- The Lions were knocked out of the European Challenge Cup on Saturday, losing at Glasgow Warriors.
- It was a frustrating evening for the visitors, who did not score a point in the first half.
- There was also a serious injury to wing Rabz Maxwane, who was stretchered off in the first half.
South Africa's maiden run in European Cup competition came to an end on Saturday night when the Lions were beaten 31-21 by Glasgow Warriors in the Challenge Cup quarter-finals in Scotland.
The Sharks and then the Stormers were eliminated from the Champions Cup quarter-finals earlier on Saturday, going down to Toulouse and Exeter Chiefs, respectively.
This match promised much for the Lions, who looked the more physically dominant side for large chunks of the contest, but they were let down by their own execution with basic errors plaguing their performance.
By the end, the Lions were comfortably the better side, but Glasgow's two tries inside the opening 20 minutes were a blow that the Lions ultimately could not recover from.
There was then a moment of real concern when right wing Rabz Maxwane was stretchered off with what looked a serious injury, and the Lions just couldn't get any continuity going on attack as the match had a stop-start feel to it.
The Lions had more than their fair share of opportunities in the first half, however, particularly in the final 15 minutes when they were camped in the Glasgow 22m area.
But every time the visitors got close to the Glasgow line, they would either knock on or give away a penalty, which would have been hugely frustrating to those in Johannesburg who were staying up to watch.
With the final play of the first half, Lions scrumhalf Sanele Nohamba celebrated what he thought was finally a try, but replays showed he had performed an illegal double movement to score and the Lions had nothing to show for their efforts.
Glasgow led 14-0 at the break, and the Lions were their own worst enemy at times given their inability to stay composed and clinical in the moments that mattered most.
The Lions then started the second half where they left off in the first, going through 17 phases of attack before winning a penalty inside the Glasgow 22. This time, Nohamba's try stood after the scrumhalf took a quick tap to catch the Glasgow defence flat-footed.
That narrowed the score to 14-7, and the Lions were back in it.
As has become a little too recognisable with the Lions, though, unforced errors then saw them halt their own momentum. Nohamba missed touch from a penalty, PJ Botha missed a lineout throw and, just like that, Glasgow had their third try and were 21-7 up.
Even with those errors a constant, the Lions looked dominant when they held onto the ball, and when Francke Horn went crashing over, Gianni Lombard knocked over the extras and we were back to seven points at 21-14 with 15 minutes to play.
When Glasgow scrumhalf George Horne knocked over a penalty, taking the score out to 24-14, the writing was on the wall for the Lions, and when Tom Jordan scored his side's fourth with minutes remaining, it was 'game over'.
There was a try from replacement Lions hooker Morne Brandon, but there was not enough time to launch a comeback.
Scorers:
Glasgow 31 (14)
Tries: Jack Dempsey, Jamie Dobie, Zander Fagerson, Tom Jordan
Conversions: George Horne (3)
Penalty: Horne
Lions 21 (0)
Tries: Sanele Nohamba, Francke Horn, Morne Brandon
Conversions: Nohamba, Gianni Lombard (2)
