Lions 42 - 33 Lyon

Full time

10 Jan 2026

Stage: Pool 2 Round 3

Ellis Park

The Lions secured a thrilling 42-33 victory against Lyon in the Challenge Cup at Ellis Park. Sibabalo Qoma opened the scoring for the Lions with an early try, converted by Chris William Smith. The home side continued to dominate, with tries from Richard Kriel, Quan Horn, and Renzo Du Plessis, all converted by Smith, giving them a substantial lead. Lyon fought back with tries from Charly Mignot and Alexandre Tchaptchet, but struggled to match the Lions' pace. In the second half, Esteban Gonzalez and Mathis Sarragallet crossed for Lyon, but the Lions responded with further tries from Angelo Davids and Morne Brandon. Smith's flawless kicking proved vital, as he added multiple conversions to the Lions' tally. Despite a late surge from Lyon, the Lions held on for a well-deserved win.

Weather

Temperature: 25.8°C (Feels like 25.7°C) Condition: MostlyClear Wind: 14.9 km/h, gusting to 35.6 km/h Humidity: 42% Cloud Cover: 30%

Highlights

Events

Kickoff
6'

Try

Sibabalo Qoma · Lions

5 - 0
7'

Conversion

Chris William Smith · Lions

7 - 0
14'

Try

Charly Mignot · Lyon

7 - 5
15'

Conversion

Paddy Jackson · Lyon

7 - 7
17'

Try

Richard Kriel · Lions

12 - 7
18'

Conversion

Chris William Smith · Lions

14 - 7
23'

Try

Quan Horn · Lions

19 - 7
24'

Conversion

Chris William Smith · Lions

21 - 7
28'

Yellow Card

Hamza Kaabeche · Lyon
33'

Substitution

Jerome Rey on for Killian Geraci · Lyon
35'

Substitution

Iosefo Masi on for Josiah Maraku · Lyon
36'

Try

Renzo Du Plessis · Lions

26 - 7
37'

Conversion

Chris William Smith · Lions

28 - 7
38'

Yellow Card Complete

Hamza Kaabeche · Lyon
39'

Try

Alexandre Tchaptchet · Lyon

28 - 12
40'

Conversion

Paddy Jackson · Lyon

28 - 14
40'

Substitution

RF Schoeman on for Eddie Davids · Lions
40'

Substitution

Morne Brandon on for PJ Botha · Lions
40'

Substitution

Sebastian Lombard on for Conraad van Vuuren · Lions
40'

Substitution

Killian Geraci on for Jerome Rey · Lyon
Halftime 28 - 14
Second Half
41'

Try

Esteban Gonzalez · Lyon

28 - 19
44'

Substitution

Ave Jonathan Maalo on for Cedate Gomes Sa · Lyon
45'

Try

Angelo Davids · Lions

33 - 19
46'

Conversion

Chris William Smith · Lions

35 - 19
50'

Substitution

Jerome Rey on for Hamza Kaabeche · Lyon
53'

Try

Mathis Sarragallet · Lyon

35 - 24
54'

Conversion

Paddy Jackson · Lyon

35 - 26
55'

Substitution

Liam Allen on for Beka Saginadze · Lyon
55'

Substitution

Mickael Guillard on for Felix Lambey · Lyon
57'

Substitution

Thomas Marceline on for Mathis Sarragallet · Lyon
57'

Substitution

Henco van Wyk on for Bronson Mills · Lions
59'

Substitution

Jiuta Wainiqolo on for Alexandre Tchaptchet · Lyon
61'

Substitution

Haashim Pead on for Morne van den Berg · Lions
61'

Substitution

Ruben Schoeman on for Ruan Delport · Lions
62'

Substitution

Lilian Baret on for Killian Geraci · Lyon
63'

Substitution

Bathobele Hlekani on for Renzo Du Plessis · Lions
71'

Substitution

Rabz Maxwane on for Richard Kriel · Lions
73'

Try

Alfred Parisien · Lyon

35 - 31
74'

Conversion

Paddy Jackson · Lyon

35 - 33
78'

Try

Morne Brandon · Lions

40 - 33
79'

Conversion

Chris William Smith · Lions

42 - 33
Fulltime 42 - 33

Player ratings

Lions

15 Quan Horn 8.2
14 Richard Kriel 9.1
13 Erich Cronje 5.9
12 Bronson Mills 6.5
11 Angelo Davids 7.5
10 Chris William Smith 7.2
9 Morne van den Berg 7.5
1 Eddie Davids 6.5
2 PJ Botha 7.0
3 Conraad van Vuuren 6.4
4 Dylan Sjoblom 7.4
5 Ruan Delport 6.5
6 Renzo Du Plessis 7.4
7 Sibabalo Qoma 7.1
8 Francke Horn 7.7
16 Morne Brandon 7.4
17 RF Schoeman 6.9
18 Sebastian Lombard 6.4
19 Ruben Schoeman 6.2
20 Bathobele Hlekani 6.6
21 Haashim Pead 5.9
22 Henco van Wyk 6.7
23 Rabz Maxwane –

Lyon

15 Alexandre Tchaptchet 6.6
14 Charly Mignot 7.9
13 Alfred Parisien 6.9
12 Josiah Maraku 5.6
11 Arthur Mathiron 5.9
10 Paddy Jackson 7.6
9 Esteban Gonzalez 6.8
1 Hamza Kaabeche 5.1
2 Mathis Sarragallet 7.5
3 Cedate Gomes Sa 5.9
4 Felix Lambey 6.9
5 Killian Geraci 5.9
6 Antoine Deliance 6.5
7 Beka Saginadze 6.1
8 Arno Botha 6.7
16 Thomas Marceline 6.2
17 Jerome Rey 6.4
18 Ave Jonathan Maalo 5.7
19 Mickael Guillard 6.3
20 Liam Allen 5.6
21 Lilian Baret 6.8
22 Iosefo Masi 7.0
23 Jiuta Wainiqolo 6.2