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Cape Town - The Lions started the new season off on a high, scoring an empathic 41-10 victory over the Sharks in a Neo Africa Tri Series match on Tuesday night. The Johannesburg squad ran in six tries to one, with five of them coming in the second half of the match.
It was slightly ironic that, on the same day the Lions announced the signing of Butch James, fellow fly-half Burton Francis was one of the standout performers for the Lions.
The Sharks were first to put points on the board, when Patrick Lambie dived over for the first try of the match, but still the quality of rugby played in the early stages of the match did not impress the 3,000 odd spectators.
Lions fly-half Andre Pretorius eventually opened the team's tally with a penalty, and just before the siren, flank Derick Mini ensured the Johannesburg side took the lead, as he was shoved over the line by his pack.
Unlike the first 40 minutes, the second half provided great entertainment with the Lions playing with a real sense of urgency.
They were soon rewarded for their efforts, when eighth-man Warren Whitely dotted down as a result of impressive handling skills by his team-mates.
Burton Francis nailed the conversion to give his side a 17-5 lead, from where they could play with more confidence.
That confidence resulted in the Lions' third try of the evening.
This time fullback Jaco Taute chipped the ball through the Sharks backline and followed up to make it 22-5.
Francis was rock solid with his conversion, and it became clear that the match was slipping away from the Currie Cup champions.
Eventually Springbok newcomer Lwazi Mvovo managed to restore some pride for the Sharks with a textbook finish, but the Lions pack needed only crack at the opposition's line to wipe out the gain that had Mvovo made.
In what would have been a bonus point try in Vodacom Super Rugby terms for the Lions, skipper Franco van der Merwe emerged with ball-in-hand and his pack duly forced him over the line.
And just to add salt in the Sharks' wounds, replacements Caylib Oosthuizen and Michael Killian added two more tries to the embarrassing score line.
Scorers:
Sharks: 10(5).Tries - Patrick Lambie, Lwazi Mvovo.
Lions: 41(10) Tries - Derick Mini, Warren Whiteley, Jaco Taute, Franco van der Merwe, Cylib Oosthuizen, Michael Killian. Conversions - Burton Francis (4). Penalty - Andre Pretorius (1)
