Lions showcase URC's European charge

The Emirates Lions showed the ever-growing strength of the Vodacom United Rugby Championship by roaring to a EPCR Challenge Cup last-16 victory over Top 14 giants Racing 92 in Johannesburg.

When Emirates Lions flank Emmanuel Tshituka received his marching orders from referee Karl Dickson in the first quarter of the Challenge Cup clash against Racing 92, the result seemed inevitable.

The Emirates Lions were leading 15-7 at that point thanks to converted tries from captain Marius Louw and wing Edwill van der Merwe, to go with a Sanele Nohamba penalty, but having to play more than 60 minutes without a third of their influential back row put the already unfancied hosts up against the odds.

However, what came next will surely go down as one of the most famous performances in Challenge Cup playoff history.

While Racing 92 twice brought themselves to within seven points of the lead either side of halftime, it was the 14-man Emirates Lions who produced a stunning display of attacking rugby to win 51-28 and seal their place in the quarterfinals for the first time.

“I am immensely proud,” said head coach Ivan van Rooyen after the match. “The guys worked extremely hard to get the result, especially with the red card. You could see it in their faces, the guys are exhausted and tired, but that’s what it takes to win games like this.”

Currently ranked 11th in the Vodacom United Rugby Championship, the Emirates Lions were certainly the underdogs against a Racing 92 side that is hunting a playoff place in the Top 14.

Among the superstars boosting Racing’s line-up in that match were South Africa’s Warrick Gelant, Argentina’s Juan Imhoff and French internationals Cameron Woki and Wenceslas Lauret.

“Racing is a great international team full of test stars,” explained Van Rooyen. “We knew we really had to be good. If you allow them to run onto you, they will damage you.

“They have good backs all over the show, so it was important for us to be good defensively. We knew if we did that, we would get one or two counter-attack opportunities. We managed to use those, so I am really proud.”

Fellow South African sides, the Cell C Sharks and DHL Stormers joined Leinster Rugby as Vodacom URC representatives in the Heineken Champions Cup quarterfinals.

By beating Racing, the Emirates Lions became the fifth Vodacom URC team to progress to the Challenge Cup quarterfinals, joining Scarlets, Benetton Rugby, Cardiff Rugby and the Glasgow Warriors, who will host the Johannesburg outfit in the last eight.

“It was a tough game against Racing, so the first thing is to get the players physically ready for Glasgow,” said Emirates Lions defence coach Jaque Fourie.

“We aren’t going there just to compete, we want to win. We have two games left in the URC and we want to finish on a high. So our focus is to win against Glasgow.”