Lights out! Power failure delays Bulls, Griffons Currie Cup clash

A power failure in Pretoria plunged the Bulls and Griffons Currie Cup clash into darkness on Friday night.

With the Bulls leading 21-11 in the 31st minute, the lights at Loftus Versfeld failed as the sun set over the famous venue.

Needing a win with a bonus point to keep their slim chances of making the Currie Cup playoffs alive, the Bulls were in control of proceedings thanks to converted tries from David Kriel, Steadman Gans and Nizaam Carr.

The Griffons scored a try through Duan Pretorius, while Jaywinn Juries kicked two penalties.

In a statement released to the media following the light failure, the Blue Bulls company confirmed what had caused the issue. 

"Due to a 132kv trip in the Tshwane CBD area, power supply has been affected to neighbouring areas which include Sunnyside," the statement read.

"We do have a generator in the stadium, which has tripped momentarily due to overheating. The technicians are on-site and have restarted it, which should power up the stadium in 10-15 mins time. 

The situation does constitute a 30-minute clock countdown, but it is a force majeure, and the two unions are working collectively to return to play. We will return to the field once the lights come out. The players will warm up for ten minutes, and then the match will continue from the line out where play stopped. Half-time will be a brief minute swap, allowing players a drink of water and then kick off again."

An update well after the initial time frame had passed.

"Update: the technicians are working to solve the issue, with a belief that they can get it right," it read."Moreover, Edgar [Rathbone] (BBCo CEO) is on the line with the involved stakeholders (Griffons, SARU etc), continuously engaging on a path forward. "For now, we