Lions edge Leinster in thrilling URC opener at Ellis Park

The visitors drew first blood, with scrumhalf Fintan Gunne crossing for an early try after Leinster won a penalty at the breakdown and tapped quickly.

The home side responded emphatically through Erich Cronje. A dominant scrum gave the Lions momentum and Cronje cut an excellent angle to score under the posts, with Chris Smith adding the conversion to put the hosts 7-5 ahead.

Smith then extended the lead to 10-5 with a penalty, but Leinster hit back almost immediately. Josh Ericson broke through the Lions defence and released Gunne, who crossed for his second try of the afternoon to restore the visitors' advantage.

The Lions continued to threaten and regained the lead midway through the half when Cronje scored his second try. It was an excellent team effort, with Henco van Wyk offloading in the tackle to Boeta Chamberlain, who drew the final defender before releasing Cronje.

Smith converted to make it 17-12, but Leinster produced a strong finish to the first half, with Gabriel breaking a tackle before putting Gunne over for his hat-trick. Gabriel converted to give Leinster a 19-17 lead at the interval.

The second half became increasingly frenetic, with both sides guilty of handling errors and missed opportunities as the Lions searched for a way back into the contest.

They eventually regained the lead after 61 minutes when a superb high kick from Nico Steyn put Leinster under pressure. Cronje was first to the breakdown to win a penalty and Smith calmly converted from the tee to make it 20-19.

The Lions continued to apply pressure and repeatedly forced Leinster into desperate defensive measures. A series of penalties eventually saw the visitors reduced to 14 men, giving the Lions an opportunity to turn their pressure into points.

Leinster continued to withstand wave after wave of attack, but the Lions finally broke through in the 79th minute.

After multiple phases and powerful carries from Ethan Adams and JC Pretorius, Smith spotted Cronje on the opposite side of the field and produced a superb cross-field kick to Erich Mpeku. The winger gathered and raced over to score, with Smith adding the conversion to crucially put the Lions 27-19 ahead, beyond a converted try.

That would prove to be a crucial conversion as Leinster had the final say, crossing through Charlie Tector after multiple phases of close-range carries before slotting the conversion to earn two bonus points in defeat.

READ MORE: Australia forced into late change for Bok clash as key forward ruled out