Lions edge Leinster 27-26 in Ellis Park thriller
The Lions beat Leinster 27-26 in their opening United Rugby Championship game at Ellis Park, surviving a wild finish to win by a single point, BBC Sport reported.
It was a proper season opener. Fast, loose and decided in the last minutes, with the lead changing hands and both sides down to 14 men at the death.
Leinster led 19-17 at half-time. They owed almost all of it to scrum-half Fintan Gunne, who scored a first-half hat-trick of tries — touching the ball down over the line for five points each time.
Gunne sealed that treble in the 38th minute, according to The42, to give the visitors from Dublin a narrow cushion at the break. Leinster have long been one of the competition's heavyweights, so that lead looked ominous.
The Lions refused to go away. Centre Erich Cronje scored twice for the home side, crashing over on both occasions to keep them in touch.
Fly-half Chris Smith did the rest of the damage with the boot. He kicked three conversions — the two-point follow-up kicks after tries — and two penalties, worth three points each, to keep the scoreboard ticking over.
The second half was about nerve. Kelly Mpeku scored for the Lions shortly before full-time to push them ahead, and the home crowd sensed a famous win.
Leinster hit back. Replacement Stephen Smyth scored a late try, and Harry Byrne added the conversion to drag the Irish side back within a point. One point. That was the gap.
Discipline almost decided it. Leinster's Dylan McNeice was shown a yellow card in the last 10 minutes, and Lions replacement SJ Kotze was sent to the sin-bin late on. A sin-bin means ten minutes off the field, leaving your team short-handed.
What makes this stand out is how tired legs held up. Both defences were stretched, gaps opened, and courage in the tackle mattered as much as any set move.
The result gives the Lions a winning start. They host the Ospreys next. Leinster, who left South Africa with nothing but a losing bonus point for finishing within seven, travel to face the Sharks next Saturday.
