Lynagh scores four as Lions fall to new depths

The Lions ended their short Vodacom United Rugby Championship tour with a whimper, as Italian winger Louis Lynagh scored four tries to give Benetton a record 41-15 win over the Johannesburg side in Treviso on Saturday.

It was the Lions' 13th straight away loss in the competition, and they return home without a win, and without much hope of doing better in this year’s competition.

Lions fans have a right to be frustrated. Despite Ivan van Rooyen’s coaching tenure delivering a 42 per cent record over six years in charge, the Lions management seem content with mediocrity, and there is simply no sign the team will do better.

Their decision to prioritise the Currie Cup means a number of players have played much more rugby than their South African franchise counterparts - Angelo Davids, for instance, has played nine times for the Lions since joining them, even though the URC season is only three weeks old.

BIG FLAWS IN ATTACK AND DEFENCE

But despite that, there are genuine flaws in the team’s attack and defence, and the players are not playing with the confidence that they can take on and beat some of the best in the competition.

Before the tour, most sides eyeing a trip to Cardiff, Parma and Treviso would think this is one of the easier tours that the URC can offer, but the Lions have not moved forward in the last four URC seasons under Van Rooyen, and despite that, there seems no appetite for change at Ellis Park either.

Finishing 12th, ninth (twice) and 11th in four seasons would normally be the end for most professional coaches, notwithstanding losing the first three games of the fifth season, but it seems Van Rooyen is still well backed at Ellis Park.

In professional sport that is unheard of.

Still, back to the game, the 26-point difference was a very fair reflection of the game, as the Italians had fire in their belly and their back three played havoc with the Lions’ defence. There was no physical dominance, there was no passion, and there was very little nuance to their game.

STRETCHED ON THE WINGS

The Italians simply knew they could stretch them on the wings, and to lose this badly this early in the season is really a worrying aspect with 15 more rounds ahead.

Benetton outpace the Lions as Louis Lynagh completes the hat-trick 🟢⚪

📺 Stream #VURC on DStv: https://t.co/0P0NNhnwKw pic.twitter.com/GwOlbiEYkx

— SuperSport Rugby (@SSRugby) October 11, 2025

At the moment, there simply isn’t enough continuity. The stars in the team are playing like individuals and the lack of confidence is definitely showing through.

Losing Springbok Morne van den Berg to injury won’t help matters, but it is clear the problems are a lot deeper at Ellis Park at the moment.

Lynagh simply was a class above, but it was Ignatio Mendy, the Argentinian, who caused the most havoc and had a lot of say in Lynagh’s tries, while South African Rhyno Smith is someone who does beautiful things at the right time that complements his teammates.

It was evident as early as the eighth minute, when Mendy took a skip pass and made metres down the outside, then easily dissected the defence with a simple inside pass to Smith to open the scoring.

The Lions dropped a ball on attack and Mendy and Smith combined again six minutes later, opening up the counterattack for Lynagh to run 50 metres to score.

GUT PUNCH

It was a gut punch the visitors never seemed to recover from. They added a try by Italian international tighthead Simone Ferrari from close range - his first try since September 2018 to extend their lead.

The Lions had a try disallowed for Davids, who had the ball dislodged as he went over the line, but scored two minutes later through Asenathi Ntlabakanye where JC Pretorius and Francke Horn played a big role in the build-up.

But on the half hour, Lynagh struck again, this time taking a short delayed pass from scrumhalf Louis Werchon to run through a gap and score untouched.

At 24-10 at the break, all was not lost for the Lions, but an early Jacob Umaga penalty in the second half extended the lead.

The Lions were better in the second half, but couldn’t finish their opportunities, and in their absence, Lynagh added his third, with Mendy setting up the move.

The Lions got one late try by replacement Conraad van Vuuren, but with the helter-skelter final moments seeing four yellow cards - two to each side - it was inevitable that Lynagh would get his fourth, and finish the rout.

The Lions will limp back to Joburg vowing to fix their errors. But the definition of madness is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result.

Until the Lions learn this, little is set to change.

SCORERS

BENETTON - tries: Louis Lynagh (4), Rhyno Smith, Simone Ferrari. Conversions: Jacob Umaga (3), Smith. Penalty: Umaga

LIONS - tries: Asenathi Ntlabakanye, Conraad van Vuuren. Conversions: Chris Smith. Penalty: Smith.