It’s win or bust for Lions & Cheetahs in the EPCR

The Lions and Cheetahs must win in Round 2 of the EPCR Challenge Cup if they are to have any play-off aspirations. Both South African teams lost their opening round matches.

Lions vs Newcastle Red Bulls

Kingston Park

The Lions led 18-11 against Benetton in Johannesburg with nine minutes to play and lost 26-18.

Their attacking stats were among the best, leading the tournament in offloads (20) and kick metres (991). Ruan Venter was a standout with seven dominant carry contacts, while Erich Cronje and Quan Horn created problems with ball in hand.

Newcastle showed set-piece control and strong kicking structure in their opening win, away from home, in Lyon, with George McGuigan commanding the lineouts and Amanaki Mafi making 20 carries .

Cheetahs vs Stade Français

NRCA Stadium

The Cheetahs struggled against Exeter, conceding six tries, but there were positives. Michael Annies made 107 running metres and beat six defenders, while flanker Gideon van der Merwe led the competition round with five turnovers. They’ll face a Stade Français side that fired six tries past Cardiff and looked sharp across the park.

Lester Etien and Louis Foursans-Bourdette led the Parisians’ attack, combining for big metres, try assists, and line breaks .

The Cheetahs play their home matches out of the Netherlands and are based in Amsterdam for the EPCR.

EPCR – 3 POOLS 18 TEAMS

Also in Round 2

• Ulster vs Cardiff – Ulster’s nine-try demolition of Racing 92 puts them top of Pool 3.

• Benetton vs USAP – Two strong starters go head-to-head after confident Round 1 wins.

• Montpellier vs Zebre – Montpellier led in post-contact metres, while Zebre were clinical in defence and goal-kicking.

• Ospreys vs Montauban – Ospreys boast the tournament’s best tackle success rate and strong breakdown control.

SOUTH AFRICA’S EPCR CHALLENGE – THE LATEST