Ken Borland

The Vodacom Blue Bulls produced their most passionate performance since the start of the Absa Currie Cup season as they beat the Xerox Golden Lions 36-26 at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday.

Mobile lock Grant Hattingh, who produced a top-class performance in open play and the lineouts, sealed a second win this season for the Bulls with his 79^th-minute try off a rolling maul, but the home side had to see off a ferocious comeback from the Lions.

A burst of two tries in five minutes between the 69^th and 74^th minutes saw the Lions substantially reduce a commanding 29-12 lead for the Bulls, wing Ruan Combrinck’s two conversions closing the gap to 26-29 and giving him a perfect record of six from six at goal.

But the Bulls, with their front row pulling out of the set-piece, were then awarded a controversial scrum penalty, which they kicked into the corner and set up the rolling maul from which Hattingh scored.

The Bulls controlled proceedings for the opening hour, their clinical kicking game keeping the Lions pegged back in their own territory and a robust defensive performance ensuring that the visitors were not able to break the shackles when they tried to run from their own half.

Referee Marius van der Westhuizen was also strict with the whistle and regularly penalised the players, leading to Combrinck and Bulls flyhalf Jacques-Louis Potgieter exchanging penalties in the first quarter.

The Bulls were leading 9-6 in the 23^rd minute when Hattingh pounced on a misunderstanding between Lions scrumhalf Ross Cronje and his backline that led to a loose ball on the ground. The rangy lock burst clear and, after sending the ball wide and then back infield, the Bulls had a ruck in the shadow of the Lions’ posts. Potgieter threw a flat pass to fullback Ulrich Beyers, who went through one tackle and scored.

Potgieter converted and that was followed by one more penalty to the Bulls and two more to the Lions as the home side went into the break 19-12 up.

That became a 29-12 lead in the 51^st minute as Potgieter kicked a 40m scrum penalty and centre Burger Odendaal scored the Bulls’ second try as he gathered a grubber from Potgieter that rebounded off the rushing Lions defence in front of their poles.

The Lions’ task looked even more hopeless when tighthead prop Ruan Dreyer was yellow-carded for collapsing a Bulls maul – the fourth time the visitors had infringed in that way – but Johan Ackermann’s team were inspired by the arrival on the field of Sevens Springboks Kwagga Smith and Mark Richards.

Smith, playing eighthman, showed a nose for the line when he slithered over in the 69^th minute and, five minutes later, his foray from the base of a scrum led to replacement lock Martin Muller galloping over for the Lions’ second try.

The Bulls had somehow lost the spring in their steps, but were fortunate to win a scrum penalty while on the retreat, which allowed them to claim the match-winning try and condemn the Lions to just their second defeat in five matches. That has allowed the Pumas to leap into second place on the log, five points behind Western Province.

Points scorers

Blue Bulls – Tries: Ulrich Beyers, Burger Odendaal, Grant Hattingh. Conversions: Jacques-Louis Potgieter (3). Penalties: Potgieter (5).

Lions – Tries: Kwagga Smith, Martin Muller. Conversions: Ruan Combrinck (2). Penalties: Combrinck (4).

The Ford Pumas stymied the MTN Golden Lions’ top-of-the-log ambitions and kept their own Vodacom Cup hopes alive as they beat their hosts 37-33 (half-time 17-20) at CocaCola Park in Johannesburg on Saturday.

The Lions often looked the better team and seemed to be pulling away from the visitors when their second try gave them a 20-10 lead with just three minutes of the first half remaining. But the Lions must have really resented the plucky Pumas’ ability to bounce back and the men from Mpumalanga were quick to strike after kick-offs in particular.

The opening 10 minutes saw the Pumas and Lions score tit-for-tat tries with flank Jaco Bouwer scoring for the visitors after a fantastic rolling maul and lock Hendrik Roodt charging over for the Gautengers after a fine take at the back of the lineout by eighthman JJ Gagiano.

The tightly-contested tiff also featured excellent goal-kicking by Pumas fullback Coenie van Wyk, who succeeded with all seven of his shots at goal, and Lions flyhalf Guy Cronje, whose only miss from eight attempts came off the post and led to a Pumas try!

In the 14th minute, a powerful charge by flank Stephan de Wit put the Lions on the front foot, leading to a penalty by Cronje (10-7). A high tackle on the impressive De Wit five minutes later led to another Cronje penalty (13-7) and the Pumas, who had scored their seven points in the first five minutes, were finally back on the scoreboard with eight minutes left in the first half when the excellent direct running and support play of their forwards earned Van Wyk his first penalty (13-10).

The Lions were quick to put the Pumas back under pressure, however, their good ball-retention eventually leading to the defence cracking as fullback Garth April joined the line and centre Bradley Moolman was able to go over in the left corner. Cronje’s good day with the boot was highlighted by his conversion from the touchline (20-10).

But the Lions spent the halftime break mourning a costly lapse in concentration as they failed to gather the kick-off, Pumas wing Deon Scholtz grabbing the ball and scooting over for a crucial try just befpre the interval (20-17).

Having battled gamely in their bright pink strips in the first half, the Pumas switched to grey in the second half and they were a new side. Ever quick to pounce on an opportunity, they took the lead four minutes after the break when a Cronje penalty attempt came back off the post and centre Tiaan Marx’s pace caught the Lions unawares. The former Leopards and KZN representative sprinted all the way into the Lions’ 22, Scholtz was stopped just short of the line, but the home side could not keep hooker Torsten van Jaarsveld from crashing over.

But after a strong run by Moolman, Pumas scrumhalf Shaun Venter did not show the necessary restraint at the ruck and Cronje’s penalty closed the gap to just one point (23-24).

The Lions clawed their way back into the lead in the 55th minute courtesy of another Cronje penalty (26-24), but the Pumas pounced again, counter-attacking off an up-and-under and earning Van Wyk another penalty (27-26).

With 13 minutes remaining, and with options both left and right from a midfield scrum in Lions’ territory, lock Rudi Matthee, always strong with ball in hand, made impressive ground before Bouwer reached over the ruck to score.

Van Wyk’s conversion gave the Pumas a healthy 34-26 lead, but the visitors were soon singing a different tune as the Lions came swarming back on to attack.

Some out-of-sorts basics by the Pumas put them under pressure and wing Ruan Combrinck finned his way down the right touchline for a top-class try. Cronje’s conversion was a formality and it was a one-point game (33-34) heading into the last 10 minutes.

But the Pumas once again showed that remarkable ability to strike back from the kick-off as they roared back into the Lions’ 22 and Van Wyk kicked a penalty that was enough of a buffer.

Some admirable defence in the last five minutes ensured that the Pumas’ victory was just that little bit more memorable.

Scorers

MTN Golden Lions – Tries: Hendrik Roodt, Bradley Moolman, Ruan Combrinck. Conversions: Guy Cronje (3). Penalties: Cronje (4).

Ford Pumas – Tries: Jaco Bouwer (2), Deon Scholtz, Torsten van Jaarsveld. Conversions: Coenie van Wyk (4). Penalties: Van Wyk (3).

The MTN Golden Lions ran powerfully with the ball as they charged to a 71-25 (half-time 24-6) victory over the Griffons in their Vodacom Cup match at Coca-Cola Park in Johannesburg on Saturday.

The Griffons were outmatched up front and poor defensively, allowing a lively Lions backline to cut them apart, and the Northern Free Staters eventually conceded 11 tries.

The visitors started well enough, with flyhalf Reinard Erwee kicking a fourth-minute penalty to convert promising territory into points.

But the tightness of the Lions’ defence was such that the Griffons had to work hard for their points, while the sharpness of the Lions’ young midfield – flyhalf Marais Schmidt and centres Robert de Bruyn and BJ Moolman – meant the scoreboard became very ugly for the Northern Free Staters.

The Lions backs called the tune early on as Schmidt’s inside pass to De Bruyn led to the opening try and wing Anthony Volmink fed fullback Ruan Combrinck for the second try in the 13th minute.

Outside centre Moolman had a top-class game and scored two tries, although the grounding for his first five-pointer looked rather fishy after he had powered down the left-hand side and dotted down with just a finger’s worth of downward pressure in opposite number Werner Griesel’s tackle.

The Griffons were trailing 17-3 but seemed to be making a strong finish to the half as Erwee kicked another penalty and fantastic runs by fullback Virgil Russel and left wing Shane Hancke were both stopped a metre from the tryline.

The Lions’ clearance after the hooter went back to Hancke and he counter-attacked, but the Griffons lost the ball forward. The Lions then spread the ball wide and Moolman went sprinting over for the try from 55 metres out after throwing an outrageous dummy to befuddle the Northern Free State defence.

Schmidt added his second conversion of the half to give the Lions a 24-6 half-time lead and they put the Griffons to the sword after the break.

Lock Paul Willemse charged over from a ruck to open the second-half scoring, before burly centre Japie Nel dived over to give the Griffons some cheer.

Tighthead prop Ruan Dreyer, who had also given the Griffons a tough time in the scrums, burst from a ruck to score in the 52nd minute, Schmidt’s fourth conversion taking the score to 38-11, but the Griffons were still fighting, their efforts bringing a second try – replacement scrumhalf Tertius Carse breaking clear from a ruck, feeding prop Kewan Voysey, whose running and handling skills gave Russel the time and space to score.

Replacement flank Etienne Oosthuizen then scored for the Lions from his first touch of the ball, before Volmink scored a great try from the kick-off as he weaved his way out and in from the halfway line.

Volmink became the second Lions player to score two tries in the match with his intercept effort in the 76th minute, before the Griffons’ flanks, Willie Britz and Martin Sithole, combined superbly for a try to the latter.

Lions’ replacement wing JR Esterhuizen had been watching most of the match from the sideline, but took out his frustration in the last two minutes with two dazzling tries.

The final two points of the match came via the boot of replacement flyhalf Guy Cronje, as the Lions emphatically demonstrated the gap between the resources of the big unions and the minnows.

The bonus-point victory lifts the Lions to within touching distance of the North Section leaders, while it increases the misery of the Griffons, who have lost all three of their matches by wide margins.

SCORERS

MTN Golden Lions – Tries: Robert de Bruyn, Ruan Combrinck, BJ Moolman (2), Paul Willemse, Ruan Dreyer, Etienne Oosthuizen, Anthony Volmink (2), JR Esterhuizen (2). Conversions: Marais Schmidt (6), Guy Cronje (2).

Griffons – Tries: Japie Nel, Virgil Russel, Martin van Wyk. Conversions: Tiaan van Wyk (2). Penalties: Reinard Erwee (2).

http://www.supersport.com/rugby/vodacom-cup/news/120331/Lions_charge_to_victory_over_Griffons

The Blue Bulls were clinical in attack and rock-solid in defence as they hammered the MTN Golden Lions 49-10 (half-time 18-3) in their Vodacom Cup match at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria on Saturday.

The Bulls ran in six tries and they conceded just one as they thoroughly outplayed a Lions side that enjoyed enough possession, but could not make headway against a flat, imposing wall of defence. The Lions also tended to waste their ball with silly handling errors or poor option taking and a lack of flair.

The Lions actually opened the scoring with a seventh-minute penalty by fullback Marais Schmidt, but they had to wait another 52 minutes for their next shot at goal, when Schmidt kicked the conversion of their only try, by wing Anthony Volmink. That came about after the Lions finally got their scrum going and worked the blindside.

By then, however, the Bulls had already scored their bonus point try and the consolation effort allowed the Lions to close the gap to 35-10.

The Bulls enjoyed a healthy 18-3 lead at halftime, thanks to two penalties by flyhalf Tony Jantjies, whose boot kept the home side going forward. The younger brother of Lions star Elton succeeded with five conversions and three penalties in all, as well as scoring an impressive individual try for a haul of 24 points.

Lions loosehead prop Fhumulani Kamanga struggled to get himself settled at the scrum and the result was a series of penalties to the Bulls. One of these, in the 19th minute, was kicked to touch and, from the lineout, Jantjies put in a good straight run to get over the advantage line, allowing scrumhalf Ruan Snyman to pick the ball up at the ruck and swivel through a couple of tackles and score.

The Bulls’ second try came in the 21st minute from another scrum penalty deep inside the Lions’ 22. From the tap penalty, Jantjies charged straight through the flimsy defence of opposite number Garth April to score.

The Lions tried hard to breach the Bulls defence up to the end of the first half, enjoying 68% possession in the first 40 minutes, but their efforts invariably came to nought, ending in a dropped pass or a turnover.

It meant the Lions finished the first half 15 points behind and the second half just saw a repeat of their first-half mistakes.

Another scrum penalty six minutes after the break allowed the Bulls to set up a midfield ruck, fullback Ulrich Beyers popped up in the backline and wing Jurgen Visser was looming on the wing and able to canter over the tryline.

Jantjies kicked the conversion and a penalty in the 54th minute as the Bulls extended their lead to 28-3 and sealed the result.

From the kickoff, Snyman hoisted an up-and-under and Visser appeared out of nowhere to snatch the ball from Schmidt, and Beyers was up in support to take an inside pass and score under the poles (35-3).

The Lions did bounce back with Volmink’s lone try, but the Bulls were quickly back on to the attack.

At a venue where tight play is so admired, it was fitting that the Bulls’ last two tries were scored by loosehead prop Vincent Koch and replacement tighthead Basil Short.

It was at forward where the Bulls had laid the platform for their triumph and the whole pack were brilliant, working as the most well-knit of units.

The Bulls backline was solid in defence and efficient on attack: Jantjies has clearly inherited the genes of his brother, while the midfield pairing of Francois Venter and Jan Serfontein is one of the most promising in the country.

SCORERS:

Vodacom Blue Bulls – Tries: Ruan Snyman, Tony Jantjies, Jurgen Visser, Ulrich Beyers, Vincent Koch, Basil Short. Conversions: Jantjies (5). Penalties: Jantjies (3).

MTN Golden Lions – Try: Anthony Volmink. Conversion: Marais Schmidt. Penalty: Schmidt.

http://www.supersport.com/rugby/vodacom-cup/news/120324/Clinical_Bulls_hammer_Lions