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Leinster humbled in one-sided Lions mauling in Jo'burg
Leinster missed the chance to extend their lead at the top of the United Rugby Championship after suffering a 44-12 defeat to Emirates Lions at Emirates Airline Park.
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The Irish province, who last week booked their place in the Investec Champions Cup semi-finals after eliminating holders La Rochelle, had won 11 of their last 12 matches in the competition.
But, having made 13 changes, Leo Cullen’s side were blown away inside the opening 15 minutes as three Lions tries put them on the way to a victory which boosts their play-off hopes.
Leinster are now just one point clear of Glasgow with four rounds remaining while the Lions climbed into the top eight.
The Lions made a stunning start and grabbed the opening try inside 40 seconds as Richard Kriel and JC Pretorius combined to send Morne van den Berg in under the posts, with Sanele Nohamba converting before kicking a penalty seven minutes later.
A fantastic team try saw the Lions score again in the 10th minute, Francke Horn, Van den Berg and Marius Louw all involved before the latter cruised over but Nohamba was unable to add the extras.
It went from bad to worse for Leinster three minutes later as Nohamba pounced on a loose ball before putting Quan Horn through, which the former converted for a 22-0 lead.
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Leinster pair Liam Turner and Cormac Foley had tries disallowed for a knock on and forward pass respectively either side of the break before Nohamba’s penalty extended the Lions’ lead.
The Irish side finally got on the board in the 53rd minute when Ciaran Frawley pounced on a grubber kick from Harry Byrne, who added the extras.
But moments later the Lions secured the bonus point when Emmanuel Tshituka went over after loose play from Leinster but Nohamba could not convert.
Frawley claimed his second try following some slick passing from Leinster but Byrne missed his kick to leave the score 30-12.
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Tshituka and Francke Horn added further tries in the final five minutes, both converted by Jordan Hendrikse, to cap an excellent day for the Lions.
The stats for this game are astonishing. Nearly 70% territory and possession for Leinster, and they lose by 32 points
It cracks me up how the North believe their sh!t don’t stink when their rugby is so convoluted they can’t even field top sides when it matters.
Also, Victor looks hilarious with his freshly dyed hair.
Pretty pathetic from Leinster. Cohort coming through in the pack are miles off where they need to be.
The skills coaching work done by Lancaster looks to have been thrown out of the window entirely. Even against La Rochelle it relied on lucky bounce passes rather than the ball going to hand.