Lions captain Francke Horn during his team’s 57–12 hiding by the Bulls at Ellis Park. Picture: Lefty Shivambu/Gallo Images South African rugby derbies are all about huge performances, memorable tries, last-ditch tackles, and games going to the wire. They are much like Test matches, as teams bring their A-games, fighting tooth and nail in front of capacity crowds for ultimate bragging rights.
Thefirst Jukskei derbybetween the Bulls and Lions in this season’s United Rugby Championship was exactly that. Eleven tries, scuffles aplenty, and a last-minute fightback from the chasing team. In the end, the Lions secured a huge 43-33 win over the Bulls at their home ground at Loftus, in November.
While the teams found themselves in opposite form three months later, most expected the Lions to play a cracker with a full-strength team at home. Bulls coach Johan Ackermann evenexpressed frustrationat not having all his tried and tested players available for the much-anticipated game. In the end, the Bulls didn’t need their missing Springboks and in-form stars, because while Lions fans turned up, their team didn’t… The Lions were so subpar that they would likely have lost to any URC team on the day.
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They squandered almost every attacking opportunity, barely put up a fight in the air, and had a defence more full of holes than a block of Swiss cheese. The Bulls completely controlled the game, finding gaps at will andwinning eight tries to two, with the final score 52–17. Bulls fans had a blast at Ellis Park, and many would have enjoyed how they made the most of it every time they sniffed a chance.
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