The Lions produced a upbeat performance in the Jukskei derby to beat a unstructured Blue Bulls team 20-13 (halftime 10-0) in their Currie Cup Premier Division match played at Coke Park on Saturday.
The home side were full value for their win, scoring 17 unanswered points in the first hour thanks to industrious work up front, clinical finishing by the backs, and the deadly kicking boot of flyhalf Herkie Kruger.
They might have picked up their fourth victory from eight starts, but the Lions remain in sixth position on the Currie Cup table, tied with the Free State Cheetahs on 20 points but with an inferior points difference.
Ironically, the Bulls began the weekend in fourth place but despite suffering their third defeat – and a comprehensive one at that – they actually climb up the ladder to third, thanks to a late bonus-point gained for finishing within seven points.
In truth, the scoreline flattered the Bulls, who were well beaten in all departments, with only a 79th-minute try from centre Jaco Pretorius and an injury-time penalty from replacement Francois Brummer creating the illusion that this was somehow a close affair.
The Lions opened their account in the 18th minute thanks to a penalty from the boot of Kruger, who delivered an assured display in the number ten jersey.
Despite dominating the set pieces and the breakdown, the healthy home crowd had to wait until three minutes before the break to see their team cross the whitewash – centre Alwyn Hollenbach finishing off a quick-tap penalty in fine style.
The try was started by a bulldozing charge by hooker Hans van Dyk, who fed a flying scrumhalf Jano Vermaak on the break. From a resultant breakdown penalty deep in Bulls territory, Vermaak took a quick tap kick and good hands from skipper Cobus Grobbelaar in particular saw Hollenbach dummy his way over for a try that made it 10-0 at the break.
Any thoughts that the Bulls would somehow shake off their lethargy in the changerooms were quashed within two minutes of the restart, when Vermaak was on hand to capitalise on a speculative chip ahead by flanker Franco van der Merwe, after the Bulls had somehow conspired to lose a regulation lineout take.
Kruger’s conversion made it 17-0 before his Bulls opposite number, Burton Francis, finally put his side on the board with a penalty after 57 minutes.
Kruger then kicked his second penalty with three minutes remaining to make it 20-3 before he and his teammates, perhaps understandably, took both feet off the pedal as they waited for the sands of time to run out – only had to watch on as the Bulls chipped 10 points off the deficit in next to no time.
It might not have been enough to win them the game, but the vital bonus point the Bulls gained could yet prove invaluable in the final shake-up for semi-final positions – and perhaps decide the all-important matter of home-ground advantage.
Scorers:
Lions 20 – Tries: Alwyn Hollenbach, Jano Vermaak. Conversions: Herkie Kruger (2). Penalties: Kruger (2).
Blue Bulls 13 – Try: Jaco Pretorius. Conversion: Burton Francis. Penalties: Francis, Francois Brummer.
@SA Barbarians – Nope when I attach it as htm it doesn’t show the damn background and logo
@Ed_the_Lion – We will make sure you have a great time!
@carol – 62
Poor Ed is multi tasking, trying to help me sort a problem with my web site. We have some great friends here
@SA Barbarians – Some talented folks here for sure!
I must hit the hay now!
Night S.A and Ed, have a very special day tomorrow as it is your Birthday……xxx
@carol – 64
Night Carol sleep tight
I will be out for most of tomorrow – it’s also my grand daughters birthday (her 2nd)
The Bulls where uberkakk.
the pack is very soft, no go forward at all. I’d say the 2 young locks are the main culprits.
they need to harden the fck up quick.
And I still rekon the Bulls need a world class prop.
granted the spine of the Bulls team was over in Oz doing the business for SA….but that was a very worrying performance. In fact, can we say that the Bulls 2nd’s have produced 1 “good” performance against proper opposition.
WP unfortunately will smash these Bulls.
@St.Petersburgbok – Even when Gurthro comes back to the starting lineup, he wont make that much of a difference. He is also not a great scrummager.
Bulls need 2 strong props and a hooker.
South Africa needs 2 good props. Being man shamed by an Aussie scrum is just not cricket.
@Loosehead –
I was wondering the same thing last night, after the test match.
Where have all the South African strongmen gone all of a sudden…. men like Tommie Loubscher, Hempies du Toit, Frans Erasmus, Martiens le Roux, Johan Strauss, Daan du Plessis, Henning van Aswegen, Flip van der Merwe, Keith Andrews….. ?
We just don’t make them like before anymore.
@Pietman – We certainly have a really class Loosehead in Heike Van Der Merwe, and a really class Tighthead in BJ Botha. For the rest of the props from South Africa, they all have excellent ball skills and work rates, but they are not destructive scrummagers.
Johan Styger, Piet Bester they were true props.
Lood Muller, Gary Pagel, Guy Kebble these are men who could scrum.
Anyone home?
@Loosehead –
Agreed on the ball skills.
I joked with the late Tommie Loubsher about that once, while we were camping at Trekoskraal on the west coast.
I said , ‘Tommie, you must be the only player in SA who played 8 tests and never touched the ball’.
He just grumbled, ‘Dissie oekie my fokken wegk dagie nie!’, in his typical ‘Weskus bgei’.
@Pietman – The job of a prop is to scrum the kak out of the opposition, ruck, mall ansd support in the lineouts. The rest of the work is for the wings and centres.
Well done Welpies!! Julle het ons Bulle se koppe mooi in ons gatte gedruk!!
Good to see the Lions showing heart and passion. SA rugby needs a competitive Lions outfit. Beating the Bulls will give them confidence but the real test will come now to see whether the Lions can rise to the occasion week in and week out.
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