The Bulls' fringe players were always going to find things difficult, but they let themselves down with a poor second-half performance.
A rampant second-half performance from Northampton Saints saw them power to a huge 50-5 win over an under-strength Bulls team in their Champions Cup clash at Franklin’s Gardens in Northampton on Sunday.
It was a disappointing performance from the Bulls players, who showed good fight in a tight first half, but fell apart in the second, as Saints ran in six tries and 36 unanswered points to clinch the thumping win.
It was also a disastrous debut for on loan flyhalf Kade Wolhuter, who recently joined the Bulls from the Lions, as he missed touch from three penalties, pulled a conversion wide and absolutely shanked an early penalty, before he limped off with a bad looking knee injury in the second half.
The hosts got off to a strong start, taking an early lead when on attack in the Bulls half. They sent the ball down the line, to right wing Ollie Sleightholme to show a clean pair of heels as he sprinted away and went over for a converted try.
But Saints then went off the boil, allowing the Bulls to slowly work their way into the match, which they did with a try in the 22nd minute.
It was great work from fullback Devon Williams, who stripped the ball off a Saints player near halfway, with the loose ball then kicked ahead by wing Stravino Jacobs, who chased, caught it and ran in to make it 7-5.
But in the 32nd minute Saints crucially extended their lead, after a few penalties saw them eventually choose to pick and go, with space found out wide as the ball went to left wing George Hendy to go over in the corner, converted by flyhalf Fin Smith to give them a 14-5 lead at halftime.
Second half
At the start of the second half the Bulls were pinned in their own half, largely due to Wolhuter’s errors, as he missed touch from penalties on two consecutive occasions.
That allowed Saints to score their third in the 48th minute, attacking from a lineout in the 22m, and a superb grubber from Smith to Hendy was dotted down for the converted try.
Bulls prop Alulutho Tshakweni was then shown a yellow card for a deliberate trip on Saints replacement prop Emmanuel Iyogun, though replays showed it was an unintentional collision.
That opened the floodgates as flank Henry Pollock powered over, lock Alex Coles strolled through and Sleightholme reached over to score his second, as 19 points were scored with the Bulls down to 14 men, as the hosts powered into a 40-5 lead after 61 minutes.
Hendy ran in his hattrick in the 67th, after Saints set up a lineout in the visitors 22m, set the maul and went blind, where the wing received the ball and sprinted over for the score.
The match ended fittingly on a Bulls mistake, as they tried to run from their own 22m with time up, but lost the ball allowing Saints to pick it up and pass to flank Josh Kemeny who went over for a try on the fulltime hooter.
Scorers
Northampton Saints: Tries – Ollie Sleightholme (2), George Hendy (3), Henry Pollock, Alex Coles, Josh Kemeny; Conversions – Fin Smith (5)
Bulls: Try – Stravino Jacobs
