Bulls move into top four as late Johan Goosen penalty earns win over Lions

Johan Goosen kicked a late penalty from inside his own half to send the Bulls into the United Rugby Championship top four after a thrilling 30-28 win over the Lions in Pretoria.

Jordan Hendrikse looked like he might have won it for the visiting Lions with a late long-range penalty of his own but Goosen responded in kind with two minutes remaining to put the Bulls back in front.

There was still time for Hendrikse to have a chance to snatch victory with another 50-metre penalty, but his kick sailed narrowly wide.

Marius Louw had earlier scored a pair of tries for the Lions with Morgan Naude also going over while Akker van der Merwe, Embrose Papier and Mpilo Gumede crossed for the hosts.

Goosen converted all three Bulls tries and added three penalties as kicking proved decisive with Sanele Nohamba only managing to convert one and add a penalty in addition to Hendrikse’s late effort.