Relieved White, proud Van Rooyen after Bulls v Lions thriller

Bulls coach Jake White was an extremely relieved man after his side held off a spirited fightback from the Lions, which included replacement back Jordan Hendrikse missing a long range penalty after the hooter, to clinch a 30-28 win in their United Rugby Championship (URC) derby on Saturday.

It was a classic cross-Jukskei derby in front of over 26,000 fans who were entertained from start to finish as the Lions got off to a flying start, before the Bulls fought back to lead at halftime, with the lead then changing twice in the final 10 minutes for an exhilarating finish.

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In the end White admitted it was some of his younger players who made important contributions and big mistakes that swung the fortunes both ways as his side scraped over the line.

“It’s not our greatest performance and we got a win. It is one of those outings where we weren’t on top of our game, but we got away with that,” admitted White after the game.

“I do need to reiterate that it was a 21-year-old who stole the last lineout and a 21-year-old who made a mistake by carrying through the line at the end. This is the only way they will learn.

Relieved coach

“I am much more relieved. I am relieved about (fighting back from) 12-3 down, I am relieved that we were leading at half time, I am relieved that we could stay in the fight at the death, even though we were lucky that they missed that kick.”

Lions coach Ivan van Rooyen was slightly frustrated but proud of the effort of his players, after their top start was undone with a poor finish to the first half.

The Bulls then twice pulled away in the second half, including an extremely unlucky situation where the ref inadvertently blocked Lions scrumhalf Morne van den Berg from getting to eighthman Mpilo Gumede who waltzed over for an easy try off the back of a scrum, as they fell just short.

“I think the last 10 or 12 minutes in the first half we didn’t really respond, we reacted. There were about five or six penalties in a row from our side which was disappointing,” said Van Rooyen.

“But seeing the way we came back in the second half after conceding early and that scrum incident try. To get back into it, get points and feel the momentum shift back in our favour, that’s something we can hold onto. I am proud of that.

“There have been games (previously) where we have been unable to get out of that spiral. So I think that’s big growth for us.”

Plenty of positives

On the Bulls front, White claimed that there were plenty of positives for his side to take out of the game, but also a lot of mistakes that they will need to address before the two sides conclude a cross-Jukskei double header when they meet at Ellis Park in mid-February.

“There are positives. We were 12-3 down and came back, eventually we were leading 27-18. I take that as a massive positive. Some teams would have panicked and not got back in the fight,” explained White.

“But this is not the way we want to play. We gave them a try, when they went over the top of the lineout, we dropped the ball near the in-goal area. We kicked long and didn’t have a chase line.

“ So there are a lot of learnings (to take out of the game). But a win is a win. Sometimes you need a bit of luck. Maybe a year ago, Hendrikse kicks the ball over and we lose. Those are the margins. This can change the outcome of the rest of the season.”