Ivan van Rooyen warns Lions of different Bulls challenge at Loftus

The Lions claimed a 43-33 victory over their Jukskei rivals at the same venue last season, but Van Rooyen believes that result will count for little when the teams meet again on Saturday in round three of the United Rugby Championship.

The Bulls have started their campaign with a convincing away win over Zebre before narrowly losing to Munster in Ireland, while the Lions arrive in Pretoria with two victories from two matches.

"Last year when we played them there, it was part of their transition period. I think it will be very different this year," Van Rooyen said.

"They've got some real speed out wide, they've got a good pack of forwards and grunt upfront. I think it will be a very different challenge."

The Lions have beaten defending champions Leinster 27-26 and the Ospreys 35-19 to collect nine points from their opening two fixtures. However, both victories required second-half recoveries, underlining the need for greater consistency against a Bulls side capable of matching them physically.

Van Rooyen was particularly concerned by his team's start against the Ospreys, when they surrendered an early advantage to trail 12-10 at half-time before scoring five tries after the break.

The Lions struggled with their lineout execution and failed to build sustained pressure, forcing them to simplify their approach at the interval.

"The Ospreys are tough, they're nuggety, they've got great character, and they will keep on coming back and keep on going if you're inaccurate," he said.

"We weren't accurate enough. We lost some early lineouts, then you can't build momentum and you can't apply what we wanted to do in terms of plans.

"At half-time we really simplified and just said, 'Find a way.' We believe there's a little bit of a crack, let's go there and see if we can exploit it.

"It was a lot better in the second half, and I'm really proud of the guys for just finding a way."

That ability to adapt helped secure the win, but Van Rooyen knows his side will need to be more precise against the Bulls, particularly in the set pieces and physical exchanges.

"Accuracy will be massive. It's a typical derby, so it's going to be a massive set-piece battle, and huge physicality," he said.

"The Bulls have shown that they want to play a little bit more, which makes them dangerous, but there is also opportunity." 

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