Victory by design: Lions coach reflects on 43-33 win over Bulls

Coach Ivan van Rooyen says the Lions’ 43-33 defeat of the Bulls in Pretoria at the weekend was hardly by accident and very much by design.

After a statement win over Ulster just before the November international window, the Lions had plenty of time to plan their Highveld victory.

“I’m really proud of the effort. We worked hard over the last month to get to a level where we hope we can compete,” Van Rooyen said. “Our last win in Pretoria was in 2023, with a really special performance, so I’m happy for the win and happy for the guys who’ve worked so hard.”

Van Rooyen said the key to the victory was dominating a Bulls pack that was without key Springboks Wilco Louw, Gerhard Steenekamp, Johan Grobbelaar, and Ruan Nortje. That opened the door for the Lions pack, who capitalised with authority.

“If you’re not physically up against the Bulls or your set-piece is not functioning, they’ll tear you apart,” Van Rooyen said.

“A big focus point for us was physicality and set-piece. Our general defence and work rate were good, but conceding four first-phase tries isn’t good enough. That’s something we need to fix.”

Van Rooyen admitted the Bulls’ back three, spearheaded by the excellent Sebastian de Klerk, posed significant danger.

“If you’re just going to kick long against Willie (le Roux), he’s going to punish you. The same with Stravino (Jacobs), and Sebastian,” he said. “We had to make a plan to see if we could catch them under pressure while we were going forward.”

The coach added that the Lions entered the game understanding they needed to be adaptable.

“We wanted to play a little more with ball in hand, which offers more opportunities,” Van Rooyen said.

“Before the game, I said to flyhalf Chris Smith, ‘Welcome to your old house.’ His calmness was good. Credit also to Nico (Steyn) and Quan (Horn); the communication between them about what pictures we were getting and how to apply pressure was excellent.”

Van Rooyen added that the Lions had targeted a fast start, leading 17-0 after the first quarter.

“If you give the Bulls a good start, everything feels like it’s working for them,” he said.

“We put massive emphasis on starting well, getting more positive actions than the Bulls and manipulating situations to find that point of difference. The good start helped us apply pressure and convert.”