Lions vs Bulls

It was a case of a different season, but same problems for the Lions as they were beaten by the Bulls in their United Rugby Championship opener at Ellis ...

The Lions tried to stay busy to salvage something, but their inaccuracy, a feature of their failures last season, crept in and hampered them severely. The Lions, though, weren't allowed to play rugby in the Bulls' half, something that left them at the mercy of Jacobs' whistle and a smidgen of accuracy the Bulls could muster. The Lions finally got their act together and scored in the 34th minute through Francke Horn from a rolling maul the Lions hardly used in the first half. With Chris Smith's 20th-minute penalty added to the scoring equation, the Bulls led 15-3 and the Lions had yet to fire a shot in anger. They allowed the Bulls to run at them from the first whistle and when Marcell Coetzee burrowed his way over in the fourth minute, the Lions were shell-shocked. It was a case of a different season, but the same problems for the Lions as they were beaten 31-15 by the Bulls in their United Rugby Championship (URC) opener at Ellis Park on Saturday.

The Vodacom Bulls opened their Vodacom United Rugby Championship campaign with a hard-fought 31-15 win against neighbours, the Emirates Lions at Emirates ...

Springbok winger Sbu Nkosi , Wandisile Simelane and Mihlali Mosi will make their debuts for the Bulls during the United Rugby Championship (URC) opener ...

We now have a tough encounter against a strong Emirates Lions team that will want to begin their season campaign on a positive note. This has also been a great opportunity for our new recruits to acclimatise in their new environment,” said White. “Even though we expect a slow start, given that it is the first game of the season, we are looking forward to the lads giving their all to set the tone for the rest of the season.”

The Bulls cruised to a comfortable 31-15 (halftime 15-8)win over Lions in a scrappy opening game of the United Rugby Championship (URC).

The Lions then enjoyed the perfect start to the second half, attacking from a lineout in the Bulls 22m, swinging the ball one way and back the next, with Louw bursting through a hole to score, with Hendrikse converting to level the scores after 45 minutes. The final 10 minutes of the half then belonged to the home side as they enjoyed their best spell, as a good maul in midfield earned them a penalty, which they kicked deep into the Bulls 22m and then mauled the ball over from the lineout, with eighthman Francke Horn dotting down. The first scrum of the game then brought the Lions their first points, as from a Bulls put in a massive scrum from the hosts earned them a penalty on the 10m, with Jordan Hendrikse nailing the kick to make it 7-3 after seven minutes.

Chris Smith kicked four penalties to help the Vodacom Bulls claim a hard-fought Vodacom United Rugby Championship season-opening victory over the Lions in ...

While the Lions did all the huffing and puffing with ball in hand, it was the Bulls who did the real damage on the scoreboard as Smith converted three consecutive penalties, before replacement hooker Jan-Hendrik Wessels scored from a maul to take the visitors into an unassailable lead in the final 10 minutes. However, the Lions clawed their way back into the match towards the end of the first half courtesy of a maul try scored by No 8 Franke Horn and a penalty from Hendrikse. The visitors got off to a flying start through Marcell Coetzee’s try in the second minute from a quick-tap penalty and extended their lead through an excellent end-to-end try finished by Cornal Hendricks in the corner.