Lions' revival gathers steam as Bulls floored

THE Lions’ resurgence continued at Loftus Versfeld yesterday afternoon as they overpowered a rusty Bulls side 43-33 in an entertaining United Rugby Championship clash.

- MIKE GREENAWAY

The visitors proved that their superb performance in beating Ulster before the November international break was no flash in the pan, crossing for six impressive tries to the Bulls’ five.

The Bulls were without key scrummaging weapons Wilco Louw, Gerhard Steenekamp and Johan Grobbelaar, not to mention industrious Ruan Nortje, and their absence was keenly felt.

At the start of the match, the Lions absorbed 10 minutes of intense pressure before taking an against-the-run-of-play lead courtesy of a Chris Smith penalty.

The lead grew to 10-0 as the first quarter ended, with the Lions’ backs exploiting sloppy play from the Bulls’ backline around the halfway line.

It wasn’t the first time a backline move had broken down due to an errant pass.

The Lions hacked the ball upfield to the tryline, and wing Kelly Mpeku raced to score.