Centurion — The Blue Bulls outclassed the Lions 40-10 in a one-sided Currie Cup match at Ellis Park on Wednesday evening.
Though the first half an hour of the contest saw neither side concede a single point, the Bulls gradually worked their way into the game. By the last quarter of the contest, it was all the men in Blue as they outclassed a ragged Lions lineup.
The Lions were reduced to 14 men in the 28th minute when lock Lunga Ncube stuck out a hand as the Bulls were trying to move the ball out wide on their own line, as he was given a yellow card and 10 minutes in the sin bin.
The Bulls opened the scoring in the 32nd minute, after a scrum five metres out — the Lions were going backwards and illegally kicked the ball away in a maul as the referee awarded a penalty try (7-0).
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Sparked into action by the first score, the Bulls put together a number of phases before whipping the ball out wide for James Verity-Amm who dived over in the corner. Flyhalf Juan Mostert slotted the conversion from the touchline to make it 14-0 with two minutes remaining in the first half.
Lions flyhalf James Tedder finally got his side on the board with a long range penalty in the 43rd minute (14-3).
The Bulls began to run the Lions ragged as they easily worked the ball out wide and the experienced Morne Steyn added the finishing touches in the corner to score (21-3).
In response the Lions managed their first try of the evening as Jurich Claasens took a quick tap from close range and dotted down. Tedder added extra two to pull within seven on the visitors (21-10).
The Bulls snagged a bonus point as eighthman Muller Uys barged his way over on the hour mark. Steyn nudged over the easy conversion to extend his side’s lead once more (28-10).
#LIOvBUL FT: That's the end of the 80 minutes at Emirates Airline Park. The Vodacom Bulls claim an impressive 10-40 win over Sigma Lions. Well done, boys!!#TrueToTheBlue @Vodacom #CarlingCurrieCup @TheCurrieCup pic.twitter.com/wlpRCpIAHG
— Official Blue Bulls (@BlueBullsRugby) March 23, 2022
The Lions were reduced to 14 men again in the 67th minute, this time for a dangerous tackle by Sasko Ndlovu who was yellow-carded for his efforts.
A rolling maul from the Bulls after a lineout five metres out saw Joe van Zyl bag an easy try in the corner to effectively seal the contest 33-10 in the 71st minute.
The floodgates had opened as the Bulls were swiftly over for another try, with Cebo Dlamini bagging the score. Steyn added the extra two to put his side 30 points ahead 40-10.
Scorers
Bulls 40 (14): Tries: Penalty Try, James Verity-Amm, Morne Steyn, Muller Uys, Joe van Zyl, Cebo Dlamini Conversion: Juan Mostert, Steyn (3)
Lions: 10 (0): Try: Jurich Claasens. Conversion: James Tedder Penalty: Tedder
IOL Sport