Saints give poor Bulls a rugby lesson in Champions Cup
MATCH REPORT: The Bulls delivered a poor performance on their way to an embarrassing 5-50 Champions Cup defeat to Northampton Saints in England on Sunday.
Johan Ackermann’s side were outclassed, especially in the second half, and a poor defensive showing resulted in eight tries conceded.
It’s the Bulls’ second defeat in a row in the tournament after they lost their opener 33-46 to Bordeaux-Begles in Round One.
They will need a win against Bristol Bears in Pretoria when the tournament resumes in early January.
Saints wing George Hendy scored a hat-trick of tries, while Ollie Sleightholme got a brace.
Kade Wolhuter, who is on loan from the Lions, had the chance to open the scoring in the fourth minute, but he could not find the distance or direction with his long-range penalty attempt.
Instead, the first points of the game went to the home side, and it was all too easy. The ball went wide and some quick passing saw Sleightholme into space to race in for a try in the eighth minute.
The Saints were dominating territory and possession after that. However, the Buls pounced on a mistake in open play, and after a kick, Stravino Jacobs picked up the ball to race away for a try in the 23rd minute.
After sustained pressure in the Bulls’ half, the Saints eventually got their second try when the ball went through the hands on the short side, with Hendy finishing things off.
Fin Smith’s second successful conversion made it 14-5 at the break.
The Saints’ playmaker turned creator in the second half when his grubber kick sat up nicely for Hendy to score his second try of the game.
The Bulls then suffered a blow in the 54th minute when prop Alulutho Tshakweni was yellow-carded for trying to trip Emmanuel Iyogun. It all led to a furious Tshakweni confronting referee Hollie Davidson with his version of events.
Not long after that, England star Henry Pollock powered over for the Saints’ bonus-point score in the 57th minute.
Some brilliant offloading by South African lock JJ van der Mescht featured in the build-up to the Saints’ fifth try, which was scored by Alex Coles just before the final quarter mark.
Sleightholme eventually got his double, while Hendy completed his hat-trick in the final quarter. Flank Josh Kemeny capped off the big win with a try just before the full-time whistle.
Man of the match: South African lock JJ van der Mescht produced some nice touches with ball, while Henry Pollock gave the Bulls some headaches with his runs. However, the award goes to Saints flyhalf Fin Smith, who delivered a classy performance in all areas of the match `
The scorers:
For Northampton Saints:
Try: Sleightholme 2, Hendy 3, Pollock, Coles, Kemeny
Cons: Smith 5
For Bulls:
Try: Jacobs
Yellow card: Alulutho Tshakweni (Bulls, 54′ – cynical play, tripping an opponent.)
Teams:
Northampton: 15 George Furbank (captain), 14 Ollie Sleightholme, 13 Rory Hutchinson, 12 Fraser Dingwall, 11 George Hendy, 10 Fin Smith, 9 Alex Mitchell, 8 Henry Pollock, 7 Tom Pearson, 6 Josh Kemeny, 5 JJ van der Mescht, 4 Alex Coles, 3 Trevor Davison, 2 Craig Wright, 1 Danilo Fischetti.
Replacements: 16 Robbie Smith, 17 Emmanuel Iyogun, 18 Cleopas Kundiona, 19 Chunya Munga, 20 Ed Prowse, 21 Sam Graham, 22 Tom James, 23 Toby Thame.
Bulls: 15 Devon Williams, 14 Sergeal Petersen, 13 Stedman Gans, 12 Harold Vorster, 11 Stravino Jacobs, 10 Kade Wolhuter, 9 Zak Burger, 8 Elrigh Louw, 7 Reinhardt Ludwig, 6 Marcell Coetzee (captain), 5 JF van Heerden, 4 Cobus Wiese, 3 Mornay Smith, 2 Akker van der Merwe, 1 Alulutho Tshakweni.
Replacements: 16 Juann Else, 17 Sti Sithole, 18 Khutha Mchunu, 19 Mpilo Gumede, 20 Nizaam Carr, 21 Embrose Papier, 22 Keagan Johannes, 23 Phillip-Albert van Niekerk.
Referee: Hollie Davidson (Scotland)
Assistant referees: Rob McDowell (Scotland), David Sutherland (Scotland)
TMO: Mike Adamson (Scotland)
