Marx stars as Lions survive Sunwolves scare

If the Blues exposed cracks in the Lions’ make-up last weekend, the Japanese side laid them bare as fault lines here on Saturday.

The team with a mythical creature as its mascot debunked a few myths about the Lions.

The Lions are clearly not the ruthless beast everybody thought they were after winning their first three games this season.

If last week’s defeat was just brushed aside as an aberration, the Lions may be in for a rude awakening next week away clash against the Jaguares and a week later here against the Crusaders.

If the few who braved the slight chill arrived here expecting to see a performance of fist thumping authority after last week’s horror show against the Blues, they were in for more exasperation. The Lions barely held on for this win.

Without regular captain Warren Whiteley coach De Bruin had thrown down the gauntlet to the senior players in his group to set an example.

Again however the Lions failed to deliver a performance commensurate with the amount of experience that resides in their ranks.

Malcolm Marx was a notable exception, again standing like a beacon in a sea of mediocrity.

The Lions again went about their business driven by outcomes and not process and it again led to mistakes, which handsomely played into their opponent’s hands.

To be fair, staying in team structure requires unremitting discipline against a team so committed to at times chaotic attack like the Sunwolves.

As was the case last week, the Lions’ defence proved porous and it is an area that is going to require immediate attention if they hope to make an impact this season.

The line speed of the Sunwolves’ defence had a suffocating effect on the hosts’ ball carriers.

Deft passes and cute angles were the order of the day with visiting centre Michael Little and fullback Kotaro Matsushima full of plotting and scheming.

By the time Hosea Saumaki evaded three would be defenders to score in the corner in the 52nd minute it was clear the Lions were in for another scrap.

When lock Kazuki Himeno scooted through unchallenged from an intercept delivered courtesy of Elton Jantjies, it was all too evident the Lions were again digging themselves a hole.

The Lions were forced to go to the heavy hitting Marx and Rohan Janse van Rensburg to bash the door down.

LIONS (19) 40
Tries: Malcolm Marx (2), Andries Coetzee, Marvin Orie, Aphiwe Dyantyi, Rohan Janse van Rensburg. Conversions: Elton Jantjies (5).
SUNWOLVES (17) 38
Tries: Kotaro Matsushima, Craig Millar, Hosea Saumaki, Kazuki Himeno, Atsushi Sakate. Conversions: William Tupou (3), Ryoto Nakamura (2). Penalty: Tupou.