– Cape Town Saturday at Ellis Park, the Bulls prevailed over the Lions 31-15 in a hard-fought United Rugby Championship encounter. Sbu Nkosi did not have many opportunity to demonstrate his talent, but he showed great courage in securing a turnover that may have been the game-winner.
With less than 20 minutes remaining and the Lions sniffing blood inside the Bulls’ 22 with an attacking lineout, Zander du Plessis advanced the ball to within a few metres of the tryline.
New Bulls left wing Nkosi, returning to the game after months away due to injury, poked his head into the breakdown’s darkness to earn a decisive penalty that appeared to galvanize the visitors and knock the wind out of the Lions’ sails.
Flyhalf A few minutes later, Chris Smith committed his fourth penalty of the afternoon, putting the Bulls in the clear at 24-15.
Smith’s consistent kick (14 points) was important in securing a victory that was not always assured for Jake White’s team, who were far from their best.
In the fourth minute, the Bulls’ captain, Marcell Coetzee, forced his way into the red zone of the Lions. The Bulls were off to a blazing start.
The Lions, on the other hand, never relinquished their physical advantage, dominating the scrums and disrupting the Bulls’ attack with a tenacious defensive approach that kept loose forwards Sibusiso Sangweni and Francke Horn busy throughout.
However, the lads from Pretoria maintained composure under pressure and eventually developed a rhythm with the ball in hand.
Smith added a penalty to increase the advantage to 10-3, and then the Bulls scored the game-winning try, which may have been a candidate for try of the season.
Initially clearing from their own tryline via fullback Wandisile Simelane, the Bulls gained the ball back from a counter-ruck within their own half, and the passes were successful.
Ruan Nortje was instrumental as the URC finalists from the previous season charged towards the Lions’ 22 before Cornal Hendricks converted a spectacular five-pointer.
However, the Lions persevered and were able to breach the Bulls’ defense far too easily, and they were rewarded when No. 8 Horn scored from a driving maul.
They had another opportunity soon before halftime on the Bulls’ five-meter line, but hooker PJ Botha’s throw-in was off-target, and flyhalf Jordan Hendrikse missed several attempts for goal.
The team of Ivan van Rooyen would not give up, though, and after halftime, rookie center Marius Louw pushed his way through to tie the game at 15-15.
The Bulls continued to attack aggressively, but perhaps understandably for the first game of the season and with a few new faces in the backline, the teamwork wasn’t quite there.
While Simelane’s hot-stepping skills were on display in his first real top-flight game in the No. 15 shirt, his decision-making and execution failed him down at times, and his kicking was not seamless.
Nkosi did not have many opportunities to run at the Lions’ defense, but both new acquisitions are high-caliber players who will improve as the season progresses.
Veteran fullback Andries Coetzee injected some punch to the Lions’ backline, but the home side struggled to convert their pressure into points, which came back to haunt them when Smith kicked a couple late penalties to extend the margin to 24-15.
Replacement hooker Jan-Hendrik Wessels sealed the victory with a driving maul try, and Bulls head coach White would have been relieved to begin the new season on a winning note after a difficult start to last year’s campaign.
Points-Scorers
Lions 15 – Francke Horn and Marius Louw scored tries. Conversion: Jordan Hendrikse (1). Penalty: Hendrikse (1).
Bulls 31 – Tries: Marcell Coetzee, Cornal Hendricks, Jan-Hendrik Wessels. Conversions: Chris Smith (1), Morné Steyn (1). Smith was penalized (4).
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