That was hard to take, says Murphy

By PETER STRONG

Lions……………. 49

Ulster…………….31

LIONS produced their best performance of the season to stun Ulster at Ellis Park.

It was a statement win for Ivan van Rooyen’s side, who went into the clash with just one win from four. They responded with a seven-try display full of pace and power – handing the Irish province their first defeat of the campaign.

“It’s a difficult one to take in the end, we’re in that game for 55, 60 minutes and let it get away from us in the end,” said Ulster head coach Richie Murphy.

The contest began at a furious tempo, with three tries inside the opening ten minutes. SJ Kotze opened the scoring for Lions after combining neatly with fellow prop Asenathi Ntlabakanye, before Rob Baloucoune struck straight back with a superb solo effort. Eduan Keyter restored the hosts’ lead, finishing slickly in the corner from Quan Horn’s offload. Ulster hit back through

James Hume to level at 14-14 before Baloucoune crossed again on the stroke of half-time to edge the visitors ahead 19-17.

Lions came out firing after the break. Ruan Venter powered over before Chris Smith added a long-range penalty only for Baloucoune to complete his hat-trick and close the gap to three. Replacement Renzo du Plessis bulldozed over to extend Lions’ lead and while David McCann’s try kept Ulster in the hunt, Henco van Wyk darted over to round off the win.