Clarity beats clutter as lethal Lions outthink and outplay the Stormers

The difference at Ellis Park was clarity of thought and a respect for ball possession. The Lions had it and the Stormers didn’t.

Heroic defence in the final quarter complemented an on-field rugby intelligence the Stormers could not match as the Lions won 24-10 in their Vodacom United Rugby Championship derby.

It was a match they never looked like losing as a double strike within a few minutes took them to 14-0 after the first 20 minutes had been scoreless.

Morné van den Berg controlled the derby from the first quarter and never loosened his grip. The Springbok scrumhalf was decisive, accurate and composed.

Van den Berg’s kicking game turned the Stormers repeatedly and his contestable kick led to winger Angelo Davids’ chase and offload for Siba Mahashe’s opening try. Minutes later, a clever short bounce kick from Van den Berg created indecision and Henco van Wyk profited. Two moments. Two correct decisions. Fourteen points.

The Lions kept it simple: catch, pass and kick when required. They attacked from the right areas and forced the Stormers to play from deep. They needed just 24 tackles in the first half because they owned territory and possession.

The Stormers looked like a side that had not played for a month. Their aerial work was poor. Their handling was loose and their decision-making was muddled. When they had the ball, they forced offloads and when they required patience, they rushed most things.

This is a team that in the last month has sought the sensational in execution when the situation screamed simplicity.

The Stormers improved at scrum time after the break and gained territory. The Lions conceded penalties and lost two players to head-contact cards, playing with 13 for a decisive period and 14 v 15 in the final five minutes.

That should have been the Stormers’ moment, when having 15 versus 13, but it wasn’t because of poor decision-making and a disregard for the preciousness of the ball in the contact.

Held up three times over the line, they failed to score a single point in the final half hour despite the numerical advantage. The Lions defended with determination, but also structure in the final quarter, and attacked with potency when transitioning. The Stormers, who self-destructed often in their own half, attacked without precision when given so many try-scoring opportunities in the second half.

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The win was the Lions fourth from their six derby matches and it secured them the SA Shield, with the winner determined exclusively from the derby matches. The Lions also consolidated a top eight URC league position.

The Stormers, unbeaten and top a month ago, have now lost three straight league matches and four of their last five in all competitions.