Preview: Bulls v Lions

Plenty of expectation awaits the Bulls and the Lions when the two teams do battle in a Super Rugby round three match-up at Loftus Versfeld.

The Bulls under new coach John Mitchell will want to set the record straight against the Lions and continue with their form which saw them beat opposition from outside South Africa for the first time since 2015 and win their opening game of the Super Rugby season since 2013 with a 21-19 victory over the Hurricanes in Pretoria last weekend.

The Pretoria-based outfit will not be lacking motivation come Saturday and there is some interesting history to the clash.

Mitchell of course was head coach of the Lions until 2012 in which time he delivered the team their first Currie Cup title since 1999.

Mitchell was fired as Lions head coach after the team were relegated from Super Rugby in 2012, however many journalists and rugby pundits credit the former All Black for his role in transforming the Lions attacking game to match that of the New Zealand teams.

Mitchell will want to remind the Lions of the mistake they made in dismissing him all those years ago and after the victory against the Hurricanes on Saturday Mitchell hyped up the excitement surrounding the game against the Lions by declaring the Johannesburg based team an outstanding side.

“We lasted longer than the Hurricanes and that was important. What is exciting now is that we got our neighbours [Lions] who are an outstanding side,” he said.

“They are an outstanding football team, but like any football team they present you with opportunities, so it is going to be a different game compared to what we experienced today [Saturday].”

The Lions have become accustomed to the expectation of delivering results driven entertaining rugby to their fans week in and week out, having made the Super Rugby final in 2016 and 2017.

The Lions’ form over the last two seasons does not look like it will be coming to a stop anytime soon as they currently sit top of the Super Rugby table in first position with nine points from two matches played, which includes back-to-back victories over the Sharks and the Jaguares.

After the Lions’ victory over the Jaguares last weekend, coach Swys de Bruin was full of praise for wing Aphiwe Dyantyi who scored a try and won the man of the match award for the second consecutive game in a row and if De Bruin’s comments are anything to go by, the Bulls will need to pay special attention to a legend in the making.

“He is special,” said De Bruin. “If we really look well after him and don’t push him too quickly and let him earn his colours then he will become a legend I predict, if we plan his future well.”

The pride of Johannesburg have won all of their matches against South African teams in Super Rugby for the past two seasons and have an impressive record away from home, winning their last six Super Rugby matches on the road.

Whatever the final result of the match happens to be, we are expecting plenty of big hits, offloads, sidesteps and of course some beautifully crafted tries.

The last time the teams met: The Lions outscored the Bulls by seven tries to two, en route to a 51-14 demolition at Ellis Park in Johannesburg in a Super Rugby round robin clash in May 2017.

Players to watch:

For Bulls: Prop Pierre Schoeman showed good handling skills to go over for the winning try against the Hurricanes last weekend and he is looking more and more like a modern day mobile prop every time he takes to the field and he will be looking to contribute with a big effort at scrum time and carry the ball well in general play.

Former Southern Kings flank Thembelani Bholi was the surprise inclusion in the Bulls starting line-up against the Hurricanes last weekend and he gave a good account of himself throughout the 80 minutes, making tackles off the ball and securing the Bulls possession with plenty of commitment at the ruck. Bholi will be giving his all against the Lions with the aim of repaying the coach’s faith in him with another fine performance.

For Lions: Wing Aphiwe Dyantyi has already become a crowd favourite at Ellis Park after scoring three tries in the Lions opening two matches of the season and leading the tournament stats for seven clean breaks and 14 defenders beaten and 209 metres made with ball in hand as well as topping the Super Rugby try scoring charts with three tries to his name. Dyantyi was named as man of the match against both the Sharks and the Jaguares and he will be looking to outrun the Bulls defence and sidestep his way to the try-line just as he has done over the past two weeks – only this time he will have to conquer the Loftus battle ground to do so.

All eyes will be on Franco Mostert to see how he performs in the number seven jersey. Mostert is an athletic player who has plenty of pace and enjoys to take on the opposition defence with ball in hand. He also has a tremendous work rate off the ball getting stuck in at the ruck and winning turnover ball for the Lions and with 21 tackles in the first two matches of the season his selection at flank could prove a stroke of genius from De Bruin who is a very detail orientated and tactical coach, the selection of Mostert at flank also provides the Lions with more options at lineout time.

Team news: The Bulls have continuity on their side as head coach Johan Mitchell has named an unchanged team to the one that beat the Hurricanes last weekend. Inside centre Burger Odendaal captains the Bulls and he is joined in the midfield by outside centre Jesse Kriel. Fly-half Handre Pollard starts alongside scrum-half Andre Warner and in the loose trio, flank Roelof Smit once again starts alongside flank Thembelani Bholi and number eight Hanro Liebenberg.

Lions head coach Swys de Bruin has made four changes to the starting team that did battle against the Jaguares last weekend. Flank Cyle Brink replaces Kwagga Smith who is on compassionate leave. In other changes in the forwards Franco Mostert switches from lock to flank and lock Marvin Orie earns a place in the starting line-up against his former team. In the only change amongst the backs, inside centre Rohan Janse van Rensburg replaces Harold Vorster who drops to the bench.

Form: The Bulls head into this Super Rugby round three showdown against the Lions on the back of a morale boosting 21-19 victory over the Hurricanes, the victory was much needed after the Bulls ended their 2017 Super Rugby campaign in 15th place with four victories and 11 defeats from 15 matches played. The Bulls will want to continue on their road to redemption and start filling up Loftus again.

The Lions got their Super Rugby campaign off to a perfect start with two wins on the trot against the Sharks and the Jaguares. They outscored the Jaguares by seven tries to three en route to a 47-27 victory at Ellis Park in Johannesburg last weekend and they will be looking to take their form to Loftus this weekend and continue their winning ways.

Prediction: The Bulls are an unknown quantity to the Lions and this will make them an extremely dangerous opponents this weekend. We expect a close game, however the Lions have the bulk of the team which has taken them to two consecutive Super Rugby finals in the past two seasons and their experience should prove the difference at the end of the 80 minutes. The Lions have been very focused heading into this clash even announcing their team via email instead of the usual press-conference and team announcement. Lions to win by 10 points.

Previous results:

2017: Lions won 51-14 in Johannesburg
2016: Lions won 56-20 in Pretoria
2015: Bulls won 35-33 in Pretoria
2015: Lions won 22-18 in Johannesburg
2014: Lions won 32-21 in Johannesburg
2014: Bulls won 25-17 in Pretoria
2012: Bulls won 32-18 in Johannesburg
2011: Bulls won 30-23 in Pretoria
2011: Bulls won 24-20 in Johannesburg
2010: Bulls won 51-11 in Pretoria

The teams:

Bulls: 15 Divan Rossouw, 14 Travis Ismaiel, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 Burger Odendaal (captain), 11 Johnny Kotze, 10 Handré Pollard, 9 Andre Warner, 8 Hanro Liebenberg, 7 Thembelani Bholi, 6 Roelof Smit, 5 Lodewyk de Jager, 4 Rudolph Snyman, 3 Frans van Wyk, 2 Jaco Visagie, 1 Pierre Schoeman
Replacements: 16 Adriaan Strauss, 17 Lizo Gqoboka, 18 Conraad van Vuuren, 19 Nic de Jager, 20 Marco van Staden, 21 Embrose Papier, 22 Marnitz Boshoff, 23 Duncan Matthews

Lions: 15 Andries Coetzee, 14 Sylvian Mahuza, 13 Lionel Mapoe, 12 Rohan Janse van Rensburg, 11 Aphiwe Dyantyi, 10 Elton Jantjies, 9 Ross Cronje, 8 Warren Whiteley (c), 7 Francois Mostert, 6 Cyle Brink, 5 Marvin Orie, 4 Andries Ferreira, 3 Ruan Dreyer, 2 Malcolm Marx, 1 Jacques Van Rooyen
Replacements: 16 Robbie Coetzee, 17 Dylan Smith, 18 Jacobus Adriaanse, 19 Lourens Erasmus, 20 Marnus Schoeman, 21 Marco Jansen Van Vuren, 22 Harold Voster, 23 Madosh Tambwe

Date: Saturday, March 3
Venue: Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria
Kick-off: 17:15 local (15:15 GMT)
Referee: Marius van der Westhuizen (South Africa)
Assistant referees: Rasta Rasivhenge (South Africa), Stephan Geldenhuys (South Africa)
TMO: Christie du Preez (South Africa)