Lions want to roar on home turf in Jukskei derby

The Lions will be desperate to erase an unwanted statistic behind their name when they face the Bulls in a United Rugby Championship clash at Ellis Park on Saturday (kickoff 2.30pm).

In four previous URC meetings at Johannesburg’s iconic stadium, the Bulls have emerged triumphant in the Jukskei derby, and Lions coach Ivan van Rooyen is yearning to end this dismal run.

The Lions pulled off a stunning 43-33 win over the Bulls at Loftus at the end of 2025, and this will have raised hopes in the Lions camp that they have the firepower needed to end the Bulls’ dominance.

In their previous two matches in Europe, the Lions drew 20-20 against Perpignan in the Champions Cup and were then held to a 24-24 draw by the Ospreys in Wales in a United Rugby Championship clash.

“It was a tough 24-hour trip back to SA after the Ospreys match, and we arrived at 1am on Sunday,” Van Rooyen said.

“There is a mental freshness and physical freshness that we want to drive this week and then get up for a really tough game against the Bulls this weekend.

“The on-field temperature was -5°C in Wales, and the wind was blowing 60km/h in the second half.

“However, we spoke about embracing the tough times and conditions.

“We came through so much over the past couple of years that we feel you can reveal who and what you are. So, I am very proud of the effort, the toughness.

“The difference between three points and five points out of the game was our discipline in the second half.

“They conceded too many penalties, and they camped in our 22m area. However, we will take the three points.

“We wanted the win, and we scored four tries, so it could’ve been five points. In that sense, we are disappointed.”

The Lions’ try scorers against the Ospreys were Francke Horn (2), PJ Botha and Quan Horn, while Chris Smith kicked two conversions.

Van Rooyen is sweating on the fitness of his captain, Francke Horn, who went off with an injury during the second half against Ospreys.

“In terms of injuries, there are quite a few niggles. Hopefully it’s not too serious. We will know more about Francke later in the week,” he said.

“It’s bumps and bruises, and obviously, the travel doesn’t help with that, but we are not foreseeing anything too hectic at this stage.”

The Bulls have their tails up after a hard-earned 19-17 URC win over Edinburgh last week, and Bulls coach Ackermann says his team are ready for a highly physical battle against the Lions.

“It’s a massive challenge for us to go to Ellis Park and see if we can get a result,” Ackermann said. “We must just go in and embrace the challenge.

“We have to recover from our trip to Edinburgh and make sure we are refreshed for what will be a highly physical battle.”

Saturday’s URC fixtures (SA teams):

• Lions v Bulls (2.30pm)
• Sharks v Stormers (5pm)

The Herald