Bulls thump Lions at Ellis Park

CURRIE CUP REPORT: The Bulls have closed the gap on the table-topping Cheetahs to just one point after the Pretoria side recorded a 40-10 win over the Lions in Johannesburg on Wednesday.

The men from Pretoria managed to cross the whitewash five times, while they also gained a penalty try in the first half.

Experienced former Springbok flyhalf Morne Steyn made an impactful cameo in the second half by scoring a try and landing three successful conversions.

The Lions were no match for the well-oiled light blue machine and the defeat means they are still winless after six matches. The Bulls netted their fifth win in six games, with their only negative result being their loss to unbeaten Cheetahs.

A large part of the first half saw a mighty arm wrestle between the neighbouring sides, with neither team able to gain the upper hand as a result of stout defence.

The heavy battle took its toll on both sides as they were forced to make early injury replacements. Mark Snyman, the home side's openside flank, was replaced by Sasko Ndlovu, while Bulls right wing Sibongile Novuka left the field with a arm injury, with James Verity-Amm sent on as his replacement.

But after the Bulls had weathered the storm, a Verity-Amm converted try, plus a penalty try, handed them a 14-0 advantage at the halfway stage. Furthermore, the home side also did themselves no favours when Lunga Ncube was sent to the sin bin for foul play.

The first points of match came via a penalty try to the team in light blue jerseys after they had smashed the home scrum into reverse gear.

Over eagerness with ball in hand and some basic errors derailed the home team when they found themselves in good attacking positions. They made several promising forays into the opposing 22, only to return empty handed.

Verity-Amm made the hosts pay for some slack defence when he was on hand to break free of the last tackle to dot down just before the half-time whistle. Pivot Juan Mostert struck the conversion sweet to take the half-time lead to 14-0 in favour of the defending champions.

Steyn scored the Bulls' third try after a period of sustained pressure. He also lined up the successful conversion kick which stretched the lead to 21-3 as the pressure started to took its toll on the home side.

However, the home team refused to give as evident by replacement scrumhalf Jurich Claasens try under the sticks which reduced the deficit to 21-10 after an earlier penalty goal.

However, Gert Smal's team hit back with menace to score three more times through No.8 Muller Uys, and reserve front rankers Joe van Zyl and Cebo Dlamini, with the dependable Steyn adding the extras via his kicking boot.

The home team's problems were further compounded when replacement Ndlovu was also sent to the cooler bin for executing a tip tackle on an opponent.

Man of the match: The award has to go to Bulls loose forward WJ Steenkamp, who was all over the park for his team. He made some serious metres with ball in hand and he was a big presence on defence as well.

The scorers:

For Lions:

Try: Claasens

Con: Tedder

Pen: Tedder

For Bulls:

Tries: Penalty Try, Verity-Amm, Steyn, Uys, Van Zyl, Dlamini

Cons: Mostert, Steyn 3

Yellow cards: Lunga Ncube (Lions, 28 - cynical play, deliberate knockdown); Sasko Ndlovu (Lions, 67 - dangerous play, tip tackle)

Teams:

Lions: 15 EW Viljoen, 14 Boldwin Hansen, 13 James Molentze, 12 Luke Rossouw, 11 Zeilinga Strydom, 10 James Tedder, 9 Ginter Smuts, 8 Cal Smid, 7 Lindo Ncusane, 6 Mark Snyman, 5 Simon Dionisio, 4 Lunga Ncube, 3 Asenathi Ntlabakanye (captain), 2 Morne Brandon, 1 Kayden Kiewit.

Replacements: 16 Ebot Buma, 17 Jacque-Lois du Toit, 18 Chergin Fillies/Kabous Bezuidenhout, 19 Connor Van Buuren, 20 Sasko Ndlovu, 21 Jurich Claasens, 22 Tyler Bocks, 23 Fred Zeilinga/ Vaughen Isaacs.

Bulls: 15 David Kriel, 14 Sibongile Novuka, 13 Stedman Gans, 12 Marco Jansen van Vuren, 11 Stravino Jacobs, 10 Juan Mostert, 9 Bernard van der Linde, 8 Muller Uys, 7 Werner Gouws, 6 WJ Steenkamp, 5 Reinhardt Ludwig, 4 Raynard Roets, 3 Robert Hunt, 2 Schalk Erasmus, 1 Lizo Gqoboka (captain).

Replacements: 16 Joe van Zyl, 17 Cebo Dlamini, 18 Mornay Smith, 19 Ruan Delport 20 Jaco Labuschagne, 21 Keagan Johannes, 22 Morne Steyn, 23 James Verity-Amm.

Referee: Marius van der Westhuizen

Assistant Referees: Paul Mente, Local

TMO: Egon Seconds

Additional source: SA Rugby