Bulls put hopes on Sunwolves and Cheetahs

Jacques van der Westhuyzen

Lions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .(17) 57 Southern Kings . . . . . (7) 21

JOB done. It wasn’t the prettiest – or most accurate or clinical – performance by the Lions, but they picked up the five log points they wanted against the Southern Kings at Ellis Park last night and remain on course to finish the regular Super Rugby season at the top of the pile.

After the Chiefs hammered the Reds in New Zealand yesterday to top the points standings, the Lions had to win with a bonus point last night to restore their top position, and they did that thanks to a rollicking second-half performance, running in six tries after the interval.

Now everything depends on what happens with the Lions in their final game of the regular season next Saturday – against the Jaguares in Buenos Aires. If the Lions win with a bonus point, they will host a quarter-final, a semi-final and the final, if they go that far in the competition. But a defeat could result in them having to travel abroad if they advance in the knockout stages of the competition.

Coach Johan Ackermann will decide in the next day or two – after today’s results – whether to take his strongest line-up to Argentina. He has said he is worried about the long flight back from South America, as well as the health of his players.

He has a tough decision to make because although the Lions won comfortably last night, they battled for long periods against a fired-up and highly motivated Kings team. The Lions were poor in many areas, but most especially in their handling and game management.

Ackermann would be right to give his players a stern talking to today because they will have to be far more accurate and clinical than they were in the first half last night if they are to be serious title challengers later this month.

But credit must also go to the Kings, who had nothing to lose and played with plenty of passion. Their defence was particularly good; they played in-your-face rugby and rushed the Lions backs on a number of occasions, forcing them into numerous errors.

After a quick start by the Lions, with centre Rohan Janse van Rensburg scoring inside two minutes, the Kings enjoyed a solid first quarter by dominating possession and territory, and they were rewarded for their play with scrumhalf James Hall crossing the tryline.

The Lions, though, slowly got into their rhythm, even if they were not completely in control of matters, and finished the half strongly, fullback Andries Coetzee scoring his team’s second try.

Faf de Klerk and the Kings’ Stefan Watermeyer then exchanged five-pointers at the start of the second spell to suggest this game would be a closely-fought affair. However, the sin-binning of Kings players Shane Gates and Edgar Marutlulle around the 60-minute mark paved the way for the home team to run riot.

Franco Mostert, Malcolm Marx, Janse van Rensburg, Sylvian Mahuza and Courtnall Skosan all ran in tries in the final 23 minutes to blow the Kings out of the park. The Kings did get a third try for their efforts later on, when Schalk Ferreira crossed the whitewash, but although they were spirited throughout the 80 minutes, they never looked like actually beating the best team in the competition.

It was a far-from-perfect showing by Ackermann’s men, but perhaps it was just the right time to have that off day. Now to Argentina, and then the play-offs.

Vata Ngobeni

THE Bulls will go into this afternoon’s clash against the Sunwolves at Loftus Versfeld holding on to a fading glimmer of hope that somehow they can still make the Super Rugby play-offs.

It is by no means false hope that Nollis Marais’s men will be reaching out for but they cannot claim to have any control over their fate either.

The reality of their situation is that any chance of them making the play-offs lies in the hands of two teams in the Cheetahs and the Sunwolves because they face the Sharks, who stand in the way of the Bulls capturing that third and final quarter-final berth.

Marais has made no secret of the fact that he will be down on both knees praying that his old friend and Cheetahs coach Franco Smith does him an almighty favour by beating the Sharks later today, but the Bulls will also need to do themselves a favour by goring the Sunwolves in their last game at home this season.

The formula for making the play-offs remains a simple one for the Bulls: win their two remaining games and hope that the Cheetahs or Sunwolves can beat the Sharks, who lead the Bulls by a mere three points in the South African group.

However, Marais’s message to his team has been to focus on what they can control and put to bed the horror show that transpired last weekend in Buenos Aires, where they were outplayed and outwitted by the Jaguares.

“Our plan was always to reach the play-offs and our expectations are still there to reach them,” said Marais. “In the beginning of the competition we lost bonus points against the Rebels, Reds and Sunwolves and that is something that haunts us. We have the same number of wins as the Sharks, and before last weekend the same as the Stormers, but bonus points killed us.

“It doesn’t matter what happens on Saturday (today), we must just make sure we play two good games in the next two weeks.”

There will be a need for the Bulls to lift their performance to stave off what will be a spirited Sunwolves team who will still be feeling aggrieved at their narrow loss to the Bulls in Singapore in the two sides’ clash earlier this season.

“We are under no illusion that it will be an easy game, especially with us being where we are at the moment and after the game we had against them in Singapore,” said Bulls captain Adriaan Strauss.

“They’ve also shown how competitive they are against some big franchises in the competition and we know they can be dangerous if you give them the opportunity to play. We need to take control of the game and play the way we want to and not give them space and ball because they can be very dangerous when you do that.”

The men from Pretoria will also be fuelled by their desire to give a good send-off to their departing servants Werner Kruger, Lappies Labuschagne, Marcel van der Merwe and Grant Hattingh.

It will be a big final outing for Kruger, who is the only player in the history of the union and franchise to have played a hundred games in Super Rugby and Currie Cup.

“It has been an honour for me to have played for the Bulls and an even greater privilege to have achieved what I have here,” said Kruger who will be joining the Scarlets in Wales at the end of Super Rugby.

“For me arriving here as a 19-year-old kid, all I wanted to do was play a single game, and then I wanted to play another game. I never thought I would get to where I am today, having won two Super Rugby titles and a Currie Cup trophy. I’ve had some really special times here and made some good friends.”

Labuschagne and Hattingh will be making their way to Japan and will not return for Super Rugby again. Van der Merwe will be joining French Top 14 side Toulon.