The Bulls produced a ruthless attacking display on Saturday to thrash the Lions 57-15 at Loftus Versfeld as they took full control of the collisions and continuously applied pressure, which they often capitalised on to score nine tries to two by the visitors in a largely one-sided trans-Jukskei derby.

Johan Ackermann’s men dominated every aspect of the game, scoring nine tries while conceding only two in a match played in hot Pretoria summer weather.

With this victory, the Bulls not only climbed to third place on the URC log, but – with 19 tries in three matches –they also emerged as the team that has scored by far the most tries in the competition’s opening three rounds.

Unfortunately for the Johannesburgers, the defeat ended their sterling start to the URC in which they registered back-to-back victories over Leinster and the Ospreys.

Harold Vorster opened the scoring for the men from Pretoria in the 10^th minute after gathering a chip kick, and the visitors responded with a maul try by Siba Qoma eight minutes later, with the successful conversion handing them a 7-5 lead.

The match turned in the Bulls’ favour soon after as Johan Grobbelaar scored from a pick-and-go, while the pressure on the 10bet Lions mounted as Morné van den Berg was sin-binned for a deliberate knock-down in the build-up.

The hosts took advantage of the numerical advantage, with Cameron Hanekom scoring back-to-back tries within six minutes in the second quarter, and Jeandre Rudolph capped a dominant half with their fifth try on the stroke of halftime to hand the team a convincing 31-10 lead.

The men from Pretoria picked up where they left off after play resumed with Canan Moodie stretching over in the 44^th minute thanks to a stunning long pass out wide, which increased their score to 36 points, but the opposition answered through their pack, with Morné Brandon touching down from a strong maul in the 50^th minute.

From there on in the Bulls completely took control despite determined efforts by the 10bet Lions to fight back at times, with JF van Heerden crashing over in the 68^th minute shortly after Cheswill Jooste was denied a try.

Jooste, however, finally got his five-pointer in the 74^th minute by gathering a great cross kick, and Sebastian de Klerk completed the rout for the hosts after the hooter from a great step and speed to the tryline to dive underneath a defender, and the two conversions saw them finish the match with a commanding 57-15 scoreline.

The Bulls’ attention now shifts to the Investec European Champions Cup this coming weekend, when they take on the French club Stade Français at Loftus Versfeld. That match kicks off on Saturday at 14:00.

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