Lyon launched a thrilling fightback in what became a riveting and enthralling advert for the Heineken Champions Cup but in the end it was the Vodacom Bulls who passed their test of depth by prevailing 42-36 at Loftus on Saturday night.
Lyon fought back from a 28-0 deficit after just 24 minutes to come so close to snatching it at the death as they rallied with a thrilling combination of skill, pace and guile to not only grab two bonus points by scoring four tries but also to come within a whisker of winning it as they pressed hard for the winning score off the extended last play of the game.
By getting across the line as winners though, it was a huge triumph for the Bulls, who went into the game with a team that reflected 15 changes from their United Rugby Championship clash with the Ospreys last week.
There was a lot of talk around the perception that Bulls director of rugby Jake White had chosen a Bulls B team for this game, and in the first 24 minutes it was as if both teams had paid quite a lot of attention to that talk.
What Lyon would not have anticipated was the so-called Bulls B team taking on the motivation that turned them into angry bees.
What. A. Match.
— Heineken Champions Cup (@ChampionsCup) December 10, 2022
If all the @BlueBullsRugby #HeinekenChampionsCup matches are going to be like that then we're in for a treat ??
A great effort from @LeLOURugby as well ?? pic.twitter.com/YTt4tWsJoe
It certainly did appear that the visitors were caught out by the tempo and intensity with which the Bulls started the game, and it took just 24 minutes for the Bulls to pour through the lax Lyon defensive system four times to notch their try-scoring bonus point in a scoring spree that saw points accumulated quicker than a point a minute.
The first to score was wing Sibongile Novuka, who later produced a superb cover tackle to save a try but in the first minutes impressed with his pace and attacking skill.
The lanky Novuka used his pace as he swerved inside and through a bemused looking Lyon defence to score the first Bulls try after just three minutes.
VAN DER LINDE LOOKS THE BUSINESS
Four minutes later it was the turn of impressive young scrumhalf Bernard van der LInde, a former Tukkies hero in the Varsity Cup, to go over near the posts and after seven minutes it was 14-0 - an easy mathematical calculation that, it equated to two points every minute of the game.
Van der Linde has an impressive break and looks a player with a bright future, and he might well look back at this game as his breakthrough, with the No 9 crossing for another try in the 20th minute as the Bulls kept the scoreboard spinning in their favour.
Then it was the turn of a much older player, Nizaam Carr, to cross the line near the posts, with Morne Steyn’s conversion making it 28-0.
White said on the eve of the match that he wasn’t taking too much of a risk as he had a good blend of experienced players and younger players.
And he was right. Jacques du Plessis for instance is back in Pretoria and has hardly played since returning due to injury problems.
First half in pictures ??#BULvLYO #HeinekenChampionsCup @Vodacom #TrueToTheBlue #BullsHeard pic.twitter.com/qsqjZkIxEm
— Official Blue Bulls (@BlueBullsRugby) December 10, 2022
Unfortunately he did go off injured soon after halftime, but the lock, who has been around the block and has played several years in Europe, was strong when he was on the field.
So was Jacques van Rooyen, while Bismarck du Plessis and Morne Steyn showed the experience that they’ve accumulated through many years of international rugby.
Around those players the newcomers and younger players buzzed, with their performance, thus underlining the comfort White should feel he has with his squad depth as the Bulls head into a difficult and busy phase of the season.
If there was a criticism that could be levelled against the Bulls on the night it is that their defence looked a bit passive and disjointed, which perhaps can be expected for a team that has trained a lot together, according to White, but hadn’t played together before this game.
Lyon were always full of running in the game and perhaps came to South Africa with the bonus point, which could be achieved through scoring four tries, uppermost in their minds.
The French team were out of it when the Bulls controlled possession in the first 25 minutes, but then when they got their hands on the ball they held onto it impressively and scored two good tries, first through former Bulls Springbok Arno Botha and then former Highlanders player Liam Coltman, to cut the deficit to 16 points (28-12) at halftime.
Both tries came off driving mauls, Coltman’s in the 37th minute, but it was the quality of the visiting team’s running and offloading game that sounded potential danger to the Bulls.
DANGER SIGNS BECAME REALITY
And sure enough, after Bulls wing Stravino Jacobs had weaved his way through for his team’s fifth try not long after the start of the second half, it was Lyon who cracked up the pace with a good try to wing Ethan Dumotier in the right corner followed by Botha’s second score, chasing up his own perfectly placed kick ahead, to ensure his new team of at least a bonus point.
With the Bulls only leading by nine with 32 minutes to go, it looked like game on.
And it became even more that way when Leo Berdeu kicked a penalty just beyond the hour mark to make it 35-29. That was the cue though for the Bulls to get the bit back between their teeth again, which they did with a great try from replacement centre Chris Smith, who came on quite early in the game for Marco Jansen van Vuren.
Thank goodness for the Bulls’ sake though that they did score that try, for the French team, currently fifth on the Top 14 log, came back at them again to score through Zimbabwean born centre Kyle Godwin and then they came again and again in the final minutes, only to be thwarted by a Bulls defence that found it’s bottle when it mattered.
78 points on the night, an exciting game of rugby and most notably, a debut victory in the Heineken Champions Cup for the Vodacom Bulls??#BULvLYO #HeinekenChampionsCup @Vodacom #TrueToTheBlue #BullsHeard pic.twitter.com/2PqoNvUvHO
— Official Blue Bulls (@BlueBullsRugby) December 10, 2022
Scores
Vodacom Bulls 42 - Tries:Sibongile Novuka, Bernard van der Linde 2, Nizaam Carr, Stravino Jacobs, Chris Smith; Conversions:Morne Steyn 6.
Lyon 36 - Tries:Arno Botha 2, Liam Coltman, Ethan Dumotier and Kyle Godwin; Conversions:Leo Berdeu 4; Penalty:Leo Berdeu.