Lions target accurate game management to topple resurgent Bulls

The United Rugby Championship’s SA conference race remains finely balanced, and this weekend’s Jukskei derby between the Lions and Bulls at Ellis Park could prove a defining moment for both sides.

Lions coach Ivan van Rooyen believes the margins are so tight that momentum – and execution under pressure – will be decisive as the Gauteng rivals collide. “The SA conference is wide open. I think basically all four teams are pretty much in it, so it’s up to us. We can only control what we can control, starting with the Bulls this weekend,” Van Rooyen said.

The Bulls arrive in Johannesburg with a 43-33 defeat against their southern neighbours at Loftus Versfeld the last time they met in November still fresh in their minds.

But Van Rooyen expects a very different opponent to the one that faltered at home in the midst of a seven-match losing streak, with the return of key players bolstering Johan Ackermann's side.

“Obviously they will be hurting from the result at Loftus. I think with Kurt-Lee (Arendse) back and Canan (Moodie) back and Marcell (Coetzee) back they’ve got a couple of superstars returning. Add the two results they got overseas and I think mentally they’ll be a very different team,” he said.

“We’ve got to rise to that emotional level and also rise to the physical level.”

The Bulls are fresh off back-to-back wins against Pau and Edinburgh in Europe, while the Lions drew their last two matches away to Perpignan and the Ospreys. They are seventh in the URC with 24 points, while the Bulls are four points below them in ninth.

Van Rooyen is aware that the derby will be a step up in intensity, and he believes having a clear plan – and the ability to impose it – will ultimately separate the sides. “I think it’s the team that can execute their plan under pressure this weekend and the team that manage to get to their strengths more often and a little bit quicker (that will come out on top),” he said.

The Lions don't need to look far for a reminder of the Bulls’ match-winning pedigree. “If I can think back to last year, we were in front and Canan and Willie (le Roux) came on. Canan took the game away from us in the air and Willie had two X-factor moments and they scored two tries and they beat us,” Van Rooyen recalled. “Even if it’s at Loftus or here, the big-moment players tend to come through for them in the tough moments.”

Containing those moments will be central to the Lions’ approach, with Van Rooyen highlighting the need for smarter control and pressure-building. “For us against them specifically it’s probably about a little bit more accurate game management – the balance between if there’s space how do you get to that space, and how do we create pressure to get a different space.”

The Bulls’ experience, anchored by a sizeable Springbok core, remains a major challenge. “Obviously, they’ve got experience all over – I think they’ve got 12 or 14 Springboks – so they’ve seen all the pictures. Like I said, it’s about how do we get into what we want to do as quickly and often as possible,” Van Rooyen concluded.

Kick-off at Ellis Park is at 2.30pm on Saturday.