Dayimani wins it for Golden Lions

● Just when it seemed the Golden Lions were staring down the barrel their gifted No 8 Hacjivah Dayimani forced his will on proceedings.

Two tries helped his side take the lead with less than 10 minutes to go, before his steal at a ruck with the Bulls on the attack in the closing minutes proved a clincher.

Dayimani’s first try was testament to his ability to rid himself of defenders when he has a bit of space. With seemingly nowhere to go next to the touchline, he shimmied and sped around Duncan Matthews.

His second came as a result of sustained attack and a deft pass from flyhalf Shaun Reynolds. It helped too that the Lions’ bench made an impact as the Bulls added only seven points to their first-half tally.

It condemned the Blue Bulls to a second consecutive Currie Cup defeat which would considerably have lengthened the odds on them securing a berth in the semifinal, let alone hosting one.

This was a game that showcased endeavour by the bucket load but, as a consequence, spills were never far away, particularly in the first half.

Bulls get a foothold

The ball was turned over with such alarming regularity that neither side was able to take it through the phases. Ordinarily that would make for a frustrating stop-start affair, but both defences were so porous that the first half still yielded seven tries.

All too often the ball carrier’s appeared to be in a cul-de-sac only for the generous defence to smooth the path to the motorway.

On top of that the Lions would have reflected on a first half in which they contributed to their half-time deficit. Costly errors in their own half served to undermine the visitors as the home side capitalised with three of their four tries before half time.

The Blue Bulls, to be fair, increasingly eked out valuable metres through their forwards, and coupled with the Lions’ propensity to squander possession they got a foothold.

While loosies Ruan Steenkamp and Handro Liebenberg harangued the visitors, the Bulls’ rolling maul also got the Lions’ back-pedalling. In fact, when the Bulls kept the ball under the cover of their forwards they looked most dangerous.

Lapse at the ruck

Just as the Lions got reward for their assertive start through a try by Reynolds, a lapse at the ruck from the restart let in the Blue Bulls. Another lapse cost them another seven pointer seven minutes later when Reynolds allowed himself to be dispossessed in the shadow of his team’s uprights.

The Lions frequently squandered promising positions and their cause may well have been lost had Manie Libbok not hit the righthand upright from a long-range penalty in the 60th minute.

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Tightheads’ quote of the week comes from a provincial blazer-wearer who may be in the running to take over his province’s presidential seat in November. Asked whether he would consider himself one of the frontrunners the official reached for metaphors and a blender. “I’m not so sure I want to throw my hat into the bee’s nest.”

The same official once explained to Tightheads why London’s tight living arrangements were not his cup of tea. “I wouldn’t be able to live here,” he said, pointing at Kensington’s plush apartments. “I’d find it too xenophobic.”

We know what he was trying to say but Free State rugby boss Harold Verster’s suggestion at the launch of the Pro14 competition to amplify the crowd’s impact in Bloemfontein drew a few arched eyebrows: “We will try and make the stadium look smaller.” That, we presume, was code for confining the crowd to the bottom tier of the Free State Stadium — which will no doubt continue being sparsely populated.

“And thanks also to the charming and beautiful Mots, over there,” Verster said earlier while pointing to SuperSport presenter Motshidisi Mohono at the launch. While Tightheads bows to his superior knowledge, we were a little more intrigued by the look fellow presenter Gcobani Bobo sported on the way out of the function. The man who increasingly curates online content now has the Spike Lee look down pat.

The lunch-time engagement at SuperSport meant food — using the broadest possible definition — was on offer. The waitrons enthusiastically offered lamb that, frankly, can only be chewed with the jaws of life, while the ”chicken curry” had some crying ”fowl”. Thankfully, courtesy of the competition sponsor, on the way out there was some Guinness to cleanse the palate.

SA Rugby boss Mark Alexander this week spoke about SA’s intended expanded interest in the Pro14. Griquas and the Pumas look set to enter next and Alexander is happy the sums add up. Tightheads, however, felt obliged to remind him what inevitably happens when SA teams start making up the numbers.

Golden Lions president Kevin de Klerk this week announced he is stepping down and we wish him and his family well in his retirement. The headline in the media release that trumpeted his departure read: ”Kevin de Klerk - The P.R.I.D.E. Never walks alone.” There may be a famous football slogan in there somewhere, but it also reminded Tightheads of the title of a book penned by one of his predecessors —