Rugby

Relieved White, proud Van Rooyen after Bulls v Lions thriller

Lions coach Ivan van Rooyen was barely annoyed however proud of the hassle of his gamers regardless of them happening in opposition to the Bulls.

Bulls coach Jake White was an especially relieved man after his facet held off a spirited fightback from the Lions, which included substitute again Jordan Hendrikse lacking an extended vary penalty after the hooter, to clinch a 30-28 win of their United Rugby Championship (URC) derby on Saturday.

It was a basic cross-Jukskei derby in entrance of over 26,000 followers who have been entertained from begin to end because the Lions received off to a flying begin, earlier than the Bulls fought again to guide at halftime, with the lead then altering twice within the closing 10 minutes for an exhilarating end.

ALSO READ: ‘It was goose bump stuff’ – Marius Louw after Bulls pip Lions in Jukskei derby

In the top White admitted it was a few of his youthful gamers who made vital contributions and large errors that swung the fortunes each methods as his facet scraped over the road.

“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 sport.

“I do have to reiterate that it was a 21-year-old who stole the final lineout and a 21-year-old who made a mistake by carrying via the road on the finish. This is the one manner they may be taught.

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 barely annoyed however proud of the hassle of his gamers, after their prime begin was undone with a poor end to the primary half.

The Bulls then twice pulled away within the second half, together with an especially unfortunate scenario the place the ref inadvertently blocked Lions scrumhalf Morne van den Berg from attending to eighthman Mpilo Gumede who waltzed over for a simple attempt off the again of a scrum, as they fell simply quick.

“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,” stated Van Rooyen.

“But seeing the way in which we got here again within the second half after conceding early and that scrum incident attempt. To get again into it, get factors and really feel the momentum shift again in our favour, that’s one thing we will maintain onto. I’m 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 entrance, White claimed that there have been loads of positives for his facet to take out of the sport, but in addition a whole lot of errors that they might want to deal with earlier than the 2 sides conclude a cross-Jukskei double header once 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,” defined White.

“But this isn’t the way in which we need to play. We gave them a attempt, once they went excessive of the lineout, we dropped the ball close to the in-goal space. We kicked lengthy 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.”


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