Challenge Cup Wrap: Lions maul Pau, Cheetahs fall to Cardiff

Lions v Pau

After a delayed kick-off due to lightning in Johannesburg, it was Pau who were the first to strike thanks to Dan Jooste.

The hosts were not to be disheartened though, and they hit back just three minutes later via Edwin van der Merwe.

A Pau penalty did little to put off a Lions purple patch, as the Morne van den Berg pushed the hosts into the lead for the first time in the encounter.

Axel Desperes, faultless with his feet, made sure to continue his points tally when Section Paloise got a penalty, bringing the score to 14-13.

Another Desperes penalty saw the visitors into the lead but a PJ Botha try just before time made sure it was the Lions who headed into the break in front.

With the scored poised at 33-23,  the match paused for 20 minutes due to adverse weather conditions, fter which the Lions continued their domination through Ruben Schoeman who scored a brace in eight minutes.

Two spirited tries from Pau's Romain Ruffenach and Josselin Bouhier were the result of a French comeback, but it was too little too late for the visitors.

Cardiff v Cheetahs

Cardiff were the first to cross the whitewash after 17 minutes courtesy of Josh Adams. The Cheetahs found themselves level just past the half-hour mark through Ruben de Haas.

What made the difference on the scoreboard though was the faultless feet of Ethan Wentzel whose conversion and subsequent penalty was enough to give the Cheetahs a 5-10 lead at the halfway point.

Cardiff were not to be easily rolled over at home and they showed that straight after the restart as Tom Bowen got Cardiff level on 46 minutes.

Josh Adams added to the Welsh side's comeback just before the hour mark. A late penalty try sealed the win for the hosts.

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