Nine tries at Loftus
The Bulls did not need long to settle this one. They beat the Lions 57-15 at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria this afternoon, and the United Rugby Championship derby was effectively gone by half-time, with the hosts 31-10 clear.
The turning point came in the 26th minute. Lions scrum-half Morne van den Berg was shown a yellow card, and the Bulls used the extra space straight away. They scored twice while the visitors were a man down, one of them a Johan Grobbelaar try that followed a break from De Wet. Harold Vorster, Jeandre Rudolph, Canan Moodie, JF van Heerden, Cheswill Jooste and Sebastian de Klerk also crossed, and Pollard kicked three conversions.
Cameron Hanekom took the man-of-the-match award with two tries, 76 metres gained and nine tackles. Several Springboks were back from international duty for the occasion.
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A reality check for the Lions
For the Lions, it was a harsh end to a good start. Ivan van Rooyen’s side had opened the campaign with wins over defending champions Leinster and the Ospreys, and they came to Pretoria with real confidence. They had also beaten the Bulls 43-33 at this ground last November.
Sibabalo Qoma’s try and a Chris Smith conversion and penalty, the latter in the 33rd minute, were all they had before the break. Morne Brandon added a try on 50 minutes, but by then the contest was long settled.
The result steadies a Bulls campaign that had wobbled. Johan Ackermann’s team opened with a bonus-point win over Zebre Parma, then lost narrowly away to Munster last weekend. This performance, nine tries and a half-time cushion of 21 points, answers a few questions.
The Lions have little time to dwell on it. They head to La Rochelle next Saturday for an Investec Champions Cup match.
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