Brave Bulls go down to Smith's Warriors

MATCH REPORT: The Bulls’ Champions Cup hopes came to a tough end after going down by 21-25 against Glasgow Warriors at Scotstoun Stadium in the Round of 16.

The two sides started the clash like two experienced boxers who are feeling each other out in atrocious conditions as the rain poured down and the wind swirled from the opening whistle.

The Bulls fought hard until the end and were close to causing a massive upset, but the Warriors were simply more clinical in the micro moments that mattered.

*To recap all the action, CLICK HERE!

The Bulls drew first blood in the 12th minute through the boot of Handre Pollard, who kicked a penalty in front of the posts after Glasgow was penalised for being offside.

The Warriors turned down two kickable penalties and opted for the line-out, which backfired on both occasions in the opening quarter of the game.

That didn’t matter much as Stafford McDowall’s linebreak set Max Williamson up to score under the posts with Dan Lancaster adding the extras to take a four-point lead after 18 minutes.

The Bulls hit back playing under penalty advantage through Johan Grobbelaar in the corner to reclaim the lead after collecting a sensational offload by David Kriel. Pollard missed the conversion.

The visitors extended their lead through Pollard’s boot on the 31-minute mark as Glasgow were warned for their ill-discipline in the red zone.

Glasgow declined a third kickable penalty moments later by opting for the five-metre line-out.

The gamble paid off as they got third time lucky when Jack Dempsey dotted down in the 34th minute to retake the lead once more.

The see-saw battle on the scoreboard continued when Sione Tuipulotu was penalised for being offside from a kick, and Pollard punished the Warriors to give the Bulls a two-point lead with seconds remaining in the first half.

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The Bulls squandered a scoring opportunity centimetres from the line after losing possession, which saw an immediate momentum switch in the game.

The Warriors declined a kickable penalty once more and opted for a tap play, which paid off as prop Patrick Schickerling dotted down in the left-hand corner in the 57th minute.

Glasgow extended their lead after multiple phases of play on attack inside the Bulls’ red zone when McDowall went over for the try in the corner in the 72nd minute to go eight points clear.

The Bulls made matters interesting when Canan Moodie reclaimed a bouncing ball to set Marco van Staden up for a try in the 76th minute, which Kriel converted to bring it to a one-point game.

Fullback Josh McKay made a fabulous linebreak off a Bulls clearance kick, after which Glasgow went through multiple phases of attack under penalty advantage.

Referee Pierre Brousset issued a yellow card to Elrich Louw after the Bulls conceded four consecutive penalties in the red zone.

Adam Hastings took all the time available on the shot clock to kick the penalty from in front of the sticks to send the Warriors into the Champions Cup quarterfinals.

Scorers

For Glasgow Warriors:
Tries: Williamson, Dempsey, Schickerling, McDowall
Cons: Lancaster
Pen: Hastings

For the Bulls:
Tries: Grobbelaar, Van Staden
Cons: Kriel
Pens: Pollard 3

Yellow card: Elrich Louw (Bulls, 79′ – Repeated offences: offside)

Teams

Glasgow Warriors: 15 Josh McKay, 14 Kyle Steyn (c), 13 Stafford McDowall, 12 Sione Tuipulotu, 11 Ollie Smith, 10 Dan Lancaster, 9 George Horne, 8 Jack Dempsey, 7 Rory Darge, 6 Matt Fagerson, 5 Alex Samuel, 4 Max Williamson, 3 Zander Fagerson, 2 Gregor Hiddleston, 1 Patrick Schickerling
Replacements: 16 Seb Stephen, 17 Jamie Bhatti, 18 Sam Talakai, 19 Olujare Oguntibeju, 20 Euan Ferrie, 21 Angus Fraser, 22 Ben Afshar, 23 Adam Hastings

Bulls: 15 David Kriel, 14 Cheswill Jooste, 13 Canan Moodie, 12 Harold Vorster, 11 Kurt-Lee Arendse, 10 Handre Pollard, 9 Embrose Papier, 8 Cameron Hanekom, 7 Elrigh Louw, 6 Marcell Coetzee (c), 5 Ruan Nortje, 4 Ruan Vermaak, 3 Francois Klopper, 2 Johan Grobbelaar, 1 Gerhard Steenekamp
Replacements: 16 Marco van Staden, 17 Jan-Hendrik Wessels, 18 Mornay Smith, 19 Cobus Wiese, 20 Jeandre Rudolph, 21 Zak Burger, 22 Stedman Gans, 23 Willie le Roux

Referee: Pierre Brousset (France)
Assistant referees: Vincent Blasco Baque (France), Julien Caulier (France)
TMO: Tual Trainini (France)