The Lions were down in the dumps at 17-7 down with just over half-an-hour to go in their helter-skelter United Rugby Championship showdown with the Sharks in Durban on Saturday.
Captain Siya Kolisi had just scored his second try, and it looked like the Johannesburg side’s bubble had been burst on a hot and humid afternoon at Kings Park.
But coach Ivan van Rooyen’s band of warriors epitomise the phrase never-say-die.
Not only did they reply with a superb try by hard-working wing Richard Kriel – following a superb long pass out wide by Player-of-the-Match Morné van den Berg, they got within two points with a Gianni Lombard penalty at 17-15.
It seemed as if their hard toil in the Durban sun had paid off with 15 minutes left, when former Sharks hooker Franco Marais barged over from a lineout drive to put the Lions 22-17 up as Lombard slotted the angled conversion.
The golden rule in rugby is then to secure the next kickoff, but unfortunately for the visitors, replacement flank Izan Esterhuizen misjudged the flight of the ball, which sailed over his shoulder.
The oval piece of synthetic leather than bounced away from Van den Berg, and when Lombard went down to claim it, he knocked it forward ever so slightly.
Suddenly the Sharks had a five-metre scrum, and eventually, replacement loose forward Nick Hatton forced his way over in a tackle from Lions captain Francke Horn.
Scores are LEVEL at the 🦈 tank with just over 🔟mins left!
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Hollywoodbets @SharksRugby are down to 14 men 👀#SHAvLIO | @Vodacom #URC pic.twitter.com/8mzVkCVzgS
The drama wasn’t over as Jaden Hendrikse missed the conversion with the scores level at 22-22, and despite a yellow card to Yaw Penxe for taking Kriel out in the air, the Sharks earned a late penalty that Hendrikse slotted to clinch the victory.
“So close, but yet so far, hey? We didn’t start off really well. We didn’t start really well, didn’t play our rugby,” Horn told SuperSport TV in a post-match interview.
“Credit to the bench – they really brought energy. We played in the right areas... One or two opportunities that we let slip, and then that one kickoff that we didn’t take brought them back.
“We can’t play one week good, one week bad. We started off badly in the first half, and we really got back in the second half.
“It could’ve gone either way – it didn’t go our way. But there are also stuff that we didn’t do right to end up with the loss.
Morné van den Berg is the @Vodacom #MOTM 🎖️
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The Emirates @LionsRugbyCo leave with a losing bonus point ✅#SHAvLIO | @Vodacom #URC pic.twitter.com/3XNMCwdM9L
“There were one or two other things that we could’ve done right, like just that one kickoff, exit well, and put them back under pressure.
“Overall, not what we wanted, but ja, we have to go forward from here.”
Coach Van Rooyen was equally gutted in the post-match press conference as he reflected on what might have been, as the Sharks clinched the SA Shield as well in their bonus-point triumph.
“We started off well, and then I think we went to sleep 20 minutes before halftime. The Sharks had all the opportunities, all the momentum,” he said.
“Then after halftime, I think a really good fightback from us. We upped the work-rate, the intensity, the intent.
“Then you would feel the penalty not kicked out, or a penalty not dealt with, was the difference in the game.”
The Emirates @LionsRugbyCo re-take the lead! 🍿
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It's all set up for an EPIC ending 👀#SHAvLIO | @Vodacom #URC pic.twitter.com/6sBQcr1AFn
Van Rooyen didn’t want to blame the hot conditions either, which definitely affected the handling.
“You can’t mimic or replicate it. So, I think we had good plans around it, but seeing it and playing in it is very different than trying to predict it.
“We finished the game strongly, which I am proud of. But I think that last 10, 15 minutes pre-halftime, we could see it.”
Points-Scorers
Sharks 25 – Tries: Grant Williams, Siya Kolisi (2), Nick Hatton. Conversion: Jordan Hendrikse (1). Penalty: Jaden Hendrikse (1).
Lions 22 – Tries: Tapiwa Mafura, Richard Kriel, Franco Marais. Conversions: Gianni Lombard (2). Penalty: Lombard (1).