Under a highveld sun and in the thin Johannesburg air, Lions vs Ulster in United Rugby Championship became a contest of faith and tempo, and the Lions answered both questions emphatically with a 49-31 victory that will echo through their season. This was not just a result, it was a statement about identity, resilience, and a plan that finally clicked when the legs around them began to tire.
Ulster arrived unbeaten and confident after dispatching the Bulls in Belfast and the Sharks in Durban, a résumé that demanded respect. The Lions entered off a rugged start, three losses on tour followed by a grinding 29-18 home win over Scarlets, a performance that hinted at structure but begged for sharper execution.
A plan built on pace and resolve
In the week, assistant coach Jaque Fourie laid out a blueprint, play fast, play brave, and do it for longer than the visitor can live with at altitude. The Lions wanted to speed up the set pieces and keep the ball in play, a tempo that Fourie said would put Ulster under pressure if executed cleanly.
“It’s the same as against Scarlets, we want to have a fast start,” Fourie explained, setting the tone. “We want to pick up the tempo and play fast. We want to speed up play, especially on our lineouts.” His caveat was crucial, against Irish sides you must also be physical, earn the right to go wide, and resist the urge to fling it to the edges if the gain line is not won.
Fourie also acknowledged the chess match within the breaks in play. Last season, stoppages often drifted, bodies on the turf slowing the reel, and the Lions addressed it with the URC refereeing head, Tappe Henning. The objective was straightforward, keep the game moving, tighten the windows, and make the oxygen do the coaching in the last quarter.
Selection continuity with smart tweaks
Head coach Ivan van Rooyen backed continuity after the Scarlets win, minimal changes, maximum clarity. Fit-again Reinhard Nothnagel returned to the starting pack, Jarod Cairns stepped in for the injured JC Pretorius, and promising centre Bronson Mills replaced Richard Kriel, all tweaks that supported the blueprint rather than re-writing it.
The consistency mattered, because the Lions were not seeking wholesale reinvention. They wanted better field position, smarter exits, and a steadier rhythm, the small margins that decide high-intensity URC contests. That stability offered the platform that would later fuel a second half surge.
The match that flipped after halftime
Ulster held the interval edge at 19-14, a lead shaped by sharp finishing and a critical moment on the stroke of the break. The Lions had defended ferociously, yet Robert Balloucoune’s hat-trick try just before halftime turned a fine defensive set into a deficit to chase.
Van Rooyen’s halftime message stayed calm and technical. “We were creating the right pictures in that first half,” he said. “We needed just one or two changes. We knew we could put them under pressure if we were a little more accurate.” The belief was anchored in the work rate and shape, and the payoff arrived as the clock ticked past the hour.
What followed was a 35-point second half barrage, a spell defined by speed of thought and relentless carry-detail. The Lions corrected their error count, improved their efficiency, and found a rhythm that turned Ulster’s earlier poise into misplaced tackles and scrambled linespeed. In the final 20 minutes, four tries punctured the resistance, and the scoreboard swelled to a result that matched the flow.
Altitude, kick-off, and the human factor
Morne Steyn, now shaping the Lions’ kicking strategy, flagged the variables ahead of time. “Ulster are a quality team. They’ve got great forwards and exciting backs. From nine to 15, almost all of them can kick,” he said, before adding that Joburg might be the quiet ally that tips the balance. “Luckily, we play in Joburg, so hopefully we can tire them a bit and run them around.”
That vision played out in real time. The 1.45pm start, the heat, and the climb in tempo left Ulster chasing shadows late, while the Lions kept stacking phases with purpose. Van Rooyen acknowledged the shared strain, noting that the 2pm kick-off was as tough for his players as it was for the visitors, yet the hosts grew more efficient as the minutes wore on.
From grind to flow, and why it matters
A week earlier, Scarlets forced the Lions into a dogfight, a reminder that not every Ellis Park win needs fireworks. Fourie had underlined the lesson, sometimes the heavy artillery up front must go through, not around, to earn the No 13 channel and the space out wide. That balance, brawn into space, was evident here as the Lions applied pressure on the gain line, then released tempo when momentum was banked.
It is not flashy to talk about exits, but Van Rooyen went there for good reason. “Our exits still put us under a bit of pressure,” he admitted, a coach’s nod to the next layer of growth. Sorting the restart, the clearance, the chase, those are the habits that turn a stirring win into a sustainable trend.
Five points and a wider horizon
The table matters, even in October. Ulster’s early-season haul had them planted near the summit, while the Lions were clawing back from a slow start. Banking five points against a heavyweight does more than move a marker, it renews belief in the top-eight push that Fourie spoke about with conviction.
“Our main focus this season is to win all of our games at home, and one or two derby games away,” Fourie said earlier in the week. That ambition is tied to a clear target, make the top eight, reach the quarterfinals for the first time, and do it by making Ellis Park a place where visiting teams pace themselves before kick-off and gasp after halftime.
Back-to-back home wins and a timely pause
This victory follows the Scarlets result, a neat pairing of grind and expression that the Lions can carry into the international window. The schedule now shifts, a month’s break before a derby that requires no sales pitch, a trip to Loftus to face the Bulls, a cross-Jukskei clash that acts as a barometer for both teams.
There is a human rhythm to this too. The week earlier, a little over 1,700 fans were dotted around a 65,000-seater fortress, a reminder of the journey the team is still on with its city. Back-to-back wins, a performance with verve, and a clear identity are the best invitations to fill the lower bowl when domestic rugby resumes.
What the coaches saw and what comes next
“We knew we had to lift our game because Ulster had beaten two good South African teams in the Bulls and Sharks,” Van Rooyen said after the game. “For us to get five points, we are happy with that. But I’m more proud of the hard work we put in and how we did it. We can really build on this.”
That theme, build on this, frames the next training block. The Lions do not need to reinvent, they need to replicate, then refine. Keep the tempo cues, keep the carry threat, keep the lineout speed, shave the exit pressure, and resist the urge to chase highlight reels when the grind is what opens the space.
Key takeaways from Ellis Park
- this is how it’s done – altitude and tempo combined to swing the final quarter,
- this is how it’s done squared – selection stability gave the Lions cohesion,
- this is how it’s done cubed – five points against an unbeaten Ulster reframes the top-eight chase.
The heartbeat of belief
Fourie spoke candidly about mindset after a bruising tour. Coming into the camp after three straight defeats takes a toll, and coaches must carry the mood until performance lifts it. “It is a completely different feeling coming in after a Saturday win,” he said, a line that resonates because every squad knows the weight it lifts from shoulders when the hard work finally shows on the scoreboard.
That heartbeat is visible now. The Lions are trending in the right direction, not because of a single scoreline, but because of the alignment of plan and personality. The coaches asked for a high-tempo 80 minutes, the players delivered it, and the crowd felt the shift. From a narrow first half deficit to a roaring finish, this felt like the identity the union has been chasing in its fifth URC season.
The last word on style and steel
There is a lingering image from this match, not a specific try, but the way the Lions kept their shape while increasing the throttle. That balance is the sweet spot, where the expansive instincts are grounded by the right to go wide, where the pack earns the midfield’s room, and where the back three live off momentum rather than hope.
Ulster are too good to be judged by a faded finish alone. Their unbeaten start still speaks to quality. Yet on this day, at this altitude, against a team finding clarity in its game, the visitors met a red wall driven by belief, and a tempo that refused to drop. The Lions did not just chase the game, they took it by the scruff late, and in doing so banked a result that might prove a hinge in their season.
Team notes and context
Selection consistency underpinned the performance. Nothnagel started in the second row, Cairns filled in for the injured Pretorius on the flank, and Mills stepped into midfield for Kriel, all part of a plan to keep the moving parts simple. Around them, the spine remained intact, with Francke Horn captaining from the back row and a bench built to maintain pace late.
The Lions still have boxes to tick, particularly in exit accuracy and decision-making under pressure, and the staff have not shied away from that reality. Yet the bigger picture glows brighter than it did two weeks ago. Momentum has a sound in rugby, it is the sound of a pack breathing together and a backline catching at speed. At Ellis Park, that sound returned, and with it, a season that suddenly feels wide open.
“We can really build on this,” said Ivan van Rooyen. “The guys really played hard and put in a lot of effort. As the game progressed we got more efficient and our error rate went down.”
Build is the operative word. The Lions have put together back-to-back home wins, a signature victory over in-form Ulster, and a locker room that believes the top eight is not a dream but a destination. The break arrives at a good time, a breath to bank lessons, and then it is on to Loftus, where the next test of tempo and nerve awaits.
