and passed back inside for Hendrikse to finish.
The fly-half could not convert and the Lions trailed at the break after Van Den Berg failed to chase down his own kick having broken Edinburgh's defensive line.
Blair Kinghorn had a try disallowed for a Ben Vellacott knock-on in the build-up eight minutes into the second half, before Edinburgh lost Magnus Bradbury to the sin bin for tackling his man without the ball.
The Lions quickly punished their visitors when a tidy exchange of passes following a line-out drive sent Tshituka over, with Hendrikse adding the extras - his first successful kick in three attempts.
A Boffelli penalty pulled Edinburgh back within three, but Hendrikse followed it up with one of his own to keep the visitors at arm's length.
The Lions defence held firm to see out the closing minutes and a debatable knock-on call against Boffelli thwarted Edinburgh's last real chance to put the home side under pressure.