10 October 2026
The Vodacom Bulls delivered a masterclass in attacking rugby, dismantling the 10bet Lions 57-15 in a one-sided Jukskei Derby.
Despite the blistering heat necessitating extended water breaks, the Pretoria franchise ran in nine tries to secure an emphatic bonus-point win. Crucially, the Bulls ruthlessly exploited a fragile Lions defence that repeatedly left massive overloads out wide.
The match ignited after ten minutes of frantic, helter-skelter play in the oppressive conditions. Harold Vorster sparked the breakthrough, toeing a loose ball forward and gathering the friendly bounce to dot down for an unconverted opener.
The Johannesburg outfit hit back immediately, camping in the Bulls' red zone before Siba Qoma crashed over from the front of a five-metre lineout. Chris Smith added the extra two points to briefly edge the visitors into a 7-5 lead after 17 minutes.
The Bulls quickly flexed their muscle, dominating the collisions and pinning the Lions in their own half. Johan Grobbelaar broke the deadlock, picking up from the base of a ruck to power his way over the whitewash. Curwin Bosch slotted the conversion, restoring a 12-7 advantage for the hosts.
Disaster struck for the visitors in the 27th minute when scrumhalf Morné van den Berg was sent to the sin bin. The Bulls capitalised instantly on the numerical advantage, launching a brutal counter-attack from a turnover that allowed Cameron Hanekom to storm over.
Smith temporarily halted the momentum with a successful penalty goal, cutting the deficit to 19-10. However, shoddy edge defence saw Hanekom hand off Richard Kriel along the touchline to secure his brace and bag the crucial try-scoring bonus point.
The Pretoria outfit refused to take their foot off the gas as halftime approached. Jeandré Rudolph capped off a magnificent, sweeping team try to crash through the defensive line, with Bosch’s conversion sending the teams into the tunnel at 31-10.
There was no respite after the extended break as the Bulls continued to exploit the narrow Lions defensive line. Canan Moodie was the immediate beneficiary, coasting into space out wide to stretch the lead to 36-10.
The Lions showed a brief flicker of resistance five minutes later when Morné Brandon rumbled over from the back of a well-executed five-metre rolling maul. The unconverted effort reduced the deficit to 36-15, but it proved to be their final points of the afternoon.
The Bulls continued their dominance after a Cheswill Jooste effort was chalked off by the TMO. Lock JF van Heerden hit a devastating, hard line to slice open the line for the hosts' seventh try, converted by replacement flyhalf Handré Pollard.
With the Lions' defensive structures completely disintegrating, Jooste soon got his reward by pouncing on a clever grubber to claim his debut try in the blue jersey. With time up, Sebastian de Klerk put the final exclamation point on the performance, with Pollard adding the easy extras to seal the 57-15 rout.
Scorers:
Vodacom Bulls: Tries: Harold Vorster, Johan Grobbelaar, Cameron Hanekom (2), Jeandre Rudolph, Canan Moodie, JF van Heerden, Cheswill Jooste, Sebastian de Klerk . Conversions: Curwin Bosch (3), Handre Pollard (3).
10bet Lions: Try: Siba Qoma, Morne Brandon. Conversion: Chris Smith. Penalty: Chris Smith.
Teams:
Vodacom Bulls: 15 Willie le Roux, 14 Canan Moodie, 13 Stedman Gans, 12 Harold Vorster, 11 Sebastian de Klerk, 10 Curwin Bosch, 9 Paul de Wet, 8 Cameron Hanekom, 7 Hanro Liebenberg (c), 6 Jeandre Rudolph, 5 JF van Heerden, 4 Ruan Vermaak, 3 Francois Klopper, 2 Johan Grobbelaar, 1 Gerhard Steenekamp. Replacements: 16 Marco van Staden, 17 Alu Tshakweni, 18 Khutha Mchunu, 19 Cobus Wiese, 20 Elrigh Louw, 21 Keagan Johannes, 22 Handre Pollard, 23 Cheswill Jooste.
10bet Lions: 15 Quan Horn, 14 Kelly Mpeku, 13 Ethan Adams, 12 Henco van Wyk, 11 Richard Kriel, 10 Chris Smith, 9 Morne van den Berg, 8 Francke Horne (c), 7 Siba Qoma, 6 JC Pretorius, 5 Hyron Andrews, 4 Dylan Sjoblom, 3 Sebastian Lombard, 2 PJ Botha, 1 Boan Venter. Replacements: 16 Morne Brandon, 17 SJ Kotze, 18 RF Schoeman, 19 JP du Preez, 20 Batho Hlekani, 21 Siba Mahashe, 22 Nico Steyn, 23 Boeta Chamberlain.