Marvin Orie flies high for the Lions to win the ball during the Super Rugby semi-final against the Waratahs at Ellis Park on Saturday. Credit:AP Johannesburg: The Waratahs' Super Rugby dream ended under the relentless pressure of a Lions team with unfinished business at Ellis Park on Saturday. The Lions will travel to Christchurch to play in their third consecutive final and stare down a rematch with the Crusaders, the team that beat them in their own backyard to claim the title last year, after beating the Waratahs 44-26. They richly deserve the opportunity, outscoring their Australian opponents six tries to four under a deafening stadium soundtrack of Afrikaans pop songs, big cat sounds and the Shosholoza, an African miners' song that rung out at the same venue when Francois Pienaar's Springboks won the World Cup final in 1995. They produced the more complete performance, overcoming a 14-0 deficit after 10 minutes by sending in turnover merchants Malcolm Marx and Kwagga Smith to disrupt the Waratahs' attack, using their maul to score two tries and injecting the likes of sizzling young talent Aphiwe Dyantyi to slice and dice the visitors' defences.<doc-sep>THEY say that sometimes you have to lose one to win one. Well, in the case of the Lions, they’ll be hoping it’s third time lucky after the Johannesburg-based side sealed their place in the Super Rugby final after overcoming the Waratahs 44-26 at Ellis Park. The result means that the Lions and Crusaders will be pitted against each other in the final for the second straight year, after the New Zealand team confirmed they would host the decider after smashing the Hurricanes 30-12 on Saturday night in Christchurch. Last year, the Crusaders won their eighth Super Rugby title after becoming the first team to cross the Indian Ocean to claim the championship by beating the Lions 25-17 at Ellis Park. The Lions came from 14-0 down against the Waratahs and never trailed again after taking the lead in the 36th minute. Lions hooker Malcolm Marx was the star for the home side. The world’s premier rake was on the end of two powerful rolling mauls to score crucial tries on either side of halftime and was a menace at the breakdown. Marx and Test flanker Kwagga Smith — who also scored a brace — proved to be the difference between the two sides again, with the star duo also influential in the 29-0 regular season win over NSW. “The Tahs put us under pressure, especially with that fast start that they had, two quick tries,” Lions captain Warren Whiteley told Fox Sports’ Stephen Hoiles. “The boys fought back nicely. “When we got the maul nicely it was effective and overall it was a decent performance. “But we know that we’ll probably have to be 50 per cent better to compete next week. “There’s a lot to work on.” Meanwhile, the Waratahs were playing their first semi-final since 2015. Their exit means no Australian side has reached a Super Rugby final since the Waratahs took out the championship in 2014. “We probably turned over the ball at set-piece or first or second phase too much,” Waratahs captain Bernard Foley said. “We weren’t able to apply pressure and hold on. “But they’re a quality side and, I suppose, overpowered us in that second half. “I’m incredibly proud of our guys. “They stuck at it all year. “Every game we turned up, and we gave it a really hot crack today and it’s a shame we didn’t get the result.” The Waratahs raced out of the blocks, scoring twice inside the first 10 minutes to lead 14-0. Ned Hanigan scored out wide after the Waratahs were able to regain possession from an up-and-under from Foley, before the visitors switched the play rapidly from the right to left and ended with the Test loose-forward diving over. The Waratahs found more space down the left-hand touchline soon after as tryscoring machine Taqele Naiyaravoro palmed away two Lions defenders with ease before passing inside to Kurtley Beale who was cut down from behind by Lions centre Lionel Mapoe. It mattered little, as the Waratahs continued to batter the Lions line and Israel Folau ended up scoring under the posts. LIVE stream the 2018 Super Rugby semi-finals on FOX SPORTS. SIGN UP NOW > But it wasn’t long before the Lions started to roar. A number of penalties helped stifle the Waratahs’ momentum and Smith made the visitors pay for their ill-discipline, shrugging away recalled hooker Tolu Latu to hit back for the home side. Lions hooker Marx pulled off his second intercept in as many weeks from a lineout, but was cut down by Beale on the Waratahs’ 10m line. But the Waratahs couldn’t breathe easy for long, as Aphiwe Dyantyi left the visitors and the Ellis Park faithful stunned. The young Springbok, in his first Super Rugby campaign, received the ball close to his 22m line before charging back to the Waratahs’ chasing pack, chipping ahead for himself and skinning Foley on the outside to score an incredible try and cut the deficit to 14-12 after 28 minutes. With no ball, the Waratahs continued to shoot themselves in the foot as Foley’s restart failed to go the required 10m. Making matters worse, the Waratahs were penalised at the scrum and it wasn’t long until the Lions were attacking their line. The Waratahs breathed a sigh of relief when Lions lock Franco Mostert was denied a try after a knock-on from teammate Marvin Orie. But moments later the home side made the Waratahs pay for not finding touch by winning a penalty and then scoring from the rolling maul through their incredible hooker Marx to take a 19-14 lead after 36 minutes. Tom Robertson breaks away from the Lions' defenders to score on the stroke of halftime at Ellis Park. Source: AP Eventually the Waratahs got some field position through a penalty and they grabbed the opportunity with both hands, as Tom Robertson scored after a clever short throw from Latu at the lineout. Foley’s conversion miss saw the score locked up at 19-19 at halftime. Both teams had their chances after halftime, but it was the boot of Elton Jantjies that saw the Lions take the lead in the 56th minute as the fly-half slotted a penalty from close range. The game again turned on its head in the 58th minute as NSW replacement hooker Damien Fitzpatrick was yellow carded for interfering with play as he attempted to run back onside. From the five metre lineout, Marx grabbed his second from the rolling maul. But the Waratahs were left seething as replacement forward Tom Staniforth was called out of the maul despite splitting the Lions through the middle. The decision from New Zealand referee Glen Jackson to call Staniforth out was labelled as a “disgraceful call” by former Wallaby Hoiles in commentary. Kwagga Smith scored two tries for the Lions. Source: AFP Smith scored his second try five minutes later and Jantjies’ conversion saw the Lions extend their lead to 34-19. Replacement halfback Jake Gordon hit back for the Waratahs in the 75th minute and Foley’s conversion cut the margin to 37-26. But Test winger Courtnall Skosan put the icing on the cake after collecting a cross-field kick from Jantjies to score in the 79th minute and set up a replay with the Crusaders. “They (Crusaders) were clinical,” Whiteley said. “What a performance against a very, very strong Hurricanes side. “Look, it’s going to take a lot to beat them next week. “But, we know, when you’re in a final you give yourself a chance and we’re looking forward to it.”<doc-sep>
The Lions are through to their third straight Super Rugby final after powering over the top of the NSW Waratahs 44-26 in Johannesburg. The South African side recovered from a slow start in their semi-final to earn another shot at the Crusaders after going down to the New Zealand powerhouse in last year’s decider. Things did not go to script early for the Lions on Saturday as the Waratahs defied their underdog status to snatch a 14-0 lead after only 10 minutes on the back of 80% possession to silence the home crowd. However, the team that belted the Waratahs 29-0 in Sydney back in April was never going to simply fold and hand them their first ticket to a final since 2014. While the game was there to be won for the Waratahs, as a Tom Robertson try just before the break made it 19-19 at half-time, the Lions ground down the visitors by continually getting into threatening attacking positions. After a tense opening 15 minutes to the second half, the fly-half Elton Jantjies slotted a penalty goal to put the Lions in front to start a match-winning 10-minute period. The hooker Malcolm Marx crossed for his second try of the match in the 58th minute before the classy Kwagga Smith ensured he also had a double shortly after to give the Lions a 15-point advantage. The Breakdown: sign up and get our weekly rugby union email. The Waratahs substitute Jake Gordon scored a consolation try, which Bernard Foley converted with five minutes to go, but even that was cancelled out by Courtnall Skosan getting on the end of a terrific kick just before full-time. The last remaining Australian team were hot early on the back of barnstorming tries from Ned Hanigan and Israel Folau before the Lions hit top gear after 20 minutes. The Lions will make the trip to Christchurch searching for their first title when they play the Crusaders in the final on 4 August.