The Bulls opened their Rainbow Cup campaign with a 22-9 win over the Lions at Loftus on Saturday night despite having three tries disallowed.
Game flow: Considering the talent these sides boast and earlier their promise of expansive rugby, the quality – or lack thereof– in this contest was somewhat of a disappointment. Of course the game was played at a frantic pace and with brute physicality, but there was no structure and no precision in what either the Bulls or the Lions were doing.
It took the Bulls just two minutes to strike an earlier blow when Chris Smith danced his way through the heart of the Lions defence with relative ease to crossed for a self-converted try. The Lions, though, struck back with two penalties off the boot of debutant Fred Zeilinga before the end of the first quarter to make it a one-point game.
The hosts would extend their lead with a three-pointer but margin could’ve been greater had the Bulls taken their opportunities. First, they had a try chalked off after a reviewed confirmed that scrumhalf Embrose Papier had knocked the ball on at the base of a ruck in the lead-up to the try being scored and then on the stroke of half-time centre Cornal Hendricks was unable to touch the ball down for a try after a perfectly weighted chip into the in-goal area sat up for him.
The second half turned out no better than the first. In fact, after an early penalty to the visitors there was a lack of point-scoring action. The Bulls had a further two tries wiped off the score-sheet after it was ruled that an obstruction occurred in the lead-up to one and a successful captain’s referral by the Lions led to the cancellation of the other. But replacement scrumhalf Zak Burger would score a try to push the Bulls’ lead beyond the seven-point margin.
The error-rate increased in the last 10 minutes, but the Bulls would have the final say when Louw barged over for a deserved touchdown at the death. But the scoreline is not a true reflection of the game. The Bulls may have won handsomely in the end, but alongside the Lions, they played like this was a pre-season warm-up instead of an in-competition encounter.
Hammer blow: Twelve minutes into the match, the Lions lost Tiaan Swanepoel – arguably the most valuable player in their squad – to a serious-looking ankle injury after a collision with opposition flank Elrich Louw. With the enforced removal of Swanepoel and his booming kicking boot, the Bulls unintentionally took out the biggest weapon in the Lions’ already limited arsenal.
Bok watch: Hendricks‘ solid performance in midfield did no harm to his chances as an outside horse in the race for Springbok selection. Outgoing Bulls openside flank Marco van Staden, who is set to join the Leicester Tigers, is another Bok bolter who had an excellent opening game in the Rainbow Cup.
