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H. Vorster (9'), J. Grobbelaar (25'), C. Hanekom (29', 34'), J. Rudolph (39'), C. Moodie (43'), van Heerden (67'), C. Jooste (73'), de Klerk (79')
Tries
S. Qoma (17'), M. Brandon (49')
C. Bosch (25', 29', 40'), H. Pollard (68', 74', 80')
Conversions
C. Smith (18')
Penalties
C. Smith (32')
This said more about the ceiling of the Vodacom Bulls than the floor of the 10bet Lions. At Loftus they didn’t squeeze; they sliced. When their strike runners are hitting the gain line and the touches sit on time, they can turn a derby into a track meet. That’s the bit we can say with confidence from what’s available. The other truth is less flashy: the Lions’ unbeaten start left them no margin for an off day in contact and on the edges. They had one.
There isn’t a glut of verified post-match detail out there, but the match sheet is enough to trace the break point. At 25 minutes, with the game still in the balance, Lions scrum-half Morne van den Berg was binned. In that ten-minute window and the five that followed, the Bulls ran in four tries — Johan Grobbelaar from close range, then a quick-fire double by a rampant Cameron Hanekom, and Jeandre Rudolph just before the break. A 31–10 half-time lead without any set-piece chokehold told you where it was won: tempo, shape and finishing.
The numbers reinforce it. The Bulls produced 16 clean breaks to the Lions’ one. Possession was near parity and scrums were perfect on both sides, lineouts largely tidy too — the Lions actually out-threw the hosts. But 18 Lions turnovers conceded fed a blue jersey that was humming in transition. That is how a derby becomes a runaway.
CARRIES
CLEAN BREAK
DEFENDER BEATEN
TACKLE
MISSED TACKLE
TURNOVER WON
TURNOVERS CONCEDED
PENALTY CONCEDED
YELLOW CARD
POSSESSION
SCRUMS
LINEOUTS
If you’re looking for the Bulls’ difference-makers, start with Hanekom. Two tries, 77 metres and punch on every carry; he kept ripping through first contact and made the Lions fold late. Outside him, Canan Moodie was a menace in the five-metre channels, four clean breaks and 87 metres to turn half-chances into tries. On the other wing Sebastian de Klerk got through 12 carries and 75 metres, finished late and created earlier, exactly the balance Jake White wants from his back three when the game opens up. Harold Vorster set the tone with the early finish and a couple of clean lines that forced the Lions’ midfield to sit down. Behind it, Willie le Roux picked his moments — two line breaks, a neat touch in the build-up work that kept front-foot ball alive.
It helped that the decision-making at ten was calm. Curwin Bosch steered the first-half surge and kicked his goals; Handre Pollard arrived to keep the scoreboard humming and produced a late assist as the Bulls reeled off three more. That dual look at fly-half, if managed, will be a weapon over the season rather than a headache. Up front Grobbelaar hit 12 lineouts and finished one, while JF van Heerden added a hard-running try to a tidy afternoon in the tight. Even with parity at the set piece, those contributions matter: when the platform is stable, the Bulls’ athletes cash in.
Does 57–15 flatter the Bulls? In a way, yes and no. The Lions didn’t disappear; they beat more defenders overall and their lineout (17/18) was the most reliable set-piece on the field. Ethan Adams ran hard off 12, Henco van Wyk beat four defenders looking for a foothold, and Quan Horn asked questions on kick return. They scored through Sibabalo Qoma and Morne Brandon and pinched eight turnovers at the breakdown. But one clean break across 80 minutes at Loftus is a red flag, and so is coughing up 18 turnovers when the opposition’s edges are razor sharp. Add the yellow card at nine and the margin stops looking freakish.
The real drop-off was accuracy after first contact and connection in the backfield. Too often a beaten first tackler wasn’t followed by a fold, so the Bulls found hands-free offloads and a free pass to width. The wings and 15 were repeatedly asked to close fire breaks that should have been stamped out earlier, and when they jammed, Moodie and de Klerk won the footrace. Discipline wasn’t awful by the count, but the timing of the card and a few cheap penalties stalled any Lions attempt to build pressure when the game was still contestable.
For the Bulls, the takeaway is clean: when they trust their speed and keep the ball alive, they don’t need to dominate every column to run away with a game. The work-on is discipline and a little more care in contact — the Lions still won more turnovers than they should have against a side in that kind of control. The upside is obvious: strike power across the back three, a No 8 who forces defensive reshapes on his own, and two tens who can both close a game.
For the Lions, this is a reality check, not a reset. The lineout is in good order, there’s carry in the midfield, and their breakdown can cause trouble. But the edges can’t be this leaky and the ball security can’t be this loose, especially away at altitude against a side that lives off transition. Keep 15 on the park, tidy the post-tackle detail, and the broader arc of their start to the season still holds. Leave those issues unsolved and days like this at Loftus will keep looking familiar.
