Rob Houwing

Pretoria – The Springbok victory in the first Test against the British and Irish Lions in Durban was strongly influenced by the destructive performances of home-town favourites Beast Mtawarira and Bismarck du Plessis in the front row.

With the switch to the Highveld terrain of Loftus for what might prove a decisive second encounter on Saturday, South Africa’s hopes may hinge on several of their Bulls stars this time - slightly subdued last weekend - rising to the occasion in their familiar and particularly beloved environment.

After all, when that franchise surged to a runaway victory over the Chiefs in the Super 14 final at the intimidating stadium a few weeks ago, there were even cheeky suggestions that the entire Bulls side would dismantle the Lions should they be picked lock, stock and barrel for their country.

There was enough quality in the Lions’ gritty claw-back late in the first Test to probably persuade even the most partisan Bulls enthusiasts that the national side needs to stay a tad more regionally representative.

Indeed, the majority of the five Bulls who started the Durban thriller could fairly be described as having had average matches by their standards.

It was something even the British media picked up on, with the respected London Sunday Times broadsheet giving relatively low ratings for the group in their “marks out of 10” for each first-Test player conducted by pulls-no-punches rugby scribe Stephen Jones.

The writer was particularly severe on No 8 Pierre Spies, for instance, giving him a five and saying in his motivation: “Deathly quiet. When his name was erroneously announced as man of the match there was utter bewilderment in the stadium. Must improve.”

That said, he also gave Spies's opposite number Jamie Heaslip 5/10.

There were also only half-marks for wing flier Bryan Habana: “Once tackled when at top pace by none other than prop Gethin Jenkins. The question must be asked: is the dynamite man fading?”

Scrumhalf Fourie du Preez earned a six, two points down on rival Mike Phillips: “Heavily marked – the lot of any danger man. But he is unlikely to go three Tests without serving up some kind of brilliance.”

Bakkies Botha earned an identical score, with Jones noting: “Quiet, and nothing like as influential as the Lions had expected. He was even hauled off with the match still in the melting pot.”

That may have been an overly cruel jab, because the big enforcer fairly routinely makes way for fresh legs after an hour or thereabouts – even at Super 14 or Currie Cup level -- given his tireless and often unseen contribution where rugby’s coals are their hottest.

Only Victor Matfield, of the Bulls contingent, earned a more stellar seven: “Splendid as lineout organiser, though he must have been surprised at how easily the Lions lineout succumbed in the first half.”

Not every South African (or, indeed, Bulls fan) would have concurred with Jones’s verdicts last weekend but there may, at the same time, have been some merit to his suggestion that the Boks’ Bulls contingent didn’t sparkle to the extent they would have wished.

It is uncomfortably frigid across the Highveld at present, despite the sunny skies: a few Bulls cult heroes raising the temperature before their home faithful on Saturday might come in extremely handy if the Boks are to pop series-winning corks, come 17:00 or so …