The Lions booked their place in the Super Rugby semifinals after a 40 – 23 win over the Jaguares at Emirates Airlines Park on Saturday.
Ruan Combrinck took advantage of pin-point cross kick from flyhalf Elton Jantjies inside the opening 10 minutes to put his side in front after two early Nicolas Sanchez penalties saw the visitors.
Harold Vorster was on hand to benefit from a handling error on the line after some excellent chase work by Aphiwe Dyantyi for the Lions second score before Malcolm Marx crossed the line after a timely interception as the Lions raced out into a commanding 24-9 lead heading into the break.
That lead was shrunk to eight after Jaguares wing Bautista Delguy danced around Ross Cronje and darted over in the corner just two minutes into the second half. Dyantyi reclaimed the restart allowing more front foot ball for the Lions which resulted in a second successful Jantjies in what was proving to be an all-action encounter.
The match was thrown wide open after an aimless kick from Combrinck allowed the Jaguares to attack.
After keeping the ball alive out wide, it was flank Pablo Matera who burst onto a simple ball to dive over and get his side within a try with over 30 minutes to play.
Andries Coetzee then broke the line for his side’s fourth try as the Lions reasserted their dominance. The hosts seized control and played out the rest of the encounter in controlled fashion with Jantjies continuing to show his class at this level.
With altitude and scoreboard pressure starting to take its toll, the Lions flyhalf added a drop goal and another penalty to end the contest with 20 points after a flawless display with the boot.
The win sees the Lions entertain the Waratahs, who came from behind to beat the Highlanders earlier in Sydney, in next week’s second semi-final. The winner of that will face either the Crusaders or the Hurricanes who will clash in Christchurch.
Scorers: Lions 40 (24): Tries: Ruan Combrinck, Harold Vorster, Malcolm Marx, Andries Coetzee. Conversions: Elton Jantjies (4), Penalties: Elton Jantjies (3), Drop goal: Elton Jantjies.
Jaguares 23 (9): Tries: Bautista Delguy, Pablo Matera. Conversion: Nicolas Sanchez (2). Penalties: Nicolas Sanchez (3)