Bulls snatch late glory in Sydney
They had to battle right until the end but a late try from tighthead prop Werner Kruger gave the Bulls a dramatic 27-24 victory over the Waratahs in Sydney on Friday.
The victory puts the Pretoria side back on top of the standings, which is just reward for the character they showed to fight back and end the Australian leg of their tour unbeaten.
It will be a bitter pill for the Waratahs to swallow as they had held the lead at half-time and dominated territory and possession, so they will leave for their tour of South Africa next week with their confidence significantly deflated.
The home side got on the front foot early, taking the direct route in the Bulls’ 22 and using their forwards to drive over the gainline. Although the Waratahs showed good patience and ball control to exert sustained pressure the Bulls’ defence was well organised and stood up well to force them away without scoring.
The visitors were awarded a penalty shortly afterwards when Juandre Kruger was taken out in the air at their first line-out, and dead-eye goal-kicker Morne Steyn stepped up to give them the lead, but that was erased soon afterwards when Berrick Barnes replied with a penalty of his own after Deon Stegmann had played the ball on the ground.
The Waratahs struck the first major blow when they exposed the inexperienced Bulls midfield from a set backline move off a line-out. The ball was worked out to Rob Horne who found himself in space on the outside of his marker Johann Sadie, and he was only too happy to canter straight up the middle for a try next to the poles which put his team 10-3 ahead.
The Bulls managed to work themselves into a good attacking position on the 22, and when their line-out was interfered with again Waratahs lock Dean Mumm was shown a yellow card which gave the Pretoria side a great attacking opportunity which they took advantage of straight away.
After the forwards had forced the Waratahs back onto their tryline with some controlled driving play explosive scrumhalf Francois Hougaard went to the short side and picked out his opposite number Sarel Pretorius who could do little to stop him powering over for the try.
Steyn’s conversion levelled things up at 10-10 which is how it stayed until Mumm returned to the fray just before the break when the Bulls were penalised at scrum-time, giving Barnes the chance to give his team a 13-10 advantage which they held until half-time.
The Waratahs started the second half in the same way they started the first, by storming into the Bulls 22, and as they had in the first half the Bulls forced them out with some aggressive tackling.
To their credit the Waratahs stayed patient and kept hammering away at the defensive line until they were awarded a penalty when Chiliboy Ralepelle did not roll away in the tackle, so Barnes was able to extend the lead to 16-10.
The Bulls had not spent much time in opposition territory but that changed when fullback Zane Kirchner bounced a long kick into touch in the right corner, and when the line-out ball was stolen the pink machine was on the march.
They launched an assault at the Waratahs’ tryline which saw some desperate tackling from the home side, but the Bulls were eventually able to exploit some space out wide when a slick pass from Steyn put Ndungane over in the right corner.
The conversion gave the Bulls a 17-16 lead, but that was shortlived as the Waratahs responded almost immediately with a try to their right wing Atieli Pakalani.
After some powerful direct running from the big men the ball was spun wide in the Bulls’ 22, and once it floated over Basson’s outstretched hand as he went for the intercept all Pakalani had to do was crash over the line.
Barnes could not add the conversion, and the Bulls managed to hit back soon afterwards through a penalty from Steyn, but the four-point advantage was restored when replacement scrumhalf Brendan McKibbin knocked over a penalty of his own to extend the lead to 24-20 with less than ten minutes to play.
However, the Bulls were not ready to give up and worked themselves into a great attacking position deep in the Waratahs 22 where they applied the pressure through a line-out drive and an attacking scrum.
Their determination eventually bore fruit when tighthead prop Werner Kruger managed to force his way over from close range thanks to some great support from the rest of the pack, and the Bulls were able to hold on for a gritty victory.
Man of the match: Bulls flyhalf Morne Steyn did not miss a kick at goal and also showed great attacking instincts to put Ndungane over for his try which makes him our man of the match.
The scorers:
For the Waratahs:
Tries: Horne, Pakalani
Con: Barnes
Pens: Barnes 3, McKibbin
For the Bulls:
Tries: Hougaard, Ndungane, Kruger
Cons: Steyn 3
Pens: Steyn 2
Yellow card: Dean Mumm (foul play)
Teams:
Waratahs: 15 Daniel Halangahu, 14 Tom Kingston, 13 Rob Horne, 12 Adam Ashley-Cooper, 11 Atieli Pakalani, 10 Berrick Barnes, 9 Sarel Pretorius, 8 Wycliff Palu, 7 Chris Alcock, 6 Rocky Elsom (captain), 5 Kane Douglas, 4 Dean Mumm, 3 Sekope Kepu, 2 John Ulugia, 1 Benn Robinson.
Replacements: 16 John Mann-Rea, 17 Jeremy Tilse, 18 Sitaleki Timani, 19 Lopeti Timani, 20 Dave Dennis, 21 Brendan McKibbin, 22 Tom Carter.
Bulls: 15 Zane Kirchner, 14 Akona Ndungane, 13 Johann Sadie, 12 Francois Venter, 11 Bjorn Basson, 10 Morné Steyn, 9 Francois Hougaard, 8 Pierre Spies, 7 CJ Stander, 6 Deon Stegmann, 5 Juandré Kruger, 4 Flip van der Merwe, 3 Werner Kruger, 2 Chiliboy Ralepelle, 1 Dawie Steyn.
Replacements: 16 Willie Wepener, 17 Rayno Gerber, 18 Wilhelm Steenkamp, 19 Arno Botha, 20 Jano Vermaak, 21 Louis Fouché, 22 JJ Engelbrecht.
Referee: Chris Pollock (New Zealand)
