Lions want forward dominance so backline can come alive against Bulls

The Lions are banking on dominance from their forwards to give their backline the freedom to fly when they go head-to-head with the Bulls in their United Rugby Championship (URC) Jukskei derby at Ellis Park on Saturday afternoon (kick-off 2:45pm).

The whole week coaches and players have spoken about the massively physical battle that is set to be waged between the two teams, and how whoever wins that will be in the pound seats to get the win.

Lions centre Henco van Wyk echoed many of those sentiments, admitting that the players were fired up for the challenge and that they wanted to build on their impressive attacking performance against Dragons over the past weekend against the Bulls.

In that match the Lions ran in nine tries, but Van Wyk knows that the Bulls will bring a much stiffer challenge and that their forwards will have to be on point to give their backline the freedom to play their attacking game plan.

“It’s a whole different challenge this weekend against the Bulls. We had a nice run out against the Dragons last weekend that built a bit of confidence. So hopefully we can continue with that against the Bulls,” explained Van Wyk.

“It’s an amazing opportunity and the Bulls are a team that you really want to measure yourself against. If the forwards give us momentum then we come alive as a backline.

“The last two weeks we have had really good prep. So we definitely want to shift the ball a bit, and we are looking forward to doing that.

“There is no extra motivation needed for a South African derby. Especially the Jukskei one. The team is definitely looking forward to it and it is going to be a big one.”

Bulls dominance

The Bulls have dominated the Lions in the URC over the past three seasons, losing just once at Loftus in the 2022-23 campaign, while winning the rest, including all three games at Ellis Park.

Last season the Bulls just edged the Lions 30-28 at Loftus, but followed that up with an impressive 25-10 win at Ellis Park, and they will be hoping for a similar performance this time.

However Director of Rugby Jake White admits it’s a game that could go either way and that it is incredibly important in the battle for the South African shield, as a loss will set you back heavily, while it is also personal as various players have played for both teams.

“When derbies come, the form book gets chucked out the window. A win in the conference is like double points because you take points from others around you. We must focus on how good we are and how we manage our systems and structures,” explained White.

“This is always one of those derbies where you have a few players who were at either club and then moved on to the other. It’s always a difficult game where you always seem to struggle to shake them off because it is somewhat personal.”

Terrific home form

The Lions have only played four games at Ellis Park so far this season, two in the URC and two in the Challenge Cup, but have been in terrific form picking up impressive wins in all of those games.

They have run in a superb 28 tries across those four matches, at an average of seven tries a game, and although the Bulls will be a more difficult challenge defensively and with altitude not playing a part, Van Wyk is eager for them to defend what could become their fortress.

“This is a very special place to us, and we can’t rely on altitude for a game like this. We have to take this as motivation and defend this place,” said Van Wyk.

“We haven’t been focusing much on the opposition over the past few weeks. as we have been looking more at ourselves and seeing where we can be better. I think if you’re not motivated as an individual nothing will motivate you for an SA derby. So we will be ready.”