Ken Borland

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

The Bulls successfully used the boot of flyhalf Morne Steyn to subdue the Sharks and win their all-South African SuperRugby match 18-13 (half-time 0-0) at Loftus Versfeld on Friday.
The first half was marred by scrappy play, poor handling and little vision on attack and it ended scoreless.
But the Bulls dominated the first half-hour of the second half, with Steyn, the franchise’s leading points-scorer with 991, kicking penalties in the 43rd, 49th, 53rd, 56th and 58th minutes.
The Bulls physically dominated the breakdown, but their own errors prevented them from gaining much momentum and they showed little ambition on attack, preferring to use up-and-unders by Steyn and the brilliant chasing and aerial skills of wing Bjorn Basson.
Steyn also used the time and space given to him by the strong driving of his forwards to stroke over a 68th-minute drop goal that gave the Bulls a healthy 18-6 lead.
The Sharks managed just two penalties from flyhalf Pat Lambie in the first 70 minutes, but began to keep ball in hand far more effectively during the closing stages as they stretched the Bulls.
The visitors scored the only try of the match as wing Lwazi Mvovo made a strong run down the right, before replacement flank Jacques Botes provided the support to complete the try, which was converted by Lambie.
But the Bulls defence held for the last nine minutes as the 2007, 2009 and 2010 champions made a winning start to the competition.
“It was a combination of eagerness and dew on the ball, but every time we got in their half, we just seemed unable to keep the ball. It was frustrating, but in the second half we picked up our focus and got some points,” Bulls captain Pierre Spies told a news conference after the game.
“There was good defence on both sides and there were no easy yards and no gaps out there. There was a lot of play between the two 10-metre lines and a lot of it was about field position and tactical kicking. The collisions were big, but we controlled the ball well in contact, which was important for us to build pressure,” coach Frans Ludeke said.
Sharks coach John Plumtree conceded that his team did not deserve to win.
“I’m proud of the way we came back at the end, but you can’t win games if you make so many basic errors. Our lineout did not function and we couldn’t dominate the gain-line. They stressed us, their box-kicks were outstanding, and we gave away 14 penalties, so there’s a lot for us to do,” Plumtree said.