Lions come up short on home return as Vermeulen's Ulster win Ellis Park epic

The Lions would not say 'die' in their United Rugby Championship (URC) encounter on Saturday, fighting back from seemingly impossible positions more than once, but eventually going down 39-37 to Ulster at Ellis Park in a thrilling classic. 

AS IT HAPPENED | Lions v Ulster

The hosts had taken an 18-16 lead into half-time, but a period either side of the break where they conceded three tries in seven minutes and conceded a yellow card ultimately cost them.

Still, it was cracking entertainment for the Johannesburg crowd, and surely a fantastic advertisement for both the URC and the brand of rugby the Lions are trying to play. 

The hosts displayed plenty of attacking enterprise once more, but basic errors, lineout malfunction and defensive lapses plagued their game. 

The Lions were returning home for the first time since a hugely impressive European tour that saw them win three straight matches - against Ospreys, Cardiff and Edinburgh - on the road against the odds. 

Despite those returns, they were still considered slight underdogs heading into this one, and those fears were confirmed inside four minutes when the tourists knocked the stuffing out of the Lions with an early try. 

Springbok Duane Vermeulen had helped win the ball back for Ulster, who then simply moved the ball through the hands on the blind side where the Lions defence was all but absent. 

Robert Baloucoune waltzed in for the score, and the Lions were rocked. 

The hosts hit back with a penalty through Gianni Lombard, but that was almost immediately cancelled out by one from John Cooney as Ulster moved out to a 10-3 lead. 

The Lions were struggling at lineout time, too, but they launched themselves back into the contest with a couple of brilliant pieces of individual