Soft moments cost the Lions as grizzled Bulls made experience count

They did well to stay in the fight but ultimately soft moments and a lack of composure came back to bite the Lions in the Jukskei Derby against the Bulls at Ellis Park on Saturday.

The Bulls pack pummelled the Lions and though the hosts absorbed that well and enjoyed a strong middle period in the game, the hosts undermined their toil with moments they are now left to lament.

The Bulls ran out 35-22 winners to stretch their record to five wins and just one defeat against the Lions in the United Rugby Championship.

Among other shortfalls the Lions were poor at receiving kick-ins, handing the visitors two try-scoring opportunities.

“We work on it every day. It was two silly errors,” sighed Lions coach Ivan van Rooyen.

They also lost a line-out from which the Bulls pounced.

“It was a silly error but we still had a lot of opportunity to fix that. The last 20 minutes was not good enough. You need a real 80 to 85-minute effort,” said captain Francke Horn.

The Lions certainly faded in the final quarter as the Bulls made their experience count from the bench.

“The Bulls had 205 caps in their team,” said the Lions coach. “Bringing Willie [le Roux] off the bench, we saw the difference he made, Canan [Moodie] made a difference.

“Some of our plans we executed really well, and others not once. You can't buy experience immediately.”

However the Lions have a recruitment strategy that stands in stark contrast to that of the ambitious Bulls. They build from within and rarely make acquisitions that break the bank and that policy was again exposed at Ellis Park.

Young flyhalf Sam Francis delivered a mixed bag in the biggest game yet for the Lions.

“He missed one or two kicks at goal that was crucial,” said the coach when asked about the 21-year old's performance. “There was one where he carried the ball to the 40, they got a turnover where he probably could have kicked it.

“His organisational skills are good and his game management is improving nicely. His responsibility is to kick the ball through the poles but it isn't just on him. He had a decent performance.”

The coach explained other flyhalf options Wolhuter and Sanele Nohamba were ill last week.

“Kade is not selectable yet, maybe in two weeks he'll be back. Sanele didn't train on Friday. It is not a case of backing [Francis] blindly, there is also illness, form and training standards that come into it. It is important for us to have a 10 that drives the team on.”

Van Rooyen believes next month will be the toughest on the Lions' roster this season. Horn understands the gravity of the task facing them.

“We are at a stage where we have four South African derbies coming up and we have to win all of them, or at least three. I won't say our backs are to the wall but we have to look each other in the eye and decide what we want to do.”

The Lions host the Stormers on the 15th of next month and both teams will be desperate to bounce back after round 10 defeats. The Stormers fell short of expectations when they were thumped 36-12 by Leinster in Dublin.

They were in the contest until just before the break before the hosts wrested the initiative. Salt was rubbed into the Stormers' wounds when flyhalf Manie Libook departed the scene injured in the 38th minute.