Lions looking to avoid mistakes of the past in Currie Cup opener against Sharks
The Lions claim they are no longer spooked by the events that unfolded in last year's Currie Cup final when they let slip the opportunity to lift the trophy by performing post full-time siren hara-kiri against the Sharks.
Holding a slender lead after the siren they won a line-out and opted not to kick the ball into touch.
The Sharks turned over possession and new recruit Jordan Hendrickse kicked his former team in the teeth by raising the flags with a monster penalty to snatch the title.
'Ya, those type of things are not unique to us,' said Lions coach Mziwakhe Nkosi.
'We have to get over ourselves. The game of rugby moves on. It hurt afterwards but over the course of time we engaged with each other and tried to understand what happened.
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The Lions kept hurting the Sharks by farming the left flank before the break. Maxwane plucked the ball effortlessly out of the air from a cross kick to score his first try, while his second was far more straight forward benefiting from an overlap. The Sharks only made it onto the scoreboard in the 68th minute and only through a sloppy error from the hosts. Replacement flyhalf Kade Wolhuter botched his attempt to collect the ball close to his try-line, though he might have been put off by Lombard who also tried to prevent Phiko Sobahle from scoring. The Lions, however, quickly reminded that they are the dominant force when they again found the Sharks' wanting down the left. This time, Davids, running down that flank had two inside runners to pick from with his final pass and he sought and found Jonker that stunningly underlined the Lions' superiority on the day. Scorers Lions (24) 46 — Tries: Jarod Cairns, Rabz Maxwane (2), a penalty try, Angelo Davids, Rynhardt Jonker, Layton Horn. Conversions: Lubabalo Dobela (3). Penalty: Dobela. Sharks (0) 5 — Try: Phiko Sobahle.
