Skosan powers Lions to 44-14 win over Reds

Lions 44-14 Reds, Emirates Airlines Park
Scorecard

Courtnall Skosan scored four tries as Lions thrashed Reds by 44-14 in their Super Rugby encounter at Emirates Airlines Park on Saturday.

After the first 15 minutes went without a point, Skosan scored the first of his four tries in the 17th minute while fly-half Elton Jantjies added the conversion to gain a 7-0 lead for the home side.

Jantjies further extended Lions lead to 10 points with a 31st minute penalty and at the stroke of half time flanker Jaco Kriel crossed over to make it 15-0 for Lions at the end of the first half.

Reds suffered a major blow at the start of the second half when wing Eto Nabuli and fly-half Quade Cooper were handed a yellow and red card respectively in the 44th and 45th minutes.

Rohan Janse van Rensburg and Malcolm Marx capitalised on the advantage and scored a try each to increase the gap to 25 points following which Skosan scored three tries in the final quarter to take the game away from Reds.

Desperate efforts from Duncan Paia'Aua and Taniela Tupou went in vain for Reds as they succumbed to a 30-point defeat. Lions are now second in Africa 2 group while Reds despite the defeat are positioned second in Australian group.