Johan Goosen slotted a penalty from inside his own half to give the Vodacom Bulls a thrilling derby win over the Lions in Pretoria on Saturday.
A 60-metre penalty from Goosen saw the Vodacom Bulls claim a 30-28 win at a packed Loftus Versfeld in the only Vodacom URC match of the weekend.
Victory sees the Vodacom Bulls lift themselves back into the top four, while the Lions missed the opportunity to go overtake their South African rivals and end the round in 10th place.
A brace from captain Marius Louw gave the Lions an early 10-3 lead and for a while it looked as though the visitors would be in for back-to-back victories at Loftus.
Sanele Nohamba scored 24 points when he last visited Pretoria and the little Lions halfback was again proving to be the Bulls’ nemesis when he set up one of Louw’s tries and slotted a penalty and drop goal in the second half.
š¦ @LionsRugbyCo showing us how rugby is supposed to be played!
Marius Louw with the score.@vodacom #URC | #BULvLIO pic.twitter.com/rhnH9x5nYW
ā Vodacom United Rugby Championship (URC) (@URCOfficial_RSA) January 27, 2024
š¤Æ#BULvLIO | @Vodacom #URC | #UnitedWeRise pic.twitter.com/GA0tMWlVKk
ā vodacomrugby (@VodacomRugga) January 27, 2024
The Bulls, however, responded well as Akker van der Merwe’s try and Goosen’s penalty gave the home side a one-point lead at the break. Embrose Papier and Mpilo Gumede dotted down in the second half to extend the lead to nine points.
To their credit, the Lions kept fighting and a massive error from David Kriel, when the Bulls tried to run from behind their tryline, handed replacement prop Morgan Naude a simple try.
The game then turned into a battle of the kickers as Jordan Hendrikse came off the bench to slot a 50-metre penalty and put the Lions ahead.
Shortly after the Lions had survived a 20-phase period of defending in their own 22, the Bulls were awarded a penalty just behind the halfway line, and Goosen banged it over.
There was even more drama as JC Pretorius won a breakdown turnover on the halfway line as the Bulls were trying to close out the game. Hendrikse stepped up to kick the match-winning penalty, but the ball drifted wide right and the hosts celebrated a dramatic derby victory.
The two teams now have a two-week break before returning to action at Ellis Park on 17 February for a URC rematch.
Photo: Sydney Seshibedi/Gallo Images