The Vodacom Bulls hosted the Sigma Lions at Fort Loftus for a "Jukskei Derby". Although the match was initially a tightly contested affair the Bulls started to dominate all aspects of the play and managed to build up a good lead on the scoreboard by halftime. The Lions however came back in the second half with brilliant sustained pressure play and managed to eliminate the Bulls' lead to a 1 point difference. However, a late try by the Bulls allowed them to scrape through with a 43-37 victory.
The beginning of the first half saw the possession and territory changing hands between the teams with no team making any serious attacking inroads in the other's half. Both teams used a combination of high kicks and forward play to gain territory. The Bulls managed to play into the Lions' quarter with a penalty lineout kick after 9 minutes and attacked the Lions' try line with repeated forward attacking phase play scoring the first try of the match.
The Lions soon responded with a try of their own which was followed by another converted try by the Bulls. The Bulls then started to dominate all aspects of the play exploiting two yellow cards given to the Lions and punching holes in their leaky defence to build up a good 25 point lead until extra time was played in the half, when the Lions managed to score another converted try exploiting a yellow card given to the Bulls, which took the half time score to 35-17 in favour of the Bulls.
The second half started with much better play by the Lions who kept the Bulls pinned in their quarter for the first 14 minutes from where they forced them to commit repeated penalties and concede another yellow card. The Lions managed to score a try for their efforts which they followed up with another try eating away at the comfortable lead that the Bulls had. The Lions soon forced the Bulls back into their quarter for another extended period of good pressure play repeatedly attacking the Bulls' try line, however, the Bulls' defence held up until the Lions scored a try with less than 8 minutes left to play in the match. The Bulls however managed to scrape through with a try right at the end of the match to take the victory.
11:05 Bulls prop Lizo Gqoboka crashed over the try line after good strong forward attacking play. Try was converted by Juan Mostert (07-00).
13:40 Lions lock Ruben Schoeman scores a try slipping through the non-existent Bulls' defence. The try was converted by Jordan Hendrikse (07-07).
17:00 Bulls hooker Bismarck du Plessis scored a try after good forward attacking play. The try was converted by Juan Mostert (14-07).
20:00 The beginning of the first half saw the possession and territory changing hands between the teams with no team making any serious attacking inroads in the other's half until 11 minutes played in the half when the Bulls scored a try. Both teams then scored easy tries finding gaps in the defence.
20:34 David Kriel sliced through the Lions' defence to score a try after a driving maul attack on the Lions' try line. The try was converted by Juan Mostert (21-07).
24:12 Burger Odendaal from the Lions was given a yellow card.
26:02 The Bulls conceded a scrum penalty in their half which the Lions opted to kick for 3 points (21-10).
30:25 Bulls lock Janko Swanepoel scored a try after powering through the Lions defence after repeated attacking phase play by the Bulls in the Lions' quarter. The try was converted by Juan Mostert (28-10).
32:01 Stean Pienaar from the Lions was given a yellow card for dangerous play.
35:02 Stedman Gans from the Bulls scores a brilliant try after a clever chip kick by the Bulls through the Lions' defence on their try line which he collected to score the try. The try was converted by Juan Mostert (35-10).
38:10 Reinhardt Ludwig from the Bulls received a yellow card for infringements whilst defending the Bulls' try line.
42:12 Burger Odendaal scored the Lions' second try when he beat the Bulls defence out wide after the Lions camped just inside the Bulls' try line. The try was converted by Jordan Hendrikse (35-17).
43:00 The Bulls started to dominate all aspects of the play punching holes in the leaky Lions' defence to build up a good 25 point lead until extra time was played in the half when the Lions managed to score another converted try.
51:15 Bismarck du Plessis from the Bulls is given a yellow card for repeated infringements whilst defending the Bulls' try line.
54:10 Francke Horn scored a try for the Lions from a driving maul. The conversion was missed (35-22).
56:01 A penalty was given against the Lions in their half which was kicked by Keagan Johannes (38-22).
60:00 The Lions were playing much better rugby and kept the Bulls pinned in their quarter for the first 14 minutes from where they forced them to commit repeated penalties and concede another yellow card. The Lions managed to score a try for their efforts which they followed up with another try eating away at the comfortable lead that the Bulls had.
60:02 Jordan Hendrikse scored another try for the Lions after beating the Bulls' defence out wide. The conversion was missed (38-27).
71:29 Sibusiso Sangweni scored a try for the Lions after an extended period of attacking the Bulls' try line. The try was converted by Jordan Hendrikse (38-32).
73:21 A penalty is given against the Bulls which was kicked by Jordan Hendrikse (38-37).
77:12 Richard Kriel scored a try for the Bulls after intercepting a pass in the Lions' goal area. The conversion was missed (43-37).
Scorers:
Sigma Lions: Tries: Ruben Schoeman, Burger Odendaal, Francke Horn, Jordan Hendrikse, Sibusiso Sangweni. Conversions: Jordan Hendrikse (3). Penalties: Jordan Hendrikse (2)
Vodacom Bulls: Tries: Lizo Gqoboka, Bismarck du Plessis, David Kriel, Janko Swanepoel, Stedman Gans, Richard Kriel. Conversions: Juan Mostert (5). Penalty: Keagan Johannes
Teams:
Vodacom Bulls: 15. James Verity-Am, 14. David Kriel, 13. Stedman Gans, 12. Marco Janse van Vuren, 11. Kabelo Mokoena, 10. Juan Mostert, 9. Keagan Johannes, 8. Muller Uys, 7. Reinhardt Ludwig, 6. Jaco Labuschagne, 5. Janko Swanepoel, 4. Raynard Roets, 3. Dylan Smith, 2. Bismarck du Plessis, 1. Lizo Gqoboka (c). Replacements: 16 Sidney Tobias, 17 Cebo Dlamini, 18 Francois Kloppers, 19 Ruan Delport, 20 Stephan Smith, 21 Bernard van der Linde, 22 Diego Appollis, 23 Richard Kriel.
Sigma Lions: 15. Quan Horn, 14. Stean Pienaar, 13. Wandisile Simelane, 12. Burger Odendaal (c), 11. Edwill van der Merwe, 10. Jordan Hendrikse, 9. Morne van den Berg, 8. Francke Horn, 7. Ruan Venter, 6. Sibusiso Sangweni, 5. Reinhard Nothnagel, 4. Ruben Schoeman, 3. Ruan Dreyer, 2. Jaco Visagie, 1. Sithembiso Sithole. Replacements: 16. Pieter Botha, 17. Heiko Pohlmann, 18. Asenathi Ntlabakanye, 19. Cal Smid, 20. Jarod Cairns, 21. Andre Warner, 22. Henko van Wyk, 23. Tiaan Swanepoel.
Article Francois du Toit