Lyon vs Bulls

Almost everything was against the Bulls heading into Friday night's European Champions Cup clash against Lyon at Matmut Stadium, but nobody could have ...

On the few occasions the Bulls did enter Lyon territory in that first half, they lost the ball with an error-prone bluntness that was hard to watch. That score made it 31-7 as the Bulls began emptying their bench in the knowledge that there was no way back. Three tries (two from a maul and one off a scrum) and a penalty down - there was also a yellow card for prop Simphiwe Manatazima - the Bulls went into the tunnel 24-0 behind at the break, and Lyon were well set for their first victory of the competition.

The immediate impact of the result is that the Bulls will have to wait for other matches this weekend to see if they advance to the playoffs.

Penalty: Berdeu (1). Conversions: Berdeu (4). Flyhalf Leo Berdeu added the conversion and a penalty to make it 10-0 in as many minutes, and it looked then already as if it will be a long night in the chilly conditions in the artificial pitch for the Bulls. Lyon cantered to a 24-0 halftime lead as the visitors coughed up possession time and again on attack, and allowed the home side too much leeway in the scrums and breakdowns, where the French side made easy metres around the fringes. Harlequins are eighth with seven points and face the Sharks in London on Saturday, Racing 92 are ninth with five points and take on Leinster in Dublin, and Gloucester in 10th (five points) play Bordeaux in France, and it could come down to points difference in the end. Cape Town – The Bulls’ mini-revival came to a grinding halt in the French snow after a disastrous first half led to a 31-7 mauling at the hands of Lyon on Friday night.

Lyon brought an emphatic end to their Heineken Champions Cup drought by crushing the Bulls 31-7 at Matmut Stadium de Gerland.

[Guillaume Marchand](https://www.rugbypass.com/players/guillaume-marchand/) crossing twice amid a dominant display from their pack before [Leo Berdeu](https://www.rugbypass.com/players/leo-berdeu/) scored the fourth try in the 58th minute. [Top 14](https://www.rugbypass.com/top-14/) competition, claimed their only win of the pool stage in style, finishing with a bonus-point victory that lifts them into the top eight. [Heineken Champions Cup](https://www.rugbypass.com/european-champions-cup/) drought by crushing the Bulls 31-7 at Matmut Stadium de Gerland.

Lyon marched to a convincing 31-7 win over the Bulls in the final round of the Champions Cup, keeping their hopes of making the play-offs alive.

Olympique Lyon's pack ran the Bulls backwards in the scrums and mauls, in a humiliating dismantling of their pack. And they had plenty of opportunity to scrum ...

Olympique Lyon’s pack ran the Bulls backwards in the scrums and mauls, in a humiliating dismantling of their pack. Conversions – Berdeu (4). Read more:

The Vodacom Bulls will be forced to wait to find out if they qualify for the Heineken Champions Cup knock-out stages after they missed out on a vital bonus ...

Penalty Goal: Berdeu (1). Conversions: Berdeu (3). The Vodacom Bulls lost prop Simphiwe Matanzima to a yellow card shortly before halftime following repeated infringements by the team close to the tryline and this paved the way for Marchand to score his second try on the stroke of halftime from more powerful forward play, which saw the hosts take a handy 24-0 halftime lead.

Planet Rugby's winners and losers from the Champions Cup match between Lyon and the Bulls on Friday evening, including Demba Bamba and Racing 92.

The win for Lyon takes some pressure off of Exeter Chiefs, who would have been put under the pump if they were to secure home-ground advantage for the round of 16. The 24-year-old decimated the highly-rated Simphiwe Matanzima in the scrums with regular ease. A long-term injury to their star back would only rub salt into the wounds. [They](https://www.planetrugby.com/team/bulls) will also have to wait until the end of the weekend’s matches to find out if they do progress. The Pretoria-based side have already done a ton of travelling this season, and it will only get worse now as all of their [Champions Cup](https://www.planetrugby.com/category/champions-cup/) fixtures will be away. A mammoth task after losing their home fixture against the Irish province 42-10.

Chris Rossouw views an emphatic Champions Cup defeat at Lyon as an investment in experience that will reap future dividends for the Vodacom Bulls.

We came back well in the second half, but put ourselves under immense pressure at the beginning of the match and that showed on the scoreboard.” However, Arendse and Canan Moodie will be among the Springboks sitting out next weekend’s Vodacom United Rugby Championship match against Scarlets in Wales. We couldn’t convert, which is an area that we need to improve. “You can look at the conditions and travel as an excuse. “For us its a first encounter in France,” Bulls assistant coach Rossouw told the media during a debrief on Saturday morning. Despite Kurt-Lee Arendse’s intercept try and an improved penalty rate, the Bulls struggled to make inroads into Lyon’s defence as the snow came down in the second half.