Bulls do some soul-searching

Blue Bulls coach Pine Pienaar said his team's discipline and their errors cost them dearly in their huge defeat against the Golden Lions.

The Pretoria side slumped to a horror 62-23 defeat in front of their home crowd at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday, conceding eight tries in the process.

Although the sides had been quite evenly matched in the first half, the Lions ran away with it after half-time and Pienaar said that his side would need to do some serious introspection to ensure they do not suffer a defeat like this again.

“The Lions played excellent rugby in the second half, but it also has to do with the mistakes we made. We knew if we gave them broken play, they would be deadly and that is what happened,” Pienaar said.

“What happened tonight is inexcusable, so we'll have to go and have a look at the game and see which points we need to address.”

Pienaar said while they were mindful of the Lions' ability to counter-attack, his charges allowed the visitors enough space and opportunity to do just that.

“We have to make sure we get a win next week in an away game, otherwise the competition can get away from us quickly,” he said.

“We spoke in the beginning about how dangerous it is when you give the opposition even the smallest of opportunities.

“At junior levels you can still get away with it and you can scramble in defence, but it is a massive lesson for us.”

While the Lions demonstrated their attacking flair with the ball in hand, they also flexed their muscle among the forwards.

Three of their tries came off physical driving mauls from line-outs, exposing the Bulls pack's weakness and highlighting that the Lions can vary their play.

The Lions next take on early log-leaders Western Province at Ellis Park, while the Bulls take on the second-placed Sharks in Durban.

SAPA