Bulls remain on URC title hunt
Bulls (24) 40 Glasgow (10) 34 Scorers:
Bulls: Tries: Akker van der Merwe, Cameron Hanekom, Elrigh Louw, Canan Moodie.
Conversions: Smith (4). Penalties: Smith (4). Glasgow: Tries: Matt Fagerson, Kyle Steyn, Sebastian Cancelliere, Duncan Weir.
Conversions: George Horn, Tom Jordan, Duncan Weir (2). Penalties: Horn, Weir.
● For the first hour of this match the Bulls delivered a statement of intent against Glasgow Warriors, but then the visitors showed why they came into the clash top of the United Rugby Championship (URC) table.
The Bulls underlined their championship credentials in those lung-busting 60 minutes but then the Warriors — who turned to their bench early — got a second wind, scoring three tries in eight minutes to put the game, that seemed well lost, back in the balance.
A Chris Smith penalty in the 77th minute, however, put the issue beyond doubt as the Bulls held on for a 40-34 win.
Bulls director of rugby Jake White lamented what he called his team’s naïvity by kicking contestable kicks as the shadows grew long. “That kept them in the game. We could have been more conservative at the end. It’s an example of how leadership was needed at that time,” he said.
In the end, though, White was pleased with the result. “We would have taken five points against the team that is top of the table.”
In the build-up to this game, Warriors head coach Franco Smith spoke of his desire to see his team put their brand on display, and they certainly achieved that through their slick interplay and fighting spirit. He wanted to see his team show growth, and when they meet the Bulls again, they will be better equipped.
However, their rearguard action yesterday came too late.
Earlier the Bulls swarmed all over the usually free-running Warriors and there were times they stampeded the visitors.
The 2pm kick-off in 27ºC heat at high altitude served the Bulls well as they imposed on the tourists a match high in tempo, but crucially too, a blowtorch at the set pieces. They put the squeeze on the visitors at the scrum, while Ruan Vermaak disrupted the visitors’ lineout.
A near endless supply of quick ruck ball meant the Bulls’ strike runners could run amok. They brutalised the Warriors’ first line of defence.
The Bulls, however, were far from one dimensional gain line bashers. There were times they turned on the charm. Kurt-Lee Arendse’s taunting, teasing run was the most bedazzling act of the first half.
His jinking run from 22 to 22 kept the Warriors’ defence guessing, and set up a try for the ever present Elrigh Louw just before the break.
The Bulls were just short of overwhelming the Warriors in the first half as Akker van der Merwe, Ruan Nortje and Louw kept putting the Warriors’ first line of defence to the test. Marco van Staden, as you’d expect, was a picture of industry. When the Warriors had the ball in the first half, they probed without conviction.
Their attack lacked fluidity and they generally made lateral movement behind the gain line.
Often, the ball carrier would not know which way to turn, but that was perhaps in large part due to the Bulls’ uncompromising defence.
Warriors scrumhalf George Horn’s decision to kick for poles in the 29th minute was a tacit admission that the visitors were finding the going tough.
The Warriors turned to their bench early, making three substitutes by the half-hour mark. It didn’t necessarily stem the tide. Smith added a 33rd minute penalty, while Louw’s try came four minutes later.
The Bulls scored their bonus point try in the 45th minute through Canan Moodie, but the Warriors, though not enough, held something in reserve.