URC Predictions – Bulls vs Lions

The Lions will sense there’s an opportunity to pounce on the Bulls in their United Rugby Championship Jukskei derby at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday 14:00, writes Quintin van Jaarsveld.

The Bulls are potentially vulnerable after their shock 29-19 loss to the Sharks at home, while the Lions are fresh off a confidence-boosting 30-23 triumph over the Stormers.

In what was a serious wake-up call for the Bulls, they were tactically outplayed and outworked by a team who wanted it more on the day. The clever and gutsy Sharks provided a blueprint on how to beat the Bulls, namely win the kicking and aerial battles, avoid set pieces and strike when counter-attacks present themselves.

The question is, can the Lions follow suit? They don’t have the kicking game of the Sharks, but they’re lethal with ball in hand and could use phase play to maximize ball-in-play time and create opportunities.

As good as the Sharks were, the Bulls were equally poor and a bounce-back should be expected, both in terms of attitude and accuracy. Their scrum and driving maul are nightmare fuel and they’ll be well served to go back to basics.

The Lions have given themselves the best chance of success against their neighbours by turning back the Stormers. In what was a pick ’em in the eyes of many, the Pride stood up in more ways than one to prevail.

The way they held their line when they were stuck in their 22 for the first 10 minutes was heroic and laid the building blocks for the win. Their potency also came to the fore and the way they bossed the breakdown would certainly have caught the Bulls’ attention.

In saying that, it wasn’t a complete performance. At 24-6 up at halftime, they should’ve buried the Stormers but instead failed to score the bonus point try and were outscored 17-6 in the second half. Nevertheless, it was a much-needed win that snapped a four-match losing streak.

The Bulls are still in a prime position in third place but cannot afford to drop another home game. What last weekend’s slipup will ensure is that they won’t take the 12th-placed Lions lightly, which might have been the case had they defeated the Sharks considering they registered a 35-22 victory over Ivan van Rooyen’s men at Ellis Park last month.

The Lions will have to start better than they did in that previous meeting when they gifted Jake White’s troops a 10-point head start. They were able to claw their way back into a 14-10 lead at one stage, but playing catch-up at Loftus is a different task altogether.

It was in the final 15 minutes that the men from Pretoria pulled away and they should outlast the Lions again to make it a Jukskei derby double.  

Prediction: Bulls by 10.