The Vodacom Bulls held on to claim a bonus-point win against Lyon on their Champions Cup debut in Pretoria on Saturday night.
Bulls boss Jake White named an experimental lineup for the South Africans’ first match in the competition, and they scored four tries to lead 28-12 by half time at Loftus Versfeld.
The French tourists fought back bravely at the death, but the hosts held on for a hard-fought 42-36 victory.The Bulls were 21-0 up by the close of the first quarter after two tries from scrumhalf Bernard van der Linde and an impressive finish from right wing Sibongile Novuka, with skipper Morne Steyn on song with the extras, before openside flank Nizaam Carr barged over to secure the bonus point in the 24th minute.
With the hosts looking like they would run away with the match before the close of the first half, the visitors fought back to make it a 16-point game at the break following a conversion from Lyon fullback Leo Berdeu, to go with scores from former Loftus darling Arno Botha and Kiwi hooker Liam Coltman.
💯 A touching moment pre-match at Loftus Versfeld as Lizo Gqoboka leads the teams out, alongside his family, ahead of his 1️⃣0️⃣0️⃣th appearance for the
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