The Vodacom Blue Bulls u/20s hosted the Lions u/20s on Friday at Loftus Versveld and had to work "surprisingly" hard to secure a 26-13 win.
The Vodacom Blue Bulls u/20s need to win their two remaining matches against the Toyota Cheetahs and Valke to secure their place in the SA Rugby u/20 Cup competition against log leaders, Cell C Sharks which should qualify to host the final.
The Vodacom Bulls u/20s outscored the Lions u/20s four tries to one but initially kept the visitors in the game with several penalties they conceded.
The Vodacom Bulls led their visitors 14-10 at the halftime break with the match at stage balanced on a knife's edge.
Two tries in the second half were a true reflection of the Vodacom Blue Bulls' efforts on the field. The Vodacom Blue Bulls u/20s scored the bonus point try, minutes before the final whistle to secure the bonus point.
Scorers:
Vodacom Blue Bulls u/20: Tries: Corne Lavagna, Juann Else, Hanno Theunissen, Lukas Meyer. Conversions: Liam Koen (3).
Lions u/20: Tries: Kelly Mpeku. Conversions: Sam Francis. Penalties: Sam Francis, Thurlon Williams.
Teams:
Lions u/20: 15. Janeil Losper, 14. Asemahle Nongogo, 13. Kelly Mpeku, 12. Bronson Mills, 11. Keagan Smith, 10. Sam Francis, 9. Layton Horn, 8. Thabang Mphafi, 7. Christopher Sjoblom, 6. Sibabalwe Mahashe, 5. Daniel Botha, 4. Tiaan Wessels, 3. RF Schoeman, 2. Marno Grobbelaar, 1. S J Kotze (c). Replacements: 16. Riaan Swart, 17. Stian de Bruyn, 18. Liam Whitehead, 19. Luan Taylor, 20. Willen de Waal, 21. Aiden Muller, 22. Thurlon Williams, 23. Shah-Jehaan De Jongh.
Vodacom Blue Bulls u/20: 15. Regan Izaks, 14. Alfondso Isaacs, 13. Katlego Letebele, 12. PA Van Niekerk, 11. Munashe Dukuswa, 10. Liam Koen, 9. Neil Le Roux, 8. Corne Beets, 7. Ghudian van Reenen, 6. Neels Volschenk (c), 5. Nel Van Heerden, 4. Hanno Theunissen, 3. Mawande Mdanda, 2. Juanre Else, 1. Corne Lavagna. Replacements: 16. Juanre Breitenbach, 17. Mbasa Maqubela, 18. Johan Louw, 19. Lukas Meyer, 20. Abulele Ndabambi, 21. Caleb Abrahams, 22. Jaden Bantom, 23. Gert Steyn.