His nickname may be Eskom and there may have been a million jokes about putting the lights out of the opposition.
But on a night when his teammates failed to raise a challenge, Marco van Staden stood up, took a battering and got into the faces of Lyon.
The enduring picture on a sorry night for the Vodacom Bulls was a game they would want to forget, coupled with a picture of a bloodied Van Staden receiving treatment.
The game’s top tackler with 17, Van Staden put his body on the line, he was in Lyon’s faces and on a night when others - like his flyhalf Johan Goosen - felt it was optional to tackle, he didn’t stand back.
If the Bulls had half a dozen Van Stadens they might have stopped the Lyon juggernaut. They might have stood a chance.
In the end despite Van Staden’s passion and loss of blood, the Bulls missed 22 tackles and were never in the game.
On a night to forget, Lyon may have been celebrating, but they will always remember Van Staden’s performance.
And not for the Eskom jokes either.
