The New Nation Pumas imploded in the second half to hand the Vodacom Bulls a 48-31 victory in a Preparation Series match at Mbombela Stadium on Tuesday night.

It was a match in which both teams made too many unforced errors.

The game was played at a high tempo, but the performances from both teams were far from clinical.

The Pumas conceded too many penalties.

The visitors outscored the home side by seven tries to three. The Pumas were also awarded a penalty try in the second half.

The half-time score was 27-17 to the Bulls and the match could have gone either way with 40 minutes to play.

The Bulls took just one minute and 17 seconds to get on the scoreboard.

Joe van Zyl went over from a maul after a penalty was kicked into touch on the Pumas’ five-metre line.

The Bulls scored two more tries from mauls and one from a tap penalty, which resulted in Stravino Jacobs going over in the left corner.

The Pumas scored two first half tries from signature penalty-line-out-maul moves.

The best try of the match came in the 13th minute when when short, slick passing from Francois Kleinhans to Tapiwa Mafura and then to Brandon Valentyn broke the Bulls’ defence with the lock going over for the five points.

It was an evenly matched first half. The half-time score was 27-17 to the Bulls and the match could have gone either way with 40 minutes to play.

In the second half, the Pumas were their own worst enemy.

The Bulls upped the pace of the game, but the home side was poor.

The Pumas made enforced errors bordering on the ridiculous. Wayward passes that were never on, missing touch kicks, high-risk line-out throws and poor decision-making gave the Bulls the match on a silver platter.

The Bulls scored twice, one from a maul and the other from a tap penalty, to hold a 41-17 lead after 55 minutes.

The Pumas’ next points came from a penalty try, when the Bulls illegally prevented the Pumas’ maul from advancing over the try line. It had been 30 minutes since their previous score.

The New Nation Pumas scored a last try, again one from a maul in the 76th minute.

The Bulls hit back on 79 minutes when Janco Uys earned a five-pointer. The only positive was that the Pumas’ defensive maul worked a lot better in the second half.

The young Bulls team came to Mbombela and beat a new-look Pumas. It is a hard-fought victory and well deserved.

Points scorers

New Nation Pumas
Tries: Francois Kleinhans, Brandon Valentyn (penalty try), Dewald Maritz.
Conversions: Niel Marais (2), Eddie Fouché.
Penalties: Niel Marais.

Vodacom Bulls
Tries: Joe van Zyl (2), Stravino Jacobs, Gerhard Steenekamp, Mornay Smith, Marnus Potgieter, Janco Uys.
Conversions: Chris Smith (5).
Penalty: Chris Smith.