Bulls lost in France

Bulls assistant coach Chris Rossouw was left to lament a poor first half as his team slipped to a 31-7 defeat away to Lyon in the Champions Cup on Friday night.

Though they tidied up and tightened their game in the second half the Bulls were still well beaten by the final whistle and had to await results elsewhere to learn whether they'd proceed to the round of 16 in the competition.

They were thoroughly bossed up front by a committed and confrontational Lyon team that forced them into errors.

The Bulls conceded 11 penalties in the first half and five in the second. “We conceded too many penalties. There are technical errors we need to improve as a team,” said Rossouw.

“We put ourselves under immense pressure and that showed on the scoreboard.”

They were taking a beating in the scrums while their inability to halt the Lyon maul made for much time back-pedalling.

Unfamiliar territory

It was unfamiliar territory for the visitors in every way.

“This was our first encounter in France,” reminded Rossouw. “A French team on home soil is completely different. Obviously they can use the conditions. There is also the travel. It was extremely cold but the reality is the conditions weren't that bad,” explained Rossouw.

The Bulls were on the back foot for much of the first half but their task was made near impossible when they lost whatever intensity they had as the halftime whistle approached. They were 10-0 down but that score ballooned to 24-0 by the time the break arrived.

Encouragingly, they did well not to drop their bundle in the second half. “We scored first in the second half and they scored right at the end so it was even-steven in the second half. We were able to stand our ground,” said the assistant coach who is part of a quartet that has to hold the fort in Jake White's absence who is convalescing after surgery.

Better second half

The Bulls will draw encouragement from their second half effort. They did not assemble their top players for this match but they displayed grit when they needed to.

“Rotation is necessarily,” said Rossouw about their selections. “One reason is for player welfare and the other to grow the group. If you are going to play your best team against a team like Lyon you are going to play your best side every week. There aren't many weak sides.”

Next week they take on the Scarlets in Llanelli in the United Rugby Championship (URC). Their team will lose even more cutting edge with Kurt-Lee Arendse and Canan Moodie having to yield to national squad commitments.

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