Bulls end Saracen's SA run
The Bulls produced an exhibition of power and precision to record a deserving 39-26 win over Saracens at Allianz Park in London on Saturday.
The result ended a run of victories by Saracens against South African teams – which saw them beat the Springboks (in a mid-week tour match), the Sharks and Western Province.
However, they simply had no answer to a Bulls team showing some impressive pre-season form.
There will be concern over the knee injury that forced Springbok prop Marcel van der Merwe from the field shortly after he came on as a second-half replacement.
Their scrums were also constantly under pressure, but the Bulls' suffocating defence made life decidedly unpleasant for the home side.
The visitors were also winning the collisions for most part in the game. They never allowed the home team any quick ball at the breakdown and this largely contributed to the visitors' dominance. It also didn't help Saracens that their handling error count went through the roof.
While the Bulls had the advantage of a strong wind at their backs in the first half, they showed that they can play an expansive game when they were forced to carry the ball more in hand after the break.
The other big positive will be the return to the playing field of Bulls captain Pierre Spies, who scored his team's fifth try just minutes after having ended a 12-month injury lay-off.
The Bulls were in trouble in the scrums from the outset – the first three scrums becoming penalties to Saracens, before the referee issued a formal warning to Bulls tighthead prop Werner Kruger.
The Bulls did eventually settle down and after 10 minutes they not just dominated possession, but also had a huge territorial advantage by using the wind to repeatedly drive the home team back deep into their territory.
And they first got their reward in the 20th minute – the Bulls opting for a line-out from a penalty and Saracens simply having no answer to the powerful Bulls maul. Jacques-Louis Potgieter was wide with the conversion attempt – 5-0.
The second try also had its roots in the Bulls' powerful maul, but scrumhalf Francois Hougaard did well to snipe around the edge and power over with Saracens' Bok No.9 Neil de Kock on his back. Potgieter was again wide with the conversion attempt – 10-0 after 29 minutes.
The English referee, Tim Wigglesworth, continued to find fault with the Bulls' play and the penalties mounted at an alarming rate.
Despite the lopsided penalty count, the Bulls' next points came from a Saracens transgression at a tackle on the 10-metre line. Potgieter finally landed a kick, to give his team a 13-0 lead at half-time.
The Bulls required just 60 seconds after the break to get the scoreboard ticking – Jurgen Visser getting the try, after some great interplay between forwards and back, which started when Bjorn Basson chased and collected a high kick. Jacques du Plessis made some good ground, before good hands found Francois Hougaard on the left wing, when he got to within a metre of the ;line and quick recycling saw Visser flop over. The conversion was again wide – 18-0.
Six minutes later that score ballooned out to 25-0 – the Bulls' power and precision just too much for a Saracens team that could not live with the tempo the men from Pretoria were creating. Hanro Liebenberg went over for the five-pointer from close range, while Potgieter added the extras from right in front.
Just short of the 50-minute mark Saracens finally got on the board – Charlie Hodgson the key playmaker and Chris Wyles the Visser and a great move down the left wing. Hodgson added the conversion – 7-25.
However, any thoughts of a comeback by the home team was quickly squashed – as captain Pierre Spies marked his return to the playing field with a try, set up by a great pass from centre JJ Engelbrecht. Handré Pollard, another Bok making his appearance as a second-half replacement, added the conversion – 32-7.
There was some more good fortune for Saracens as Neil de Kock pounced on a ball bobbling around behind a retreating Bulls scrum. Hodgson converted De Kock's try – 14-32.
Saracens kept alive their slim hope of a late comeback when one of their many South Africans, No.8 Ernst Joubert, went over from a fractured maul that became a series of pick-'n-drive moves. Hodgson's conversion was wide – 19-32 with 10 minutes remaining.
However, as they have done earlier, the Bulls' riposte was swift and impressive – another powerful maul, with replacement Roelof Smith getting the armchair ride over the line. Pollard added the extras – 39-19, with five minutes to go.
There was a late consolation score for Saracens, when Jackson Wray went over from another powerful scrum five metres out. Hodgson's conversion made the full-time score 39-26.
The scorers:
For Saracens:
Tries: Wyles, De Kock, Joubert, Wray
Cons: Hodgson 3
For the Bulls:
Tries: Stegmann, Hougaard, Visser, Liebenberg, Spies, Smith
Cons: Potgieter, Pollard 2
Pen: Potgieter
Teams:
Saracens: 15 Ben Ransom, 14 Jack Wilson, 13 Tim Streather, 12 Chris Wyles, 11 David Strettle, 10 Charlie Hodgson, 9 Neil de Kock, 8 Ernst Joubert, 7 Kelly Brown (captain), 6 Jackson Wray, 5 Valetin Poparlan, 4 Jim Hamilton, 3 Petrus du Plessis, 2 Brett Sharman, 1 Rhys Gill.
Replacements – from: Jared Saunders, Richard Barrington, James Johnston, Don Barrell, Jacques Burger, Kevin Barrett, Rory Teague, Matt Janney, Nick de Jager, Catalin Percu.
Bulls: 15 Jurgen Visser, 14 Jamba Ulengo, 13 JJ Engelbrecht, 12 Jan Serfontein, 11 Bjorn Basson, 10 Jacques-Louis Potgieter, 9 Francois Hougaard, 8 Hanro Liebenberg, 7 Pieter Labuschagne, 6 Deon Stegmann (captain), 5 Grant Hattingh, 4 Jacques du Plessis, 3 Werner Kruger, 2 Callie Visagie, 1 Trevor Nyakane.
Replacements – from: Jaco Visagie, Morné Mellett, Marcel van der Merwe, Dayan van der Westhuizen, RG Snyman, Nicolaas Janse van Rensburg, Roelof Smith, Pierre Spies, Piet van Zyl, Rudy Paige, Handré Pollard, William Small-Smith, Duncan Matthews, Jesse Kriel.
Referee: Tim Wigglesworth (England)
Assistant referees: Peter Huckle (England), Nigel Carrick (England)
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