Pollard, Bulls gore weary Lions
● The Bulls applied equal amounts of brawn and brain as they vanquished the Lions in their den yesterday.
They outmuscled the Lions up front and had their uncharacteristically lethargic hosts pinned on the back foot for the bulk of the opening hour in this Super Rugby match. More brutal was the manner in which Bulls flyhalf Handre Pollard delivered punishing kicks to the Lions’ guts from the kicking tee. He delivered a conversion and six penalties.
The defeat must now signal the end of the Lions’ domination in local Super Rugby over the last three years. The Lions had gone 21 matches unbeaten before the Sharks beat them in Durban last year. Defeat by the Stormers last week raised the suspicion that the Lions’ reign in SA was under serious threat.
As the Lions are back-pedalling, the Bulls are snorting with intent. The Lions without the leadership of Warren Whiteley were bossed in the collisions and it was evident in the back row where the Bulls made their size advantage count.
The Bulls were more incisive in the first 20 minutes and the Lions were forced to absorb pressure. The Bulls held a distinct ad-
The Lions, despite the fact that they had two dedicated ball poachers, often found themselves on the wrong side of the law
vantage in territory but the Lions conceded just three points in the opening 20 minutes, which spoke volumes for their ability to roll with the punches.
The Bulls, however, will reflect on that period as one in which they could have been more clinical. They conceded a crucial ruckturnover penalty on the Lions’ goalline in the seventh minute and the Lions found relief on two other occasions when they had their backs to the wall in the first quarter.
The Bulls persisted. They made the hard, valuable yards in the tight exchanges, with Lizo Gqoboka, Hanro Liebenberg and Duane Vermeulen bashing away at the Lions’ defence.
It also helped that the Bulls lineout, in which they had yet to concede a throw-in Super Rugby coming into this match, again functioned at near optimum levels.
They also bossed the breakdowns where the Lions, despite the fact that they had two dedicated ball poachers, often found themselves on the wrong side of the law.
Bulls scrumhalf Embrose Papier exercised sound judgment from behind the marauding pack.
Not just that, when the Bulls showed cracks, he was particularly proficient at papering it over as a last line of cover.
Outside of Papier, Pollard delivered another assured performance.
By the time Lions tighthead prop Carlu Sadie knocked on from a routine pass, it perhaps encapsulated the first-half effort by the Lions.
The Lions battled bravely in the second half, particularly through Marnus Schoeman. The flank, who wears the look of a weary pugilist, was industrious, although not always advancing the Lions’ cause. Lions (0) 12 Bulls (14) 30 Lions — Tries: Carlu Sadie, Dylan Smith;
Conversion: Elton Jantjies Bulls: Tries: Duane Vermeulen, Warrick
Gelant; Conversion: Handre Pollard; Penalties: Pollard (6)