An exceptional effort from the Vodacom Bulls’ bench saw them score three second half tries to overwhelm the Emirates Lions and settle the Vodacom United Rugby Championship Jukskei derby in their favour 35-22.
But it was a win that came at a massive cost as the Bulls lost both their captains in Ruan Nortje and Elrigh Louw with what looked like knee injuries, and both could be on the sidelines for a long period, which is a massive setback for Jake White’s side.
Add to that the injury to Boeta Chamberlain, which doesn’t look as serious as the others, and Johan Goosen on the sidelines with a knee injury as well, and the Bulls will be happy with the win, but concerned at the long-term impact of losing these key players.
Yet, saying that, this was a game that they dug deep to show incredible resolve when things weren’t going their way.
SUPER SUBS
The introduction of Canan Moodie and Willie le Roux in particular was a game-changer. Le Roux, known for his exploits at the back and his wealth of experience, slotted into 10 with incredible ease and reignited the Bulls attack that looked as if it was slowly being snuffed out.
Add to that cameos from Alulutho Tshakweni and Francois Klopper and longer spells for Nizaam Carr and Rynhardt Ludwig, and the Bulls bench won them the game, giving them the boost they needed at the right time.
Le Roux, though, stood out for the way he got the Bulls on the front foot again. And while the veteran is more comfortable at 15, the Bulls may need to use him at 10 for the next few derbies if they are to navigate their way through the injuries.
The Lions, however, will be kicking themselves again that they let an opportunity slip through their fingers, much like they did last year, and couldn’t sustain the pressure and desperation they showed to lead at halftime.
BULLS TOO STREET SMART
In the end the Bulls were just too street smart, and the Lions looked like a side that doesn’t know how to win these derbies when given the opportunity against their neighbours. You would have to go back two seasons to the last time they tasted success against the Bulls.
There were some big performances on both sides as well. Cameron Hanekom - before and after the HIA - was exceptionally good, as was Marcell Coetzee. David Kriel slotting in to take over the kicking duties from Chamberlain only added to his impressive performance while Sergeal Petersen was more than a handful on the afternoon.
The Lions had their Springboks - in particular Quan Horn, Morne van den Berg and Ruan Venter stand out, while Henco Venter was also a star on the afternoon, but too often they were disjointed and made crucial errors at crucial times.
At the same time it was a strange game - see-sawing the lead between both teams as neither wanted to take control. Until, that is, Le Roux appeared and tipped the momentum in the Bulls favour to power them home.
EARLY DOMINANCE
The way the Bulls started, they would have been kicking themselves that they were behind at the break, as they totally dominated the first half hour. But despite more than 70 per cent possession and territory at one stage, they didn’t quite get the reward for their efforts.
Chamberlain’s early penalty was followed by a wonderful moment of clarity by the flyhalf, as he took turnover ball, spotted nobody home in the corner and eased the ball to the exact spot, as Petersen beat Richard Kriel to the ball and offloaded inside to the Lions’ winger’s brother David - who opened the scoring for the Bulls.
At 10-0 up the Bulls fluffed a few chances to put themselves further ahead, and the Lions, growing in stature with every Bulls mistake, started clawing their way back. Two penalties from impressive young 10 Sam Francis kept them in the hunt before a defensive lapse by the Bulls was exploited perfectly by the Lions.
A scrum move saw the ball head to Rynhardt Jonker, who spotted that Devon Williams had moved into the line to try and cut off the overlap. Jonker chipped over the defence for the perfect bounce for Van Wyk, who ran onto the ball and wasn’t going to be stopped so close to the line.
At 11-10 the Bulls wouldn’t have been happy, especially after they lost Louw early in the second half.
LIONS HAD THEIR CHANCES
While Francis added two more penalties to Chamerlain’s one, the match seemed to be drifting towards the Lions at 17-13 up. The Bulls attack was static at best and the Lions were winning the breakdown battle.
But when Le Roux and Moodie made their appearance in the 50th minute, the game started to shift. The Bulls were on the front foot again and it wasn’t long before they were camped in the Lions’ 22 metre area, with big Cobus Wiese crashing over after picking a good running line to shift past the defence.
That gave the Bulls the lead back, but it wasn’t too last. The Lions produced a powerful rolling maul, and from the aftermath Etienne Oosthuizen took the lead back for the home side.
The Bulls stepped up again and this time it was Marcell Coetzee who went over after several others had tried close to the line.
The Bulls were back in the lead and this time it seemed the Lions looked defeated, the momentum shift had happened.
This was confirmed when a five man rolling maul found its way over the line in the 69th minute, almost too easily with replacement hooker Akker van der Merwe claiming the try.
It settled the game as a contest, and all the Bulls had to do as the Lions became desperate was to shore up their defence.
This they did with ease, and closed out the game to take all five points on offer, leaving the Lions without a point for their efforts.
The Lions will count the cost on the log after these 80 minutes, while the Bulls will be counting the injury cost, knowing they took a step forward, but will have to dig deep into their squad in the coming weeks.
SCORES
EMIRATES LIONS - tries: Henco van Wyk, Etienne Oosthuizen. Penalties: Sam Francis (4)
VODACOM BULLS - tries: David Kriel, Cobus Wiese, Marcell Coetzee, Akker van der Merwe. Conversions: Boeta Chamberlain, David Kriel (2). Penalties: Chamberlain (2), Kriel