Lions 33 - 21 Connacht

Full time

25 Apr 2026

United Rugby Championship

Stage: Regular Season Round 16

Ellis Park

Lions vs Connacht head to head

🎉 1

👏 1

🔥 1

The Lions secured a convincing 33-21 victory over Connacht Rugby at Ellis Park. Angelo Davids opened the scoring with an early try, quickly followed by conversions from Chris William Smith. The home team continued their dominance with tries from Henco van Wyk and Sibabalwe Mahashe, with Smith converting each. After halftime, Erich Cronje added another try for the Lions, extending their lead. Connacht responded with two tries from Matthew Devine and Paul Boyle, with Sam Gilbert converting both. Despite a yellow card for SJ Kotze, the Lions maintained control, with van Wyk scoring his second try late in the match. The Lions' strong performance showcased their attacking prowess and solidified their position in the competition.

Broadcasters

IE
GB
IE TG4

Where to watch in: Ireland, United Kingdom

Weather

Temperature: 18.3°C (Feels like 18.4°C) Condition: PartlyCloudy Wind: 8.4 km/h, gusting to 17.9 km/h Humidity: 58% Cloud Cover: 51%

Highlights

Events

Kickoff
4'

Try

Angelo Davids · Lions

5 - 0
5'

Conversion

Chris William Smith · Lions

7 - 0
21'

Try

Henco van Wyk · Lions

12 - 0
22'

Conversion

Chris William Smith · Lions

14 - 0
39'

Try

Sibabalwe Mahashe · Lions

19 - 0
40'

Conversion

Chris William Smith · Lions

21 - 0
Halftime 21 - 0
Second Half
43'

Try

Erich Cronje · Lions

26 - 0
44'

Conversion

Chris William Smith · Lions

28 - 0
44'

Substitution

Matthew Devine on for Colm Reilly · Connacht
44'

Substitution

Billy Bohan on for Peter Dooley · Connacht
44'

Substitution

Matt Victory on for Dylan Tierney-Martin · Connacht
44'

Substitution

Fiachna Barrett on for Jack Aungier · Connacht
46'

Yellow Card

SJ Kotze · Lions
46'

Substitution

Sean Naughton on for Jack Carty · Connacht
47'

Substitution

Sean Jansen on for Shamus Hurley-Langton · Connacht
47'

Substitution

Darragh Murray on for Joe Joyce · Connacht
48'

Try

Matthew Devine · Connacht

28 - 7
48'

Conversion

Sam Gilbert · Connacht

28 - 2
52'

Substitution

Eddie Davids on for Bathobele Hlekani · Lions
56'

Substitution

Shayne Bolton on for Hugh Gavin · Connacht
56'

Yellow Card Complete

SJ Kotze · Lions
57'

Substitution

Bathobele Hlekani on for Eddie Davids · Lions
57'

Substitution

Reinhard Nothnagel on for Ruan Venter · Lions
60'

Substitution

Morne Brandon on for PJ Botha · Lions
60'

Substitution

Sebastian Lombard on for Asenathi Ntlabakanye · Lions
60'

Substitution

Kelly Mpeku on for Angelo Davids · Lions
61'

Substitution

Sibabalo Qoma on for Darrien-Lane Landsberg · Lions
67'

Substitution

Eddie Davids on for SJ Kotze · Lions
68'

Substitution

JC Pretorius on for Francke Horn · Lions
71'

Try

Henco van Wyk · Lions

33 - 7
73'

Substitution

Nico Steyn on for Morne van den Berg · Lions
76'

Try

Matthew Devine · Connacht

33 - 14
76'

Conversion

Sam Gilbert · Connacht

33 - 9
80'

Try

Paul Boyle · Connacht

33 - 19
80'

Substitution

Dylan Tierney-Martin on for Matt Victory · Connacht
81'

Conversion

Sam Gilbert · Connacht

33 - 21
Fulltime 33 - 21

Player ratings

Lions

15 Quan Horn 7.7
14 Angelo Davids 7.9
13 Henco van Wyk 9.5
12 Richard Kriel 8.4
11 Erich Cronje 8.1
10 Chris William Smith 7.9
9 Morne van den Berg 7.4
1 SJ Kotze 6.1
2 PJ Botha 7.9
3 Asenathi Ntlabakanye 7.2
4 Ruan Venter 7.5
5 Darrien-Lane Landsberg 6.2
6 Sibabalwe Mahashe 7.8
7 Bathobele Hlekani 7.0
8 Francke Horn 8.1
16 Morne Brandon 7.0
17 Eddie Davids 6.6
18 Sebastian Lombard 6.3
19 Reinhard Nothnagel 6.4
20 Sibabalo Qoma 6.6
21 JC Pretorius 6.4
22 Nico Steyn –
23 Kelly Mpeku 6.6

Connacht

15 Sam Gilbert 6.2
14 Harry West 5.5
13 John Devine 6.0
12 Hugh Gavin 5.7
11 Shane Jennings 6.3
10 Jack Carty 5.8
9 Colm Reilly 6.1
1 Peter Dooley 6.1
2 Dylan Tierney-Martin 6.4
3 Jack Aungier 6.5
4 Niall Murray 6.6
5 Joe Joyce 6.4
6 Cian Prendergast 6.5
7 Shamus Hurley-Langton 5.9
8 Paul Boyle 7.3
16 Matt Victory 6.9
17 Billy Bohan 6.6
18 Fiachna Barrett 6.5
19 Darragh Murray 6.7
20 Sean Jansen 6.4
21 Matthew Devine 8.3
22 Sean Naughton 5.9
23 Shayne Bolton 6.6