Ken Borland

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 Sharks will be looking to come to the boil quickly against Zebre Parma in their United Rugby Championship match at Kings Park on Saturday evening, with coach Sean Everitt identifying this as a key aspect if they are to emulate what the Stormers did to the Italian side last weekend in Stellenbosch.

Zebre were hammered 55-7 by the Stormers, who raced into a 21-0 lead after just 11 minutes. The Sharks, meanwhile, have been steadily climbing the URC log after three successive bonus point wins.

“It was really important that Western Province played exceptionally well in the first 30 minutes and put Zebre to bed,” Everitt said. “So Zebre are not as bad a side as that final scoreline suggests.

“They ran Ospreys really close a couple of weeks ago, they are unpredictable and dangerous and we have got to be accurate with our execution from the start.

“We’ve got a full house of points from our last three games but it’s not about the points, it’s about our performance and the performance has not been where we want it to be.

“So our focus is on rectifying that and then we’ll be able to stay in the top eight and be a threat in the quarterfinals,” Everitt said.

Being on a winning run has allowed Everitt to gently curate his personnel and he will be hoping the presence of outside centre Ben Tapuai and scrumhalf Grant Williams in the starting backline assists their attacking efforts, which have not always been on-par with the sterling displays of their pack.

Against lowly Zebre, flyhalf Curwin Bosch also really needs to find his spark in directing the attacking play.

Other areas of focus which Everitt highlighted are:

• Stopping the good Zebre maul
• Making sure they have good width on defence to handle Zebre’s penchant for attacking on both sides of the ruck
• Handling Zebre’s long kicking game, and making good decisions and executing well when it comes to counter-attacking off those kicks
• Ensuring there is better accuracy in their own kicking game.

The Bulls, with half of their URC side in tow, overwhelmed Griquas with seven tries to win their Currie Cup match 53-27 in Kimberley on Saturday.

Playing with high tempo, plenty of intent to get the ball wide and some excellent handling, the Bulls were just too slick on attack for a typically willing Griquas side.

But with the home side flagging in the second half and giving the Bulls plenty of territory through conceding back-to-back penalties, the defending champions were able to convert a 22-15 halftime lead into a comprehensive victory.

The Bulls were also playing with the wind in the second half and flyhalf Chris Smith controlled the game with aplomb, succeeding with a couple of 50/22 kicks.

Bulls captain Marcell Coetzee said “all credit to Griquas for stretching us and they played some terrific rugby”, while also praising veteran hooker Bismarck du Plessis for “inspiring us every day”.

The Springbok great’s lineout work was precise and he provided plenty of running metres gained down the tramlines, as well as showcasing nifty handling skills.

He was rewarded with a 63^rd minute try off a rolling maul, while there were also thrilling tries scored in open play by prop Simphiwe Matanzima, centre Cornal Hendricks, lock Walt Steenkamp, flank Arno Botha, wing Canan Moodie and replacement scrumhalf Keegan Johannes.

The Bulls were particularly potent on counter-attack, with fullback Kurt-Lee Arendse making Griquas pay for kicking on them.

Scorers

Griquas – Tries: Zander du Plessis (2), Hanru Sirgel, Michael Amiras. Conversions: Du Plessis (2). Drop goal: Theo Boshoff.

Bulls – Tries: Simphiwe Matanzima, Cornal Hendricks, Walt Steenkamp, Arno Botha, Canan Moodie, Bismarck du Plessis, Keegan Johannes. Conversions: Chris Smith (6). Penalties: Smith (2).

Travelling to Kimberley and not having the right preparation, cohesion and mindset is often disastrous and that is why the Bulls on Friday named a powerful, URC-strength side for their Currie Cup match against Griquas at Tafel Lager Park on Saturday.

Eight of the starting XV who played last week in Italy have been included for Saturday’s Currie Cup encounter, and another eight who were on the bench against Zebre Parma will also be travelling to the Northern Cape.

“You can never underestimate Griquas,” Bulls Currie Cup coach Gert Smal explained, “and going to Kimberley can be really difficult if you’re not prepared. That’s why our team looks like that.

“It’s an important match for us to win and we haven’t played Currie Cup for a month, we are trying to get some rhythm and so it’s important for the team to have played together a bit.

“It’s always tough playing Griquas on their home ground but we want to see if we can beat them there. They are the giant-killers, but we will be ready for whatever is thrown at us, ready for the challenge.

“There are four areas we need to concentrate on and if we do them well then we will get the result: Griquas maul quite a lot, contestables, the breakdown and our mindset,” Smal said on Friday.

The top-of-the-log Sharks played the Pumas in Nelspruit on Friday night, going into the match with a four-point lead over the Bulls in third place, so the importance of Smal’s team getting four points in Kimberley is clear, because the last thing they want is for the KwaZulu-Natalians to open an eight-point lead on them.

“We take the Currie Cup seriously, we want to make sure we can win it,” Smal said. “We look at each game and choose the best team for that specific match, depending on how badly we feel we need the points.”

With the schedule allowing the Bulls to pick many of their best players, they will be looking to unleash their full might on Griquas.

Bulls team:Kurt-Lee Arendse, Canan Moodie, Stedman Gans, Cornal Hendricks, Richard Kriel, Chris Smith, Embrose Papier; Muller Uys, Arno Botha, Marcell Coetzee (CAPT), Janko Swanepoel, Walt Steenkamp, Robert Hunt, Bismarck du Plessis, Simphiwe Matanzima. IMPACT-Schalk Erasmus, Lizo Gqoboka, Kowie Roos, Reinhardt Ludwig, WJ Steenkamp, Keagan Johannes, Juan Mostert, Lionel Mapoe.