The Vodacom Bulls dominated possession and territory, however they had to work extremely hard to stay in front of a charging Emirates Lions during the last 10 minutes of the match to win 30-28.
The Emirates Lions started like a house on fire, earning a penalty from dominating the first scrum, and then, brilliant magic from Sanele Nohamba led to a try for captain Marius Louw after just 5 minutes of play to take an early lead.
Apart from the early exchanges the Vodacom Bulls dominated the statistics, however, apart from a penalty converted by Johan Goosen, it was a planned move by the Emirates Lions from a lineout that saw Marius Louw cut through the sleeping defence of the Vodacom Bulls for his second try, to extend the Emirates Lions' lead to 12-03 and 20 minutes still to play in the first half.
The host's dominance eventually paid off when Akker van der Merwe crashed over the Emirates Lions tryline minutes later. The Vodacom Bulls dominated the rest of the first half with sometimes desperate defence by the Emirates Lions that kept the Vodacom Bulls from scoring. Johan Goosen added a penalty in the second quarter to take the Vodacoms Bulls into the lead (13-12) for the first time of the match.
The onslaught by the Vodacom Bulls continued with Embrose Papier picking up a bouncing ball to score the Vodacom Bulls' second try early on in the second half. A drop goal and converted penalty by Sanele Nohamba rewarded the visitors for their effort in the second half and reduced the Vodacom Bulls lead to 20-18 with 30 minutes still to play.
A try by the Vodacom Bulls' by Mpilo Gumede was cancelled 4 minutes later when David Kriel knocked on a ball in his in-goal area. Emirates Lions' prop Morgan Naudé controlled the ball and scored an easy try to reduce the Vodacom Bulls lead to just 2 points.
The Emirates Lions attacked during the final 10 minutes, tearing apart any structured play that was still in evidence. A long-distance converted penalty by Jordan Hendrikse wrestled the lead back for the Emirates Lions with 1 point (28-27) and 6 minutes to play.
A long-distance converted penalty by Johan Goosen was eventually the difference between the two teams as a failed Jordan Hendrikse attempt to convert a penalty minutes after time was already up sealed the win for the hosts.
Scorers:
Vodacom Bulls: Tries: Akker van der Merwe, Embrose Papier, Mpilo Gumede. Conversions: Johan Goosen (3). Penalties: Johan Goosen (3).
Emirates Lions: Tries: Marius Louw (2), Morgan Naudé. Conversions: Sanele Nohamba (2). Penalties: Sanele Nohamba, Jordan Hendrikse (2). Drop goal: Sanele Nohamba
Teams:
Vodacom Bulls: 15 Willie Le Roux, 14 Sebastian de Klerk, 13 David Kriel, 12 Harold Voster, 11 Sergeal Petersen, 10 Johan Goosen, 9 Embrose Papier, 8 Mpilo Gumede, 7 Elrigh Louw, 6 Marco van Staden, 5 Ruan Nortje (c), 4 Deon Slabbert, 3 Mornay Smith, 2 Akker van der Merwe, 1 Simphiwe Matanzima. Replacements: 16 Johan Grobbelaar, 17 Dylan Smith, 18 Khutha Mchunu, 19 Reinhardt Ludwig, 20 Cameron Hanekom, 21 Keagan Johannes, 22 Devon Williams, 23 Marcell Coetzee.
Emirates Lions: 15 Quan Horn, 14 Richard Kriel, 13 Henco van Wyk, 12 Marius Louw (captain), 11 Edwill van der Merwe, 10 Sanele Nohamba, 9 Morne van den Berg, 8 Francke Horn, 7 Emmanuel Tshituka, 6 Hanru Sirgel, 5 Reinhard Nothnagel, 4 Ruben Schoeman, 3 Asenathi Ntlabakanye, 2 Jaco Visagie, 1 JP Smith. Replacements: 16 Morne Brandon, 17 Morgan Naudé, 18 Ruan Dreyer, 19 Darrien Landsberg, 20 Izan Esterhuizen, 21 JC Pretorius, 22 Jordan Hendrikse, 23 Erich Cronje.