Bulls prove gap in class

The visitors didn't need to be at their ruthless best to beat the Lions convincingly in their own den, writes Liam del Carme at Ellis Park

Lions (10) 18 - Blue Bulls (20) 32

THIS match highlighted that a lot more than 60-odd kilometres separate Gauteng's Super Rugby franchises.

The Bulls are again close to the top of the conference and just two points behind competition pacesetters the Chiefs, while life for the Lions looks increasingly desperate after a sixth successive defeat.

By scoring their fourth try in the 43rd minute the Bulls earned a bonus point that helped them join the conference-leading Stormers on 29 points. The Lions are yet to locate the key that will secure their release from the competition's basement.

Competition elimination is the stark possibility they face if rugby bosses apply the most logical yardstick at the end of the competition.

The Bulls meanwhile will bask in the afterglow of a performance in which they may not have been at their ruthless best. Occasions far for more demanding than the one they encountered yesterday will require that kind of fastidious application.

They have an uncluttered game that at its core is built on the premise that if they apply sufficient pressure in different spheres, it will have a slow-poison effect on the opposition.

Much of their success may be rooted in the manner in which they perform in the primary phases, but they usually set themselves apart in the way they seem to move heaven and earth in contact.

They achieved this yesterday through CJ Stander, who broadened his horizons impressively on or around the ruck, the hard- running Jacques Potgieter and perhaps, to a lesser degree, captain Pierre Spies.

At the back JJ Engelbrecht ran with poise and purpose, with Akona Ndungane not far behind.

The Lions have for weeks lamented their imprecision and again their lineout was in a state of disrepair.

As was the case a week ago against the Crusaders, the Bulls handed their opponents a handy 10-0 lead - not through lethargy but through imprecision.

Lions scrumhalf Tian Meyer gave his side a dream start when he charged down a Morne Steyn kick and scored next to the posts in the second minute, before Jaco Taute banged over a long-range penalty on the quarter-hour mark.

Whether the lead was entirely deserving is a moot point as the visitors displayed intent but lacked the control to lend the necessary weight to make an impression on the scoreboard.

That, however, changed in the 19th minute when the Bulls fashioned a scoring opportunity they would have been proud to execute on the training paddock.

Spies slipped through a gap as wide as the toll-collecting gantries now dotting the N1 motorway between Gauteng's two major cities, and from the resultant quick ruck ball Francois Hougaard flung the ball wide and Ndungane broke his Super Rugby try-scoring drought.

He had not had the pleasure of seeing the referee raise his arm after he crossed the tryline since the Super Rugby final in 2009.

It is testament to his work rate in aiding the execution of the Bulls' game plan that he has cultivated the Bulls' coaches patience.

The point was no more graphically illustrated than when he fielded a cross-field kick just inside the touchline, and although he couldn't escape his marker he displayed remarkable poise, for a man on his backside, to delay his pass to Stander.

The Bulls this morning are more or less where they want to be; the Lions will now do almost everything to be elsewhere.

SCORERS

Lion 18 - Tries: Tian Meyer, Joshua Strauss. Conversion: Elton Jantjies. Penalties: Jantjies, Jaco Taute.

Bulls 32 - Tries: Francois Hougaard, Zane Kirchner, Juandre Kruger, Akona Ndungane, CJ Stander. Conversions: Morne Steyn (2). Penalties: Steyn.