Ken Borland

The Lions have a golden opportunity to win their first match at Loftus Versfeld in more than four years when their URC-strength team tackles the Bulls’ Currie Cup side in Pretoria on Saturday evening.

Their 49-35 win on March 3, 2018, gave the Lions a hat-trick of wins to start their Super Rugby campaign that year, and Swys de Bruin’s team would go on to contest the final against the Crusaders.

That was the last year of the De Bruin/Warren Whiteley golden era though and the Lions would now normally be the underdogs when they take on the Bulls, who have qualified for the United Rugby Championship quarterfinals, and have dominated local rugby with back-to-back Currie Cup crowns.

But the importance of securing a home quarterfinal in the URC – they will need to beat the Ospreys next Friday in Swansea to have a chance – means that squad of players has already begun preparations for that vital overseas match and Currie Cup coach Gert Smal has had to make do with the ‘second-stringers’.

The Lions, on the other hand, are out of URC contention and have chosen pretty much their best available team to try and gain their first Currie Cup win after nine straight defeats this season. Smal believes the pressure will be on the visitors in Pretoria on Saturday.

“We have 27 players unavailable due to injuries and the URC team starting their preparation, while the Lions will bring their URC team,” Smal said on Friday.

“We want to put out the best team we can and play the best we can, but I think the pressure will be on the Lions. We knew it would happen at some stage and it’s just where we are right now.

“It’s the best team we could select and the Lions have been playing much better now than at the start of the competition. They like to play and they will test us in all areas,” Smal said.

If the Bulls can cull a couple of bonus points from the game then it will keep them in touch with the Free State Cheetahs, who are expected to beat the Sharks in Bloemfontein, and still have a game in hand on Smal’s team.

While the Lions will field the exciting pairing of livewire scrumhalf Morne van den Berg and talented flyhalf Jordan Hendrikse, the Bulls have chosen a young and relatively untried halfback combination in Keagan Johannes and Juan Mostert, and there will be some uncertainty over their game management and what tempo of rugby the home side wants to play.

Teams

Bulls – James Verity-Amm, David Kriel, Stedman Gans, Marco Jansen van Vuren, Kabelo Mokoena, Juan Mostert, Keagan Johannes, Muller Uys, Reinhardt Ludwig, Jaco Labuschagne, Janko Swanepoel, Raynard Roets, Dylan Smith, Bismarck du Plessis, Lizo Gqoboka (captain). Substitutes: Sidney Tobias, Cebo Dlamini, Francois Kloppers, Ruan Delport, Stephan Smith, Bernard van der Linde, Diego Appollis, Richard Kriel.

Lions – Quan Horn, Stean Pienaar, Wandisile Simelane, Burger Odendaal (captain), Edwill van der Merwe, Jordan Hendrikse, Morne van den Berg, Francke Horn, Ruan Venter, Sibusiso Sangweni, Reinhard Nothnagel, Ruben Schoeman, Ruan Dreyer, Jaco Visagie, Sti Sithole. Substitutes: PJ Botha, Heiko Pohlmann, Asenathi Ntlabakanye, Cal Smid, Jarod Cairns, Andre Warner, Henko van Wyk, Tiaan Swanepoel.

The Bulls are likely to attack the next two weekends of Currie Cup action as hard as player-management allows, but they will be hoping the Lions and Sharks follow suit as they can do the Loftus Versfeld team a massive favour over the next fortnight by beating back the charge of the Free State Cheetahs.

The Bulls are sitting at the top of the Currie Cup log at the moment, but they are just one point ahead of Free State, who have a game in hand.

While the Bulls are hosting Griquas at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday, the Cheetahs will be visiting the Lions at Ellis Park on Friday night. The Lions are bottom of the log and, given that they cannot make the URC playoffs anymore, they could well decide to focus on ensuring a better final position in the Currie Cup.

The Sharks then play Free State on May 14 and the Bulls would love them to take a strong team to Bloemfontein. But the Bulls host the Lions on the same weekend, before flying to the UK on the Monday, so that could be a pivotal game in their bid to top the Currie Cup log.

“We don’t know exactly what the other franchises are planning,” Bulls assistant coach Pine Pienaar said on Tuesday. “The Lions did really well in the URC at home, so maybe they want to end that competition on a high.

“They will show their hand with their selection against the Cheetahs this week, and then they could play the same side against us the following weekend. I would guess quite a few URC players would feature.

“I think there will also be URC players here and there in our team, although obviously some guys will be resting and there are a few players at the Springbok training group.

“We still see the Currie Cup as being very important, but all loading of the players has to be managed carefully. In some positions we don’t have as much depth, so we have to manage carefully when those guys rest,” Pienaar said.

Big calls will have to be made by head coaches Jake White and Gert Smal, and it is only going to get more complicated for the Bulls.

If the Bulls do win their URC quarterfinal on June 4 then they will advance to the semi-finals on June 11. That is the same day they are scheduled to play the Free State Cheetahs in Bloemfontein in the final round of Currie Cup action, in a match that could well decide who hosts the final.

The Currie Cup semi-finals then clash with the URC final on June 18, with the local final being played on June 25.

A rough year in the Currie Cup just got worse for the Lions as the Bulls unexpectedly beat their URC-strength side 43-37 at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday evening, in an entertaining game watched by more than 7000 spectators.

The Bulls led 35-10 at one stage, but they only sealed victory in the 77^th minute when Lions captain Burger Odendaal conceded a bizarre try and would have learnt a harsh lesson that it always pays to remember the colour of your team’s jersey!

Bulls took their chances

When you are the underdogs, taking your chances is crucial. Territory and possession were fairly even in the first half, but the Bulls were just so clinical in using their opportunities inside the Lions’ 22 as they went to the break 35-17 ahead.

Their forwards were a tight unit, carrying most effectively and prop Lizo Gqoboka, hooker Bismarck du Plessis and lock Janko Swanepoel all powered over the line.

There was also some beautiful running and handling by the backs, who showed some really smart touches. Like the line wing David Kriel ran to score from a dummy maul and the lovely kick infield he made for outside centre Stedman Gans to run on to and score.

Bulls on the wrong side of the referee in second half

On the anniversary of a Captain’s Challenge being introduced on a trial basis in the Rainbow Cup, the Bulls would have been desperate for anything to stop the incredible flow of penalties awarded against them by referee Griffin Colby in the second half. At one stage he gave the Lions 10 penalties in a row and overall the Bulls conceded twice as many penalties as their opponents.

Discipline is obviously an issue the Bulls will have to deal with, and they were regularly penalised at ruck time.

It meant they could barely get out of their 22 and the Lions fought back to within a point at 37-38 with five minutes remaining.

Odendaal’s awful mistake

The Lions captain has been flourishing this season, but he also spent many happy years at Loftus Versfeld playing for the Bulls. He will be gutted by the mistake he made right at the end though, when he passed the ball straight to Bulls replacement wing Richard Kriel inside his own in-goal area. Brother David Kriel had made the initial searing break that put the Bulls on attack, but the Lions regained possession behind their tryline, only for Odendaal to think he was back playing for the Bulls and passing to a blue jersey!

Learnings for youngsters as hard men shine

Playing against, and beating, a URC side would have been a tremendous learning experience for the Bulls’ young Currie Cup players. And the way they defended for the vast majority of the second half showed superb character. They had some hardened campaigners to help them along though and Du Plessis and Gqoboka were in the frontline of the effort.

Swanepoel, strong with the ball and in defence, and able to make crucial lineout steals, looks a player with a great future, and it was an excellent outing for David Kriel, who has been out in the wilderness for the last few weeks.

Scorers

Bulls: Tries – Lizo Gqoboka, Bismarck du Plessis, David Kriel, Janko Swanepoel, Stedman Gans, Richard Kriel. Conversions – Juan Mostert (5). Penalty – Keagan Johannes

Lions: Tries – Ruben Schoeman, Burger Odendaal, Francke Horn, Jordan Hendrikse, Sibusiso Sangweni. Conversions – Hendrikse (3). Penalties – Hendrikse (2).

The Hendrikse bros are two of the most exciting young talents in South African rugby, but it was clearly older brother Jaden who got the better of his sibling Jordan as he played a key role in the Sharks beating the Lions 37-10 in their United Rugby Championship match at Kings Park in Durban at the weekend.

Scrumhalf Jaden produced a sparkling all-round display, running attack slickly with pinpoint passing and excellent vision, while his x-factor was also apparent in some of the more outrageous things that the 22-year-old pulled off. He also kicked brilliantly, both in terms of box-kicks for territory and for attacking purposes.

Brother Jordan, two years younger, just lacked the same spark and Sharks coach Sean Everitt said his team winning the kicking-for-territory battle was crucial to their handsome victory.

“We knew if we could get into a kicking duel with the Lions then we could come out on top,” Everitt said after the win. “Obviously conditions suited that sort of game as well, it was very difficult out there.

“Jaden played well last week as well and he is starting to reach the form he was in when he played for South Africa last year. He and Curwin Bosch managed the game very well.

“We wanted to try and put pressure on the Lions, and with Anthony Volmink at fullback, we had a three-pointed kicking plan which worked extremely well. I think there were only three times we played more than three phases in our own half,” Everitt said.

The victory lifted the Sharks into sixth place on the URC log and, with just three games remaining, the playoffs beckon for the KwaZulu-Natalians. But those three matches are against top sides Leinster, Connacht and a particularly tough trip to Ulster in their last fixture.

Everitt said he is confident though that everything is coming together nicely for his team to finish strong.

“There are only three games left but there is a lot of rugby to be played. There are also a lot of overseas derbies coming up.

“We have shown glimpses of some really good stuff and we are getting our all-round game right – we’re not conceding many tries, we’re getting our kicking game right and when we get the opportunity to move the ball, we have shown intent.

“So yes, I think this has been the perfect build-up for the final run-in,” Everitt said.