The Bulls will, however, be concerned with injuries to winger Cheswill Jooste, who failed an HIA, and centre Sebastian de Klerk, who was stretched off after a collision.
A dominant second-half performance saw the Vodacom Bulls overturn a 12-point deficit to emerge with a valuable win over Edinburgh at Hive Stadium on Friday night.
Both sides scored three tries, with Springbok flyhalf Handre Pollard’s boot proving decisive in a 21-19 victory that moves the Bulls up to eighth on the Vodacom URC log.
It is now back-to-back wins on the road against European opposition for Johan Ackermann’s troops who will head home in buoyant mood ahead of next Saturday’s match against the Lions at Ellis Park.
However, the side from Pretoria had to dig deep after Edinburgh made the early running, with left wing Duhan van der Merwe crashing over in the corner in the fifth minute. Flyhalf Ross Thompson missed the conversion from out wide.
The Bulls hit back when captain Marcell Coetzee went over from a lineout maul. Pollard also missed his conversion.
A period of sustained Edinburgh pressure eventually saw another former Bulls player in loosehead prop Pierre Schoeman score.
The difficult conditions saw the game descend into a scrappy affair before Edinburgh landed a crucial blow just after the half-hour mark. From a back-peddling scrum, Edinburgh managed to clear the ball and after more sustained pressure, tighthead D’Arcy Rae got over under the posts. Thompson slotted the first conversion of the night to give the home side a valuable 17-5 lead heading into the break.
Bulls came out firing
The Bulls came out firing in the second stanza, keeping the ball in hand for several minutes. A penalty into the Edinburgh 22 saw the Bulls repeat the first half dose with a lineout and maul, hooker Johan Grobbelaar dotting down. Pollard converted from out wide to narrow the gap to five points.
The Bulls continued to press but solid Edinburgh defence and errors by the overeager visitors stalled any further scoring momentum.
The Bulls then emptied their bench and it had the desired effect, with Marco van Staden leading the charge. With 10 minutes to go, the Springbok flanker was rewarded for a powerful performance with a try after a TMO review. A Pollard conversion saw the Bulls edge ahead.
The home side then threw everything at the Bulls in the closing minutes but desperate scrambling by the visitors secured the win.
The Bulls will, however, be concerned with injuries to winger Cheswill Jooste, who failed an HIA, and centre Sebastian de Klerk, who was stretched off after a collision.
This story was first published on sarugbymag.co.za. It is republished here with permission.
