Much like the DHL Stormers before them, the Emirates Lions were forced to play in their normal jerseys and looked ordinary as they went down rather tamely 30-12 to a superhero Vodacom Bulls side at Emirates Airline Park in Johannesburg on Saturday afternoon.

The difference was that this time it was the home side that looked ordinary, while the visitors adopted the mantle of superheroes again to win the Jukskei derby with surprising ease and pick up some vital points away from home.

And while the Lions will want to forget this performance as quickly as possible, for the Bulls there were heroes all the way.

Chief among them was the deadly boot of flyhalf Handre Pollard, who contributed 20 points in a pinpoint precision-kicking performance that will have made Rassie Erasmus smile.

Armed with a pack that was on the front foot throughout, Pollard drilled everything he was offered home and kept the Bulls on the front foot and the scoreboard ticking to seee the game slipping away from the Lions.

Add to that the forward pack – and Schalk Brits in particular – and the Bulls had more than the better of their opposition.

Brits overshadowed his Springbok teammate Malcolm Marx with ease and showed that while 37 may be old in rugby terms, he certainly underlined the old saying that 'if you’re good enough, you’re old enough'.

His accomplices were easy to spot – fellow Boks Duane Vermeulen and Jason Jenkins were everywhere, while Lizo Gqoboka had his best game in a Bulls jersey. And once again the Bulls wingers were pure class, overshadowing their Bok counterparts on the day.

And while the Lions were hardly ever in the positive column, it was a day that few things went right for them, and the Bulls played the perfect game plan to ensure they took their first win at Emirates Airline Park in seven years.

The slow poison they employed was the perfect potion to take them another step forward in their resurgence this season.

FOUND CONFIDENCE

And especially in the first half, the slow poison worked to a tee as the Bulls kept to their game plan and shut down any mode of Lions’ attack.

The difference in the first 40 couldn’t have been more stark, one side dominating up front and neutralising the opposition, and if the Bulls are honest with themselves they left at least three tries on the board.

But even though there were missed chances, the intent was clear. Make sure you get points and build an innings.

And Pollard provided the perfect response every time they managed to force an indiscretion from the home side. Two early penalties provided the basis, before a wonderful lineout move gave the Bulls their opening try.

A clever overthrow to Dylan Sage charging to receive the ball was pinpoint, and the inside pass to Rosko Specman found its mark with precision. Specman surged downfield before being stopped metres before the line, but the momentum was there.

The Bulls forwards pounded the line with Jenkins prominent. Three phases became five and then Vermeulen twisted his way around a tackle to plant the ball over the whitewash. The Bulls couldn’t have asked for a better first quarter of the game.

As the Lions tried harder, the Bulls had their match. And every mistake they forced became more points from Pollard’s boot. By the end of the half the Lions were frustrated and the Bulls were 14-0 ahead.

Pollard made that 17-0 with another penalty shortly after the break but the Lions were not done by a long shot. Slowly, but surely they found their confidence and started making inroads upfield. The approach found gaps, and the Bulls conceded a few penalties.

From one of these a rolling maul thumped its way to the line, stopping short and with a few salvos at the line, eventually Carlu Sadie forced his way over to give the Lions their opening score.

Pollard drilled a 53-metre kick home to extend the lead to 18 points, but the Lions found another opening when Marnus Schoeman found a hole around the fringe of a ruck and offloaded to Dylan Smith to take the Lions into double figures.

It was at this point the Lions still had hope, but it was snuffed out by a mistake of their own doing, as Elton Jantjies took a quick throw-in in desperation, but the next pass found a Bulls player right on the Lions line. The recycled ball was sent quickly wide with Warrick Gelant having an easy run-in to score.

Scorers

Emirates Lions – Tries: Carlu Sadie, Dylan Smith. Conversion: Elton Jantjies.

Vodacom Bulls – Tries: Duane Vermeulen, Warrick Gelant. Conversion: Handre Pollard. Penalties: Pollard (6)