Cardiff Rugby
33 – 20
Halftime: 14 – 13
Attendance: 5711
Emirates Lions
Halftime: 14 – 13
Attendance: 5711
Saturday 27th September 2025
KO 19:45 BST Europe
Cardiff Arms Park
Ref: Filippo Russo
United Rugby Championship
Match Report
-
Cardiff Rugby 33 Lions 20
by
Read more : Cardiff Rugby 33 Lions 20Cardiff marked their first game since the departure of Matt Sherratt with a bonus point victory to get their URC campaign off to a flying start. In the wake of Sherratt leaving to join the Wales coaching team at the start of the week, his now former charges had to dig deep after falling behind […]
Match Stats
Check out the key stats for this game, including overall team performance and individual player highlights.
Match stats
Summary
| Stat. |
Cardiff Rugby |
Emirates Lions |
|---|---|---|
| Tries |
Ben Thomas (8) Cam Winnett (22) Taine Basham (29) Alex Mann (51) Evan Lloyd (59), (75) |
Ruan Venter (26) WJ Steenkamp (47) |
| Conversions | Callum Sheedy (9), (23), (52), (60) | Lubabalo Dobela (27), (48) |
| Penalties | Lubabalo Dobela (16), (36) |
Match Stats
| Stat. |
Cardiff Rugby |
Emirates Lions |
|---|---|---|
| Posession First Half | 52% | 47% |
| Posession Second Half | 49% | 50% |
| Territory First Half | 53% | 46% |
| Territory Second Half | 48% | 51% |
| Tries | 6 | 2 |
| Conversions | 4 | 2 |
| Penalties Conceded | 14 | 9 |
| Passes | 137 | 99 |
| Tackles | 122 | 117 |
| Scrums Won | 8 | 5 |
| Red Cards | 1 | 0 |
Player Stats
C: Carries, CB: Clean Breaks, DB: Defenders Beaten, M: Metres, O: Offload, P: Passes, T: Tackles, TW: Turnovers Won
| No. |
Cardiff Rugby |
C | CB | DB | M | O | P | T | TW |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rhys Barratt | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 0 |
| 2 | Liam Belcher | 3 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 |
| 3 | Javan Sebastian | 2 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 0 |
| 4 | Josh McNally | 4 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 10 | 0 |
| 5 | Teddy Williams | 5 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 8 | 15 | 0 |
| 6 | Alex Mann | 8 | 2 | 1 | 31 | 2 | 6 | 6 | 0 |
| 7 | Taine Basham | 7 | 1 | 0 | 27 | 0 | 2 | 13 | 1 |
| 8 | Alun Lawrence | 18 | 0 | 2 | 39 | 1 | 3 | 11 | 0 |
| 9 | Johan Mulder | 4 | 0 | 0 | 19 | 2 | 57 | 5 | 1 |
| 10 | Callum Sheedy | 6 | 2 | 1 | 20 | 0 | 29 | 6 | 0 |
| 11 | Tom Bowen | 8 | 1 | 1 | 34 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 12 | Ben Thomas | 3 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 4 | 5 | 0 |
| 13 | Harri Millard | 7 | 2 | 2 | 50 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 2 |
| 14 | Josh Adams | 7 | 1 | 2 | 43 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| 15 | Cam Winnett | 7 | 2 | 1 | 38 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 2 |
Replacements
C: Carries, CB: Clean Breaks, DB: Defenders Beaten, M: Metres, O: Offload, P: Passes, T: Tackles, TW: Turnovers Won
| No. |
Cardiff Rugby |
C | CB | DB | M | O | P | T | TW |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16 | Evan Lloyd | 10 | 1 | 1 | 15 | 1 | 3 | 9 | 0 |
| 17 | Danny Southworth | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 0 |
| 18 | Keiron Assiratti | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 19 | Ben Donnell | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 20 | Dan Thomas | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 |
| 21 | Aled Davies | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 0 |
| 22 | Ioan Lloyd | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 23 | Jacob Beetham | 5 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 2 |
| No. |
Emirates Lions |
C | CB | DB | M | O | P | T | TW |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | SJ Kotze | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 7 | 0 |
| 2 | Franco Marais | 11 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 1 |
| 3 | Asenathi Ntlabakanye | 4 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 10 | 0 |
| 4 | Dylan Sjoblom | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 13 | 0 |
| 5 | Ruan Delport | 8 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 2 | 15 | 0 |
| 6 | Jarod Cairns | 7 | 1 | 3 | 25 | 0 | 2 | 16 | 3 |
| 7 | Ruan Venter | 9 | 0 | 1 | 32 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| 8 | WJ Steenkamp | 4 | 0 | 1 | 17 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 |
| 9 | Nico Steyn | 8 | 0 | 2 | 19 | 0 | 57 | 8 | 2 |
| 10 | Lubabalo Dobela | 5 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 0 | 13 | 9 | 0 |
| 11 | Angelo Davids | 3 | 1 | 0 | 15 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 12 | Richard Kriel | 7 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 0 |
| 13 | Henco van Wyk | 7 | 1 | 2 | 33 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 |
| 14 | Tapiwa Mafura | 1 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 |
| 15 | Quan Horn | 5 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 0 |
Replacements
C: Carries, CB: Clean Breaks, DB: Defenders Beaten, M: Metres, O: Offload, P: Passes, T: Tackles, TW: Turnovers Won
| No. |
Emirates Lions |
C | CB | DB | M | O | P | T | TW |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16 | Morne Brandon | 2 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 17 | Heiko Pohlmann | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 18 | RF Schoeman | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 19 | Darrien Landsberg | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 20 | Renzo du Plessis | 1 | 0 | 1 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 21 | Hasseim Pead | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 22 | Sam Francis | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 23 | Rynhardt Jonker | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Match Line-up
View the starting and substitute players for each team.
Line-up
|
Cardiff Rugby |
Emirates Lions |
|
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rhys Barratt | SJ Kotze |
| 2 | Liam Belcher | Franco Marais |
| 3 | Javan Sebastian | Asenathi Ntlabakanye |
| 4 | Josh McNally | Dylan Sjoblom |
| 5 | Teddy Williams | Ruan Delport |
| 6 | Alex Mann | Jarod Cairns |
| 7 | Taine Basham | Ruan Venter |
| 8 | Alun Lawrence | WJ Steenkamp |
| 9 | Johan Mulder | Nico Steyn |
| 10 | Callum Sheedy | Lubabalo Dobela |
| 11 | Tom Bowen | Angelo Davids |
| 12 | Ben Thomas | Richard Kriel |
| 13 | Harri Millard | Henco van Wyk |
| 14 | Josh Adams | Tapiwa Mafura |
| 15 | Cam Winnett | Quan Horn |
Replacements
|
Cardiff Rugby |
Emirates Lions |
|
|---|---|---|
| 16 | Evan Lloyd | Morne Brandon |
| 17 | Danny Southworth | Heiko Pohlmann |
| 18 | Keiron Assiratti | RF Schoeman |
| 19 | Ben Donnell | Darrien Landsberg |
| 20 | Dan Thomas | Renzo du Plessis |
| 21 | Aled Davies | Hasseim Pead |
| 22 | Ioan Lloyd | Sam Francis |
| 23 | Jacob Beetham | Rynhardt Jonker |
Team Stats
Review overall team performance, recent form, and historical comparisons.
Team stats
The season so far
P: Played . W: Won D: Drawn L: Lost F: For A: Against Diff: Difference BP: Bonus Points Pts: Points (Total)
| No. | Team Name | P | W | D | L | F | A | Diff | BP | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 |
|
Cardiff Rugby | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 140 | 101 | 39 | 5 | 25 |
| 7 |
|
Emirates Lions | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 176 | 178 | -2 | 4 | 16 |
Form Guide
| Cardiff Rugby | Played | Score | Win/Loss |
|---|---|---|---|
| Emirates Lions | Home | 33-20 | Win |
| DHL Stormers | Away | 34-24 | Loss |
| Vodacom Bulls | Away | 45-21 | Loss |
| Munster Rugby | Home | 26-21 | Win |
| Emirates Lions | Played | Score | Win/Loss |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cardiff Rugby | Away | 33-20 | Loss |
| Ospreys | Home | 29-28 | Win |
| Scarlets | Home | 19-32 | Loss |
| Connacht Rugby | Home | 26-7 | Win |
Past Meetings
Fri 21st Mar 2025
KO 19:35 GMT
Cardiff Arms Park
Europe
United Rugby Championship
Cardiff Rugby
20
V
17
Emirates Lions
Sat 11th May 2024
KO 18:15 SAST
Emirates Airline Park
Africa
United Rugby Championship
Emirates Lions
34
V
13
Cardiff Rugby
Fri 30th Sep 2022
KO 19:35 BST
Cardiff Arms Park
Europe
United Rugby Championship
Cardiff Rugby
18
V
31
Emirates Lions
Head-to-head
|
Cardiff Rugby |
Emirates Lions |
|
|---|---|---|
| Played | 4 | 4 |
| Wins | 1 | 3 |
| Wins at home | 1 | 2 |
| Wins away | 0 | 1 |
| Draws | 0 | 0 |
From data since 2003