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The Citizen
a day ago
- Sport
- The Citizen
Jake White pinpoints where the Bulls beat the Sharks
"Sometimes you think you win the game in the last minute. It's not that, it's what you do in certain times." The Bulls beat the Sharks in their URC semi-final to set up a thrilling final against Leinster in Ireland. Picture: Sydney Seshibedi/Gallo Images Bulls director of rugby Jake White described it as a déjà vu moment when his side successfully defended against the Sharks for a few minutes on their own try line despite receiving three yellow cards during their United Rugby Championship semi-final at Loftus on Saturday. The Bulls won the game 25–13 thanks largely to their impenetrable defence and the Sharks' numerous errors, including slotting just one of five goal kicks. The result sets the Bulls up to face Leinster in the final in Dublin next weekend. Bulls weather the storm White said he could not help but compare the semi-final to the previous match played between the sides, which the Sharks won 29–19 at Loftus in the regular season. During that game, the Sharks also received three yellow cards in quick succession and the Bulls could not capitalise. Again this time, with Harold Vorster, Cameron Hanekom and Marcell Coetzee all going off between the 27th and 39th minutes, the Sharks pressed and pressed at the Bulls try line but lost the ball once and were held up once. Only in the second half, while the Bulls were two men short for just two more minutes, did the Sharks score an overlap try, Makazole Mapimpi dotting down next to the touchline. But it was too little, too late as the Bulls weathered the storm to only allow the Sharks to score once more during the game. The point where the Bulls beat the Sharks 'I think we won the game in the last five minutes of the first half when they couldn't score when we had 12 men on the field. A little bit of déjà vu because I remember playing them here and we also got them to play with 12 men and we couldn't open them up either,' White said. The Bulls coach said this provided a massive mental boost to the defence. It was why he told his players that was the moment they won the game. 'Sometimes you think you win the game in the last minute. It's not that, it's what you do in certain times. I sat there thinking confidently they would not score because we were really fronting up well. 'When you come in the changing room at half-time without letting them score a try you have a very different vibe than you would have if they just conceded a try there.'
The Citizen
21-05-2025
- Sport
- The Citizen
Bulls must continue to do what works for them
The Bulls have lost only two home and two away games this URC season, relying on their forward pack dominance. The Bulls have been unstoppable in scrums and mauls this season. Picture: Sydney Seshibedi/Gallo Images Forward dominance has driven the success of the Bulls this season, even against Europe's best teams in games away from home. They failed to use this to their advantage in their EPCR campaign, winning two out of six games there. But the Bulls have been the South African team finding the most success in the league phase of the United Rugby Championship (URC) – a tournament they haven't won, though they've reached the final twice in three years. The Pretoria side have statistically had their best season, securing their most wins (14) and most points (68). Now set to face old rivals Edinburgh, who knocked them out of the Challenge Cup in the quarter-finals this year, the Bulls will be doing much analysis on what will get them over the line. Should they win that, they will play against the winner between the Sharks and Munster at Loftus on 7 June. It worked against Leinster The Bulls have not had the benefit of star winger Kurt-Lee Arendse, who is still on sabbatical in Japan, while fellow Springbok speedster Canan Moodie hasn't been at his best or available in every game due to injury. Still, their backline players have proved threatening, if not always shining like the line-ups in other teams. So it has been their forward pack that have proven the difference. Jan-Hendrik Wessels, Cobus Wiese (oftentimes playing lock), Wilco Louw, Akker van der Merwe, Francois Klopper and Mornay Smith have been devastating in the front, while former Springbok Gerhard Steenkamp has battled injury. They have been backed by solid locks and loose forwards who are also Springboks pretty much across the board. After the Bulls secured victory against previously undefeated Leinster thanks to a scrum turnover in March, proving they had the best pack in the competition, director of rugby Jake White said they 'can't be known as a team that can just maul and scrum'. 'I don't want us to be a team that goes into our shell and we always think we are going to scrum penalties and maul penalties and therefore win the game,' he said at the time. Bulls build on their already-formidable forward dominance However, Springbok loose forward Marco 'Eskom' van Staden and flank Jannes Kirsten have typified Bulls players' views that they should only build on what works for them, at least when it comes to the set-piece and forward battles. They do not have the overall performance to worry about, as White does, and any player will tell you they can only focus on their own performance on the day. But the Bulls have only had two away and two home defeats this URC season for a reason. Now it is up to them to maintain their consistency against the best.
The Citizen
20-05-2025
- Sport
- The Citizen
Lions need to restart after another disappointing season
The Lions started the season well but lost momentum and missed out on the URC playoffs. Lions players celebrate a try during their win over Ospreys in their URC match at Ellis Park over the weekend. Picture: Sydney Seshibedi/Gallo Images A break will be just what the doctor ordered for the Lions squad after a long and disappointing season came to an end over the past weekend, with a win over Ospreys in their final United Rugby Championship (URC) match. The game threatened to end on the same note as their campaign, after Ospreys stayed in the fight, despite the Lions largely dominating, and took a late lead with just three minutes remaining. But the hosts must be commended for showing some fight as they snatched the win at the death with a try after the fulltime hooter to flyhalf Lubabalo Dobela. However, the win was purely consolation, as it lifted them from 13th to 11th on the URC log, comfortably short of the top eight and a place in the playoffs for the fourth consecutive season. It's a far cry from the top four aspirations that Lions coach Ivan van Rooyen claimed they had before the current campaign got under way. The Lions season started on a promising note in July last year when they enjoyed a fantastic run in the Currie Cup. They finished top of the log and hosted the final, where they were edged by the Sharks thanks to a long-range penalty after the fulltime hooter by flyhalf Jordan Hendrikse. Despite the obvious disappointment the Lions shook that off and started their URC season like a house on fire, winning their opening four matches, at home against Ulster and Edinburgh and away against Dragons and Zebre. As good as it got But that is where the good times ended as the Lions season took a nosedive, and they struggled immensely over the rest of the campaign. In the Challenge Cup the Lions lost two games and won two games to sneak into the last 16 as the fourth and final qualifiers from their pool, where they were dumped out by Edinburgh at the first hurdle. Back in the URC the Lions won just four of their last 11 matches, after their terrific start, to slide down the table and out of the running for the playoffs. Van Rooyen said after the Ospreys win that he was happy for the team to end on a positive note, and that they now had to rest their bodies before getting back down to business as they had plenty to work on in the off season. 'We are really happy with the win. We played with character to show what it means to us and leave us as a group in a good space where we can restart next season,' said Van Rooyen. 'It's obviously been a long season. So we have to have a couple of weeks off to rest the bodies, and then restart preseason wise for the Currie Cup and URC. It's important for us to heal the bodies and get re-energised so then we can start building again. 'We need to get the guys probably physically 1% better to maintain contribution in collision. Rugby IQ probably, because we are a little bit younger, still needs to improve and that will be a massive focus in pre-season, and just our decision-making under pressure and skill execution.'
The Citizen
17-05-2025
- Sport
- The Citizen
URC result: Lions edge Ospreys in thriller to finish on a high
The Lions closed out a disappointing season 11th on the URC log, after targeting a top four finish at the start of what was expected to be a strong campaign. The Lions clinched a thrilling win over Ospreys at Ellis Park on Saturday night to close out a disappointing URC season on a high. Picture: Sydney Seshibedi/Gallo Images It took a last gasp try in the corner from Lions flyhalf Lubabalo Dobela to give the hosts a thrilling 29-28 win over Ospreys in both teams final United Rugby Championship (URC) match of the season at Ellis Park on Saturday evening. It was a back and forth match that saw both teams take the lead on numerous occasions, including three times in the final 10 minutes, ending with the home sides elation as they closed out a poor season with a win. However it shouldn't have been such a close game, as the first half belonged completely to the Lions, but they only managed to take a slender 12-7 lead into halftime after missing a hatful of chances. Ineffective finishing The Lions managed about six or seven 22m entries during the first 40, but weren't able to walk away with points from any of them, as both of the tries they scored were started from outside the 22. The first of those came in the ninth minute of the match after a good period of dominance, with the Lions attacking from a lineout, spreading the ball where fullback Quan Horn sliced through a gap and laid a perfect pass onto wing Edwill van der Merwe to run in and score. But straight from the restart the Lions handed the Ospreys a free score, as wing Richard Kriel's clearance attempt was charged down by flank William Griffiths, who dotted down the converted score to put them 7-5 up. The Lions had a slew of chances to get back ahead, but it took until the 30th minute for them to do that as they finally went blind from an attack near the halfway, sending the ball wide where hooker Jaco Visagie broke, passed to flank JC Pretorius, who gave the return pass for the captain to go over. Dobela's conversion put them five points ahead, with them taking that lead into the break, despite both teams having chances to score in a frenetic few minutes before halftime. Ospreys on top The second half started with Ospreys on top, and they were finally rewarded in the 52nd minute after bashing away on the Lions line, lock James Ratti received the ball at pace and crashed over, with flyhalf Dan Edwards extras putting them ahead. But their joy was short lived as straight from the restart flank Renzo du Plessis won a turnover, Dobela kicked to the corner, the Lions set the maul and rumbled over for Visagie to score his second, putting them back ahead 17-14 after 55 minutes. Seven minutes later Ospreys retook the lead, attacking off a lineout in the 22m, with fullback Jack Walsh running a good line to scythe over for the converted score. In the 70th minute it was the Lions turn to lead again, attacking off a 5m scrum, as outside centre Henco van Wyk took a short ball to power over for the converted score to put the hosts 24-21 up. Ospreys thought they had done enough to win the game in the 77th minute when they attacked from a lineout in the Lions 22m, hammering away at the line before replacement hooker Sam Parry powered over to give them a four point lead with minutes remaining. But the hosts would not die and kept the ball alive after the fulltime hooter, kicking to the corner, attacking from the lineout, going through a couple of phases before a skip pass found Dobela on the wing to beat the final tackle and go over for the winning score. Scorers Lions: Tries – Edwill van der Merwe, Jaco Visagie (2), Henco van Wyk, Lubabalo Dobela; Conversions – Dobela (2) Ospreys: Tries – William Griffiths, James Ratti, Jack Walsh, Sam Parry; Conversions – Dan Edwards (4)
The Citizen
17-05-2025
- Sport
- The Citizen
Lions hunting comeback win over ‘bogey' team Ospreys
The Lions have lost their last three games against Ospreys and are desperate to end their season on a high against the Welsh challengers. The Lions in action against Scarlets during their URC match at Ellis Park over the past weekend. Picture: Sydney Seshibedi/Gallo Images Although disappointment from missing out on the United Rugby Championship (URC) playoffs for the fourth straight season will be fresh for the Lions, they will still have plenty of motivation when they close out their campaign against Ospreys at Ellis Park on Saturday afternoon (5:15pm). It is a dead rubber season ending game for both teams, with neither able to make the top eight to qualify for the URC knockouts, but the hosts will arguably be the hungrier team to close out with what would be a morale boosting win. Having struggled immensely down the back straight of the URC, including suffering damaging home defeats against Benetton a few weeks ago and Scarlets last weekend, the Lions will be eager to rectify that with a big win in front of their home fans. Ospreys have also been a bogey team of the Lions over the past couple of seasons, with them suffering three straight defeats against the Welsh side across the Challenge Cup and URC. Earlier this season in December a second string Lions team was comfortably beaten 30-14 by Ospreys in their Challenge Cup opener in Swansea. Last season they were stunned by Ospreys 38-28 in their Challenge Cup pool match in January, while they comfortably went down 36-21 to the hosts in their URC encounter in Wales. Back to winning ways The Lions will now want to arrest that slide of defeats and get back to winning ways against a team they should be confident of beating more often than not. 'It has been spoken about in the team this week. Osprey's have almost been like a bogey team for us, so it will be a bit of a consolation for us if we do well against them this weekend,' admitted Lions scrum coach Julian Redelinghuys at a press conference during the week. 'They are a good team. If you watched the game against the Sharks this past weekend, even though the scoreline doesn't reflect it, they are really tough at the breakdown. 'They are a good physical team and they have a good kicking game. That's where we felt we fell short against them previously. We have those past experiences and if we can correct them this weekend it will be a positive for us amongst all the negative.' Ospreys also edged the Lions in the fight for the top eight last season, with both teams ending on 50 points, but the Welsh side snuck into the playoffs due to having won a game more than the Johannesburg side who had to settle for ninth place, so a bit of revenge will be in order. 'They played their last game against Cardiff and we needed them to keep them out and not let them get five points. We got on the plane in Cape Town (after playing the Stormers) and landed (in Johannesburg) to hear we had been knocked out,' said Redelinghuys. 'We don't blame them for that, we only blame ourselves for not doing enough to make it through, and that is the same for us this season.'
