Bulls beat Ulster in Pretoria’s summer heat at Loftus
On Saturday at Loftus Versfeld, the Bulls survived a major second-half onslaught from the Irish club, Ulster, to secure a bonus-point victory in the United Rugby Championship.
The Bulls remain firmly in the top three on the United Rugby Championship log, following their 34–26 victory over the Irish club, Ulster in warm weather at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday.
It was a match of two contrasting halves, which will give Johan Ackermann and his management team plenty to work on before they take on the Scarlets from Wales at Loftus Versfeld this coming weekend.
In the first half, the Bulls played total rugby, featuring brilliant interplay between forwards and backs, supported by lightning-fast ruck speed and solid defence, which enabled them to overwhelm the Irish club to lead 21-7 at halftime.
Despite having experienced, tough players in their ranks, such as David McCann, Cormac Izuchukwu, the Englishman Ben Donnell, the energetic hooker, Tom Stewart and former Stormers number eight Juarno “Trokkie” Augustus, the Irish club’s forwards were thoroughly bullied in that first 40 minutes in the summer heat at Loftus.
However, the visitors experienced a resurgence in their play just before half-time, scoring a try in the dying seconds of the half and against all expectations, they maintained this pace right through the second half.
In fact, after scoring again shortly after half-time, Ulster set the pace for the better part of the second half and dominated play on the attack, while the Bulls’ defence was tested to the limit.
The home team, thanks in particular to the fine play and kicking of fly-half Handré Pollard, managed to maintain their lead and ultimately secure a bonus-point victory.
Moreover, a penalty goal in the final seconds of the match by the Bulls’ replacement fly-half, Curwin Bosch, meant that the visitors had to leave Loftus Versfeld without an extra bonus point for a defeat by seven points or less.
After the match, Bulls coach Johan Ackermann was also visibly upset about how the game was handled by Scottish referee Ru Campbell, who treated the Bulls particularly harshly at the scrums and the breakdown. Ackermann felt that they should have been better rewarded for their scrum dominance, while he was also unhappy with Campbell’s apparent inconsistency regarding other decisions.
Do you have more information about the story?
Please send us an email to bennittb@rekord.co.za or phone us on 083 625 4114.
For free breaking and community news, visit Rekord’s websites: Rekord East For more news and interesting articles, like Rekord on Facebook, follow us on Twitter or Instagram
