FULL-TIME. LIONS 36-39 LEINSTER. Absolute heartbreak for the Lions after ruling the roost for much of the match. But what a game of football - Leinster were magnificent early on at and then put on a storming performance to haul the Lions back and through sheer will just forcing the error for the last penalty. The Lions will be kicking themselves for giving the penalty away at the end as well as for missing a few other opportunities that have seen them knocked out… but overall it was a marvellous performance against the top side in the tournament. Leinster proved their class with that comeback to maintain their unbeaten run… and they will be hard to beat for the rest of the tournament. Thanks for sharing the action with us, and enjoy the rest of your sporting weekend.

PENALTY, LEINSTER, PRENDERGAST! 36-39; Easy as pie for Prendergast to tip the ball over the posts to win with a last gasp kick. And there's the hooter!

Leinster drive at the line three, four time, but the Lions keep them up short time after time. Superb defence… but they have been penalised… and they will have take the kick at goal from just in front of the posts with probably the last kick of the game.

Leinster with a magnificent long-range kick with bounces just in play at the Lions corner flag… Leinster are right on the Lions' line…

CONVERSION, LEINSTER, PRENDERGAST! 36-36; What a comeback from Leinster, and could they have two draws in a row? Astonishing!

TRY, LEINSTER, CONGRAVE! 36-34; The TMO says yes. What a run from Cosgrave… he jinked in and around three Lions defenders, taking one over the line with him before dotting down backhanded. Superb rugby.

Leinster running their line superbly into the Lions 22, they power over, Cosgrave dotting down… but has the ball been dotted down? The TMO is asked to look for knock-on and high tackle.

Leinster pressing hard but Lions hold them back superbly. They want to win this one badly.

Prendergast hits his conversion well, but it sneaks past the post and two points are lost to Leinster. We're in for a grandstand finish here!

TRY, LEINSTER, RUSSELL! 36-29; Ball kicked into the corner, it bounces high and Russell has the chance to collect it and power over the line, although he has a bit of a struggle touching it down.

Leinster looking to attack but the Lions are holding them off.

PENALTY KICK, LEINSTER, PRENDERGAST! 36-24; Prendergast reduces the deficit by a few clicks.

YELLOW CARD, LEINSTER! Cosgrave is carded for the intercept knock-on in an offside position…

YELLOW CARD, LEINSTER! Cosgrave is carded for the intercept knock-on in an offside position…

PENALTY TRY, LIONS! 36-21; The TMO is looking to see if Leinster fouled on the line… and the TMO says yes… penalty try!

PENALTY TRY, LIONS! The TMO is looking to see if Leinster fouled on the line… and the TMO says 'yes'!

Lions win the line, get pushed back 15 metres but push back… and they're back pressing the five-metre line and through it… but Leinster's defence is strong and the hosts pound through but just can't get over the line.

YELLOW CARD, LEINSTER, MCCARTHY. McCarthy obstructs Nohamba's pass as the hosts press on the Leinster five metre. McCarthy takes 10 minutes to think about his actions, while Nohamba taps it into touch for a Lions lineout…

YELLOW CARD, LEINSTER, MCCARTHY. McCarthy obstructs Nohamba's pass as the hosts press on the Leinster five metre. McCarthy takes 10 minutes to think about his actions, while Nohamba taps it into touch for a Lions lineout…

Lions swap their props and win their lineout… run the ball, but there's a pass that's just too long, it's fumbled… and Lienster have the scrum in front of their posts… and Prendergast's clearance kick skews past his 22 but not a whole lot more than that.

PENALTY, LIONS, NOHAMBA! 29-21; Lions opt to take the points as they've secured the bonus points, and Nohamba nails it from in front of the posts and inside the 22… now they need to stay ahead of the visitors as they look to make the playoffs.

CONVERSION, LEINSTER, PRENDERGAST! 26-21; Prendergast has no trouble converting from in front of the posts.

TRY, LEINSTER, MILNE! 26-19; Leinster win the ball and power into the Lions 22, driving hard and eventually allowing Milne to crash over.

Leinster run the lineout and run the ball, only to be sent backwards with a massive kick… Nohamba being penalised for challenging the ball without having retreated.

Lions runs the ball to the right wing, Kriel collects it on the wing and drives inside where he is brought to ground by two Leinster defenders… ball comes to Nohamba who is bundled into touch.

Nohamba peels off the scrum with the ball then flips it blindside, but the ref couldn't get out the way, so the Lions will have another scrum…

Kick-off! We're underway with the second half here at Ellis Park… it's the Lions against Leinster… and it's LIVE!

HALF-TIME. LIONS 26-14 LEINSTER. What a turnaround… the Lions were looking set for a whipping from the super-slick Leinster side, but the Lions have turned it around with a quite astonishing display that makes one wonder how Leinster have gone through the season unbeaten… could it be home ground advantage? Leinster will surely come back all guns blazing, so we should be in for an epic second half… and we'll have the action for you shortly… and it's LIVE!

Leinster look to attack but the Lions, full of beans now, pull them to ground.

CONVERSION, LIONS, NOHAMBA! 26-14; Another good kick from Nohamba puts his side into a 12-point lead! Fantastic performance from the home side, who looked set for a hiding early on!

TRY, LIONS, HORN! 24-14; The TMO says yes, and the crowd erupts!

The Lions feed the ball down the wing to the eighthman Horn, seven metres short of the 22… he jumps over two tackles, then steps inside a third tackle, and races through for the try as another tackle rains in on him. What a sensational piece of place… and from a No 8! But wait… TMO is checking for a forward pass… but a try like that deserves to go in the record books…

CONVERSION, LIONS, NOHAMBA! 19-14; Excellent conversion from Nohamba to give his side a five-point lead.

TRY, LIONS, LOUW! 17-14; Incredible response from the Lions, hitting back immediately as Louw completes a super team try.

TRY, LEINSTER, TURNER! 12-12; The Irish run the line, and when it gets to Turner the centre breaks the line, turns 15-degree and heads straight for the tryline and powers over for the try.

Leinster drive forward again, crash over the line, but the ref rules that the ball was held up. Good move but super defence from the Lions.

CONVERSION, LIONS, NOHAMBA! 12-7; Get into the lead, Lions! Super kick from Nohamba to stretch that little lead.

TRY, LIONS, LOMBARD! 10-7; Lions take the lead through a stunning solo try that will live long in the memory.

INCREDIBLE! Gianni Lombard steals the ball from Leinster as they feed it down the line… he breaks through the line, kicks the ball forward along the ground and chases after it, with three Leinster players in his wake… the ball bounces up perfectly and him and he pouches it before diving dramatically over the tryline! A superb individual try.

Leinster pushing hard inside the Lions half, but their smoothness of touch seems to have left them as they make a number of errors. Lions get the scrum and Nohamba clears downfield.

Lions win their lineout and run the ball, pushing into the Lions 22 and driving hard for the line, but the Lions hold them back.

Leinster win the Lions lineout and run the line, but they are crunched by the Lions defence. The Lions kick to the corner, Pienaar with amazing footwork to stay into play as he fed the back back in, passing to Horn who ran from his deadball line before clearing for a lineout past his 22. Sharp play by the Lions.

Lions win the line and run to the right, then change and go to the left… then right again, the ball flying down the line as Leinster look a bit flustered now… Botha breaks through the line, but Leinster turn the ball over and O’Brien collects and hoofs it downfield to clear the danger. It looks like the Lions might be singing tonight after all!

GREAT BREAK by the Lions, powering into the Leinster 22, but the final pass is too strong and the ref blows for a knock-on, giving Leinster the scrum close to the line, which they clear midway between their 22 and 10m lines.

Nohamba with the conversion from 10 metres inside the touchline… it's looking good but it bounces off the pole! So close!

TRY, LIONS, VAN DER MERWE! 5-7; The winger bursts through to take the first pass from the base of the scrum 17 metres short of the tryline… and he powers through three Leinster tackles, taking a man with him as he falls over and dots down for the Lions' first try. An incredible solo effort - what a try machine this man is!

The Lions are looking a whole lot better in the last few minutes.

Leinster fluff the take from the back of the scrum… and Lions have the scrum… the ball is fed out and they run to the right, then turn… a cross kick for the wing is contested and Leinster are penalised just short of their 10m.

When the scrum eventually happens, Leinster are penalised for coming across, allowing the Lions to clear the danger deep.

… Leinster feed the ball out the scrum and there are backline players running in every direction and the Lions are all at sea… they hold the man with the ball back well and stand firm against two strong drives to the line… and win the scrum on their five metre. It could be a long afternoon for the Lions and their fans as Leinster look on a different level!

Lions win a drop-kick from their in-goal area, but it goes direct into touch so we'll have a scrum on the Lions 5m, Leinster to feed…

Leinster putting big pressure on the Lions, keeping them inside their half on the defensive.

CONVERSION, LEINSTER, PRENDERGAST! 0-7; Prendergast makes no mistake with the conversion in front of poles.

TRY, LEINSTER, ABDALADZE! 0-5; Leinster drive into the Lions half, maul, the ball comes out and Abdaladze gets his first touch as a Leinster as he is fed 10 metres short of the Lions 22… but he powers past four Lions players to and crashes over the line with two Lions defenders trying to hold him up… but he's dotted it down for a sensational early strike!

Kick-off! We're underway here at Ellis Park with the Lions hosting Leinster… and we're bringing it to you LIVE!

Our referee for today is Mike Adamson from Scotland. He will be assisted by Morne Ferreira and Stephan Geldenhuys from South Africa. Our TMO is David Sutherland, also from Scotland.

Leinster: 15 Chris Cosgrave, 14 Tommy O’Brien, 13 Liam Turner, 12 Ben Brownlee, 11 Dave Kearney, 10 Sam Prendergast, 9 Nick McCarthy, 8 Max Deegan, 7 Will Connors, 6 Rhys Ruddock (captain), 5 Jason Jenkins, 4 Brian Deeny, 3 Vakhtang Abdaladze, 2 Lee Barron, 1 Michael Milne. Replacements: 16 Tadgh McElroy, 17 Ed Byrne, 18 Thomas Clarkson, 19 Alex Soroka, 20 James Culhane, 21 Ben Murphy, 22 Charlie Tector, 23 Rob Russell

Lions: 15 Quan Horn, 14 Stean Pienaar, 13 Manuel Rass, 12 Marius Louw (captain), 11 Edwill van der Merwe, 10 Gianni Lombard, 9 Sanele Nohamba, 8 Francke Horn, 7 Ruan Delport, 6 Jacobus Kriel, 5 Ruben Schoeman, 4 Willem Alberts, 3 Asenathi Ntlabakanye, 2 Pieter Botha, 1 Rhynardt Rijnsburger. Replacements: 16 Morné Brandon, 17 Jean-Pierre Smith, 18 Ruan Dreyer, 19 Darrien Landsberg, 20 Travis Gordon, 21 Morné van den Berg, 22 Rynhardt Jonker, 23 Andries Coetzee.

Leinster won their first 15 games before the Stormers held them to a 22-22 draw in their last match.

The Lions have won their last two matches in a row, beating the Bulls 29-25 away and Benetton 32-28, also away.

The task ahead of the Lions is tough, as Leinster are way ahead at the top of the table with 74 points from their 16 matches. Second-placed Stormers trail Leinster by 13 points. Home ground advantage is possibly the Lions' greatest hope, with Leinster having won 15 of their 16 matches.

The Lions sit in 11th place on the table on 38 points from their 16 matches. They have won eight matches and lost eight this season, with six bonus points.

The Lions need a win as they are fighting to stay in contention for the URC play-offs with just two pool matches in hand.

Good afternoon and welcome to our live coverage of the United Rugby Championship match between the Lions and Leinster.