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The Vodacom Bulls put up an impressive performance in the second half to come back and beat the Lions 30-25 in Johannesburg on Saturday. DYLAN JACK reports.
The victory moved the Bulls to a six point lead at the top of the Super Rugby Unlocked table, as Jake White’s team achieved their third consecutive victory.
However, it was less than straightforward as the Lions were able to take a well-deserved 15-10 lead at halftime after the locals got the better of play and territory in the first half.
The Bulls had come into the game in fantastic shape, having earned bonus point wins over the Sharks and Stormers in their last two games in Pretoria.
What was remarkable in that first half was that Jake White’s Bulls were denied the momentum they had enjoyed in their previous two games, as the Lions dominated scrums and gave their rivals very little in terms of territory.
Still, the Bulls deserve credit for the way they were able to respond in the second half, especially after losing three forwards to injuries.
Despite dominating parts of the game, the Lions will feel like they conceded too many cheap penalties and especially struggled to cope with the Bulls’ maul where they really lacked precision in their counterattack.
The Lions pack made an early warning statement by winning a penalty in the first scrum, with Sadie and Sithole getting the best of their opposing numbers. The Bulls managed to open a 10-3 lead after Morne Steyn and Elton Jantjies exchanged penalties, when Joe van Zyl scored from the back of a maul.
From there, however, the momentum shifted in favor of the Lions as they began to see the ball more and were able to get into marker positions. A good period of pressure released Burger Odendaal down the wing and the inside center slid over the try line to even the scores against their former employers.
The hosts then took the lead as Morne van den Berg stepped over the test line after a maul collapsed, giving them a deserved 15-10 lead at the break.
The Bulls took a double hit in the second half as they had to replace Jacques van Rooyen and Trevor Nyakane, but Steenekamp and Van der Merwe went to great lengths in the scrums to win a penalty, which Steyn converted. In easily his best period of pressure, Stedman Gans intercepted a pass from Jantjies to score and put the Bulls in the lead.
It looked like momentum was shifting to the Bulls at the time, as Steyn converted his third penalty as the visitors began to take control of the set-piece battle. However, in a moment of brilliance Courtnall Skosan launched a counterattack that ended with Wandisile Simelane breaking three tackles on his way to the try line.
In the end, the game was sealed when the Bulls were able to generate pressure with another strong driving maul, good single hands that freed Kurt-Lee Arendse to score wide. Jantjies converted a penalty after the full-time horn to make sure the Lions could take a losing match point bonus.
Lions – Attempts: Burger Odendaal, Morne van den Berg, Wandisile Simelane. Conversions: Elton Jantjies (2). Penalty: Jantjies (2)
Bulls – Attempts: Joe van Zyl, Stedman Gans, Kurt-Lee Arendse. Conversions: Morne Steyn (3). Penalties: Steyn (3).
Lions – 15 Gianni Lombard; 14 Stean Pienaar, 13 Wandisile Simelane, 12 Burger Odendaal, 11 Courtnall Skosan; 10 Elton Jantjies (c), 9 Morne van den Berg, 8 Len Massyn, 7 Vincent Tshituka, 6 MJ Pelser, 5 Marvin Orie, 4 Ruben Schoeman, 3 Carlu Sadie, 2 Jaco Visagie, 1 Sti Sithole.
Subs: 16 PJ Botha, 17 Nathan McBeth, 18 Ruan Dreyer, 19 Reinhard Nothnagel, 20 Marnus Schoeman, 21 Ross Cronje, 22 Dan Kriel, 23 Tiaan Swanepoel.
Bulls – 15 David Kriel, 14 Travis Ismaiel, 13 Stedman Gans, 12 Cornal Hendricks, 11 Kurt-Lee Arendse, 10 Morne Steyn, 9 Ivan van Zyl, 8 Duane Vermeulen (c), 7 Elrigh Louw, 6 Marco van Staden, 5 Walt Steenkamp , 4 Jason Jenkins, 3 Trevor Nyakane, 2 Joe van Zyl, 1 Jacques van Rooyen.
Subs: 16 Corniel Els, 17 Gerhard Steenekamp, 18 Marcel van der Merwe, 19 Sintu Manjezi, 20 Nizaam Carr, 21 Embrose Papier, 22 Chris Smith, 23 Marco Jansen van Vuren.
Photo: Gordon Arons / Gallo Images
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