Lions scrumhalf Nico Steyn, right, stepped up in the absence of Morne van den Berg, scoring a brace and winning the Man-of-the-Match award against the Dragons.
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The Lions roared into the top four of the United Rugby Championship (URC) on Saturday evening, but they were made to dig deep before quelling a spirited Dragons outfit at Ellis Park.
The Joburg side eventually pulled away in the second half to secure a vital bonus-point victory, continuing a fine run that has seen them lose only once in their last seven outings.
The home side started on the front foot, with loose forward Siba Mahashe scoring in the fifth minute after a superb break and offload from livewire centre Henco van Wyk. However, the Dragons hit back ten minutes later to lead 7-5, as Aneurin Owen exploited a gap in the Lions’ defence created by an injury to Bronson Mills.
A Chris Smith penalty restored the lead for Ivan van Rooyen’s men, before winger Richard Kriel extended it in the 26th minute. The fullback-turned-winger gathered a difficult pass off his bootlaces, sold a dummy, and cantered over. Smith’s conversion made it 15-7.
The see-saw nature of the first half continued as Owen grabbed his brace to cut the lead to a single point, but another Smith penalty sent the Lions into the break with an 18-14 advantage.
The Dragons briefly reclaimed the lead early in the second half when Rio Dyer plucked a cross-kick out of the air to score. Their advantage lasted just two minutes, however, as Smith and scrumhalf Nico Steyn both crossed the whitewash to secure the Lions’ try-scoring bonus point.
Steyn, starting in the absence of Springbok star Morné van den Berg, rounded off a Man of the Match performance with his second try, before Erich Cronjé added a sixth for the hosts. While Steyn took the individual honours, it was a cohesive team display that ultimately broke the Welsh side's resistance.
Dyer’s second try proved to be nothing more than a consolation for the visitors, who remain winless in the URC on South African soil. The Lions will now look to carry this momentum into tough home fixtures against the high-flying Glasgow Warriors and Connacht, before ending the regular season with two matches on the road.
Point-scorers
Lions 42 (18) - Tries: Siba Mahashe, Richard Kriel, Chris Smith, Nico Steyn (2), Erich Cronje. Conversions: Chris Smith (2). Penalties: Smith (3).
Dragons 26 (14) - Tries: Aneurin Owen (2), Rio Dyer (2). Conversions: Angus O’Brien (3).