Lions make statement against Bulls

MATCH REPORT: The Lions  booked a home semifinal and moved to the top of the Currie Cup table with a resounding 57-33 win at Midstream College in Olifantsfontein.

The Lions started the match in near-perfect fashion when they reclaimed the kick-off and out the Bulls under immediate pressure – with wing Maxwane coming close to scoring in the opening minutes.

It didn’t take the Lions too long to get on the scoreboard when they opened their account with a try built on sustained pressure and continuity, with Erich Cronjé picking up a bounce pass to run in for the try.

The Lions’ second try came in the 19th minute after a rolling maul that was collapsed illegally, the visitors picked and drove until the dam-wall broke for Ruan Venter who dotted down.

The Lions had a breakout run and worked themselves into the Bulls’ 22 – with Jaco van der Walt penalised for being offside.

The Lions rolled the dice and went for the lineout which paid off when PJ Botha crashed over for their third try of the evening in the 21st minute.

The Lions almost scored again when kicked a grubber and Maxwane knocked it on with the try-line open in his sights.

The Bulls struck back soon after when they worked themselves into the Lions’ 22 and bashed away at the line – with Corné Beets going over for the hosts’ first score.

The Lions hit back when attacking under penalty advantage, Ntlabakanye got the ball away to Horn who gave it to Louw who made an outstanding linebreak into the Bulls’ 22 and found Springbok Morné van den Berg who went over for the bonus point try in the 32nd minute.

The Bulls under penalty advantage for a dangerous tackle got their second score of the night when they worked it to the blindside and Moodie was tackled short of the line and his pass seemed to be forward into the in-goal area.

It was deemed after a TMO referral that Mafura played Moodie’s hand whilst on the ground and a penalty-try was awarded to the Bulls – with Mafura yellow carded for his cynical actions in the 37th minute.

Merwe Olivier made a costly mistake immediately after the restart when he stepped into touch when gathering the ball.

The Lions exploited the opportunity and set-up a driving maul which saw PJ Botha going over for a brace.

The Lions started the second-half strong but the Bulls held them out well.

The Bulls struck first after receiving a penalty for a neck-roll and set-up a lineout just outside the Lions’ 22.

The Bulls attacked and got another penalty for not releasing in the tackle by the Lions, which Van der Linde took quickly and it paid off when captain on the night Joe van Zyl dived over in the 49th minute.

The Lions scored their first points of the second-half when some slick hands by Louw who got the ball away to Steyn and him finding Van den Berg who put Horn into space to get them on the front-foot to set Naude up off a pass by Van den Berg to bash over in the 55th minute.

The Bulls scored another try after gaining territory through a penalty as the Lions took Van der Linde out.

With a great blindside play – Moodie kicked a grubber through and it was collected by Katlego Letebele who went over in the corner.

The Lions won a breakdown penalty and set up the lineout maul inside the Bulls 22.

The Bulls defended well and Nico Steyn slotted a drop-goal to extend the lead to 15 points.

The Lions attacked off a scrum soon after and looked set to score but Mafura lost possession.

The Bulls tried to play from deep inside their 22 and paid the price for it when Merwe Olivier lost the ball forward which Jarrod Cairns regathered as the Lions bashed away at the line and Renzo du Plessis picked a great line to score his fifth try in two matches in the 71st minute.

The Bulls had a scrum after an error by the Lions and Else got himself in some space and the Lions got penalised for being offside.

The Bulls went for the corner and played a blindside lineout move which saw Olivier off the lineout take give the ball to Else who dotted it down in the corner.

The Lions had the final say when after the siren they decided to attack from their own half with Jonker finding Horn who made a great break and found Maxwane who put the cherry on an outstanding Lions performance to score the final try of the match.

Scorers:

For the Bulls:
Tries: Beets, Van Zyl, Letebele, Else, Penalty try (does not require conversion)
Cons: Van der Walt, Johannes 2

For the Lions:
Tries: Cronjé, Venter, Van den Berg, Naude, Du Plessis, Maxwane, Botha 2
Cons: Nohamba 2, Steyn 5
DG: Steyn

Yellow card: Tapiwa Mafura (Lions, Min 37 – cynical play: playing the player on the ground in act of scoring)

Teams:
Bulls: 15 Canan Moodie, 14 Katlego Letebele, 13 Cornel Smit, 12 Chris Barend Smit, 11 Stravino Jacob, 10 Jaco van der Walt, 9 Bernard van der Linde, 8 Celimpilo Gumede, 7 Corné Beets, 6 Cyle Brink, 5 Sintu Manjezi, 4 Merwe Olivier, 3 Khutha Mchunu, 2 Joe van Zyl (captain), 1 Dylan Smith.
Replacements: 16 Juann Else, 17 Tielman Nieuwoudt, 18 Mornay Smith, 19 Jannes Kirsten, 20 Ghudian van Reenen, 21 Keagan Johannes, 22 Lionel Mapoe, 23 Mihlali Mosi.

Lions: 15 Quan Horn, 14 Rabz Maxwane, 13 Erich Cronje, 12 Marius Louw (captain), 11 Tapiwa Mafura, 10 Nico Steyn, 9 Morne van den Berg, 8 Francke Horn, 7 Ruan Venter, 6 JC Pretorius, 5 Reinhard Nothnagel, 4 Ruben Schoeman, 3 Asenathi Ntlabakanye, 2 JPJ Botha, 1 Morgan Naudé.
Replacements: 16 Franco Marais, 17 Juan Schoeman, 18 Conrad van Vuuren, 19 Etienne Oosthuizen, 20 Renzo du Plessis, 21 Jarod Cairns, 22 Sanele Nohamba, 23 Rynhardt Jonker.
Referee: Morne Ferreira
TMO: Quinton Immelman

Image credits: Gallo Images