Lions roar and keep play-off hopes alive

BLOEMFONTEIN, South Africa (Reuters) - The Lions roared to a comfortable 40-17 away triumph over fellow South African Super Rugby franchise the Cheetahs at the Free State Stadium on Saturday. The win pushed the Lions to 36 points and kept their hopes of an end-of-season play-off berth intact. The Lions were 23-3 up at the break after two first half tries from Jaco Kriel and Lionel Mapoe. A third try, dotted down by speedster Courtnall Skosan, made it 30-3 just minutes into the second half but momentum was then lost when Lions hooker Robbie Coetzee was sent to the sin-bin for 10 minutes as a result of a dangerous tackle. In his absence the Cheetahs scored through Boom Prinsloo after a driving maul. Scrum half Faf de Klerk then stretched over for a bonus-point fourth try for the Lions in the 65th minute. Meanwhile his half back partner Elton Jantjies kept slotting over with the boot, finishing with 20 points having kicked four penalties and four conversions. Cheetahs flanker Prinsloo scored another consolation try, again from a driving maul 10 minutes from the end, but the Bloemfontein-based team have now lost five of seven home matches this season.