Bulls 31 Lions 17

Despite having to play for 10 minutes with 13 men, the Bulls beat the Lions 31-17 in a pulsating Super 14 match at Pretoria on Friday.

The home side lost Springboks hardman Bakkies Botha to the sin bin and fullback Zane Kirchner to a red card in the first half, but still had too much firepower for the Lions.

While the defending champions only managed two first-half tries to the Lions' three, they built their victory around the accurate boot of five-eighth Derick Hougaard, who kicked six penalties and a drop goal.

A number of try-scoring chances for the Bulls went awry after some shoddy handling, but the pressure they exerted on their neighbours finally started to tell and it wasn't long before the defending champions found their stride.

Hougaard got his team on the scoreboard with two penalties and then moments later Akona Ndungane put them further ahead with a try.

Hougaard added a trademark drop goal and a further three-pointer for a comfortable 17-0 advantage, but the loss of Botha to the bin and Kirchner's red card for a dangerous tackle allowed the Lions to score a try, through winger Dusty Noble. The Bulls extended their lead just before the break when Hougaard slotted his fourth penalty before Ndungane ran in his second try.

With a 25-5 lead, the Bulls started the second half as fiercely as they ended the first, but it was the Lions who made most of the running.

Halfback Jano Vermaak and winger Ryno Benjamin scored tries before Hougaard slotted two penalties to help his side to a comfortable victory.

The Bulls now play the Queensland Reds in Brisbane on Saturday.

AFP