Cape Town - Sbu Nkosi didn’t have many opportunities to showcase his talent, but he displayed real courage to earn what may have been a match-winning turnover as the Bulls pulled away for a hard-fought 31-15 United Rugby Championship win over the Lions at Ellis Park on Saturday.
With less than 20 minutes to go and the Lions smelling blood inside the Bulls’ 22 with an attacking line-out, centre Zander du Plessis took the ball up to within a few metres of the tryline.
But new Bulls left wing Nkosi – returning to the game after months out with injury – stuck his head into the darkness of the breakdown to earn a decisive penalty that seemed to galvanise the visitors and take the wind out of the Lions’ sails.
Flyhalf Chris Smith added his fourth penalty of the afternoon a few minutes later, and at 24-15 the Bulls were home and dry.
But Jake White’s team were far from their best, and had Smith’s consistent boot (14 points) to thank for closing out a victory that wasn’t always guaranteed.
The Bulls got off to a flying start, working their way into the Lions’ red zone, with captain Marcell Coetzee forcing himself over in the fourth minute.
The Lions, though, never took a step back in the physical stakes, and had the edge in the scrums and disrupted the Bulls’ attack with a relentless defensive strategy, with loose forwards Sibusiso Sangweni and Francke Horn busy throughout.
The men from Pretoria stayed calm under pressure, though, and eventually found some rhythm with ball-in-hand.
Smith added a penalty to stretch the lead to 10-3, and then the Bulls cut loose to produce the try of the game – and perhaps a contender for try of the season.
Initially clearing from their tryline through full-back Wandisile Simelane, the Bulls won the ball back from a counter-ruck inside their own half and the passes stuck.
Workhorse lock Ruan Nortje was prominent as the URC finalists from last season rampaged their way into the Lions 22, before Cornal Hendricks rounded off a sensational five-pointer.
But the Lions kept plugging away and were able to breach the Bulls’ defence far too easily, and they were rewarded for their endeavour when No 8 Horn dotted down from a driving maul.
They had another opportunity just before half-time on the Bulls’ five-metre line, but hooker PJ Botha’s throw-in was skew, while flyhalf Jordan Hendrikse missed a few shots at goal as well.
Ivan van Rooyen’s team weren’t ready to surrender yet, though, and new centre Marius Louw barged his way through after half-time to level the scores at 15-15.
The Bulls continued to push the envelope on attack, but perhaps understandably for a first game of the season and a few new faces in the backline, the cohesion wasn’t quite there.
Simelane worked hard in his first real top-flight game in the No 15 jersey, but while his hot-stepping skills were on display, his decision-making and execution let him down at times, while his kicking wasn’t smooth either.
Nkosi didn’t get too many chances to run at the Lions’ defence either, but both new signings are top-quality players and will get better as the season goes on.
Veteran full-back Andries Coetzee added some punch to the Lions’ backline, but the home side also battled to convert the pressure they exerted into points, and it came back to haunt them when Smith slotted a few late penalties to stretch the lead to 24-15.
Replacement hooker Jan-Hendrik Wessels finished things off in style with a driving maul try, and Bulls boss White would have been relieved to start the new campaign in victorious fashion after the tough opening stages last season.
Points-Scorers
Lions 15 – Tries: Francke Horn, Marius Louw. Conversion: Jordan Hendrikse (1). Penalty: Hendrikse (1).
Bulls 31 – Tries: Marcell Coetzee, Cornal Hendricks, Jan-Hendrik Wessels. Conversions: Chris Smith (1), Morné Steyn (1). Penalties: Smith (4).
IOL Sport