Following the Bulls’ 37-22 triumph over the Lions, here are our five takeaways from the United Rugby Championship encounter at Emirates Airlines Park on Saturday.

The top line

The Bulls raced into an early 10-0 lead courtesy of a Boeta Chamberlain penalty and a converted try from David Kriel but the Lions stayed in the fight courtesy of accurate goal-kicking from Sam Francis, who slotted a couple of penalties, and they soon took control of proceedings when Henco van Wyk crossed for a try which put them in front – albeit by the narrowest of margins – at half-time.

The home side continued to impress during the early stages of the second half when Francis added two further penalties and Chamberlain also succeeded off the kicking tee for the Bulls but the visitors’ bench swung things in their favour, especially during the final quarter.

The likes of Springboks Willie le Roux, Akker van der Merwe, Canan Moodie and Nizaam Carr all made telling contributions off the bench while starters like David Kriel and Marcell Coetzee also caught the eye with strong performances during the full 80 minutes.

In the end, Kriel, Coetzee, Van der Merwe and Cobus Wiese all crossed for tries which helped the Bulls secure the result and, in doing so, they return to winning ways in the URC while the Lions suffer their third successive loss in the competition.

Lions lose their composure

Although the visitors held the upper hand during this game’s opening exchanges and crossed for the opening try, the Lions soaked up that early pressure and came back strongly during the latter stages of that half and held a deserved 11-10 lead at the interval.

The home side continued to hold an edge during the early stages of the second half but failed to kick on as the match progressed and that allowed the Bulls to get back into the match.

A crucial area of concern for Lions head coach Ivan van Rooyen is the performance of his replacements as they could not maintain the intensity of the starting players who they replaced and this was especially evident during the latter part of the second half when the Bulls’ bench helped their side to clinch the win.

David Kriel puts his hand up for Springboks selection

The 25-year-old inside centre has been one of the Bulls’ star players this season and was considered one of the players who was unlucky not to be called up for the Springboks’ end-of-year tour to Europe last year.

Despite that disappointment, Kriel has continued his impressive form in the URC and was one of the Bulls’ best performers against the Lions in Johannesburg.

Kriel looked dangerous on attack as he shone as one of his team’s playmakers and was also rewarded with a try for his efforts, while he also put his body on the line on defence where he made some crucial tackles.

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Apart from that, he also caught the eye with his goal-kicking ability and slotted three conversions and a penalty which meant he finished with valuable 14-point contribution for his team.

If he continues in this vein, he should realise his Springboks dream in 2025.

Back-row battle catches the eye

While the Lions will not be satisfied with their third URC defeat in a row, it was not through a lack of effort from their loose forward trio of skipper Francke Horn, Ruan Venter and JC Pretorius.

All three impressed as ball carriers with Horn in particular gaining good yardage, especially at close quarters where his ability to offload in the tackle provided plenty of headaches to the Bulls’ defence.

Venter was not far behind while Pretorius did well in the breakdown battle, although he was edged in that department by former Springbok Marcelle Coetzee, who received good support from Cobus Wiese, replacement Carr and Cameron Hanekom.

The Bulls’ loose trio shone in the execution of their core duties and met the onslaught from their Lions counterparts head on and edged this battle in the end.

Bulls’ Springboks duo show their class

Although they did not get their names onto the scoreboard, the introduction of the Bulls’ Springboks backline duo Willie le Roux and Canan Moodie had the desired effect for the men from Pretoria.

The two Rugby World Cup winners started amongst the replacements but soon found themselves in the thick of the action after the Lions held a slender 14-13 lead early in the second half.

Le Roux was particularly influential as he slotted in at fly-half – where he replaced Boeta Chamberlain – and looked at home as he pulled the strings on attack as he put several of his team-mates into gaps on attack.

Moodie also had some good touches with ball in hand but made his biggest impact on defence when he put in a massive hit on Manny Rass which thwarted a Lions attack at a crucial stage of the match.