VIDEO: Willie the Bulls' answer at No.10?

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It may not be a typical 'bomb squad', but the Bulls bench showed enough encouraging signs to suggest it could be a propitious tactic going forward.

The Bulls earned their sixth victory in the competition as they defeated the Lions 35-22 in a Jukskei derby in Johannesburg.

The game was in the balance till the 50th minute - the Lions leading 17-13, after a spirited first half and encouraging start to the second half.

However, the introduction of a rash of Springboks - Armand van der Merwe, Canan Moodie and Willie Le Roux - changed the contest in an instant.

The visitors scored three tries in a 10-minute blitz to take control of a game that had the potential to go pear-shaped.

This Trans-Jukskei derby win ensured the Bulls cemented their place in the top three on the standings and with a game in hand.

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"We needed our bench to be strong," White said of the introduction of the Boks.

"That is probably the best we finished a game in the last two or three seasons.

"The bench understood this was a game where they needed to make an impact and it went from potentially losing the game to getting a bonus point [win].

"That means a lot to the team."

The Bulls boss said that apart from the strong finish, he was pleased with the character the team showed.

White added the quality of his bench proved to be the difference.

"We had four Springboks on the bench," he said of Van der Merwe, Moodie, Le Roux and Nizaam Carr, adding: "That was a massive bonus - compared to what the Lions had on the bench.

"They looked at times they were getting tired and when they got tired we were able to put pressure on them.

"The bench made such a massive impact as a collective.

"It wasn't that only Akker [van der Merwe] played well or only Willie [le Roux] played well. It was the collective.

"That looked like it could be a starting 15 that finished.

"We spoke at half-time about not panicking. We were going to use our bench and ensure our bench finishes stronger that theirs.

"It was good for our conditioning staff to see that we can play at a certain tempo at altitude and play for 80 minutes."

While White played down the impact Le Roux had as an individual, he did hint that the veteran Springbok, 35, could be a starter at flyhalf.

The injury-enforced absence of Johan Goosen and the erratic form of Henry Chamberlain have caused White to ponder his choices.

(WATCH as the Bulls' Director of Rugby Jake White explains why 'experience on the bench' and the new role of Willie le Roux is the way forward for his team's ambitions.....)

"He has played No.10 for South Africa," the Bulls boss said, adding that Le Roux, with 98 Test caps, was away on leave and it would have been unfair to the other players to rush him straight in at flyhalf.

"It is not fair to the other players that got a good result [a 48-7 demolition of Stade Francais].

"We have two weeks now to prepare," he said of their run of domestic derbies - against the Stormers (February 8 in Cape Town), Sharks (February 15) Lions (February 22 ) both in Pretoria.

"What is nice about the two weeks is that it gives us time to reassess the injuries, look at what worked and what didn't work.

"One of the things that did work was the bench.

"I'm tempted in terms of starting him, but maybe the way we finished is the way we can win big games.

"I will reflect [on that] in the next two weeks.

"See how cohesive we can be, now that they have two weeks to prepare."

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