Bok bruisers help Bulls pummel Dragons in Newport
MATCH REPORT: The Bulls got their two-match United Rugby Championship tour off to a great start with a 47-7 bonus-point win over the Dragons in Newport on Friday.
Johan Ackermann’s side entered the match in eighth position in the standings, and a win was crucial to their play-off aspirations.
Their big-name players starred, especially in the pack where they bullied the Dragons with their raw power.
After heading into the break with a five-point lead, the Bulls scored 35 unanswered points in the second half in the Round 15 encounter.
Five of the Bulls’ seven tries were scored by Springboks, with Marco van Staden getting a brace in the second half.
The five log points moved the Pretoria side up to fifth in the standings ahead of Saturday’s matches.
They will stay in Wales to prepare for their next match against the Scarlets.
Both teams had their fair share of the ball in the opening minutes, but it was the visitors who opened the scoring in the 11th minute.
It all came from a powerful scrum deep inside the Dragons’ 22 with scrumhalf Embrose Papier continuing his good form by sniping over the tryline.
It took a while, but the Dragons finally found a way through the Bulls’ defence to hit back.
From a scrum, the ball went through the hands before Fine Inisi was put into space in the midfield to race away for a brilliant five-pointer in the 23rd minute.
Handre Pollard had an opportunity to regain the lead for his team in the 35th minute, but he found the upright with his long-range penalty attempt.
However, the Bulls got something even better a few minutes later when hooker Johan Grobbelaar broke away from a maul to dive over for his team’s second try. Pollard pulled his conversion attempt horribly wide.
At half-time, it was 12-7 to the Bulls.
It was a great start to the second half for the visitors with Marcell Coetzee crashing over for a try in the 44th minute after some great forward play. Pollard nailed his second conversion to give his side a 12-point lead.
The Dragons thought they had hit back immediately after Jared Rosser weaved his way through the Bulls’ defence to score a try. However, it was eventually ruled out after the TMO spotted a knock-on.
Meanwhile, Van Staden was only on the field for a few minutes before he powered over for the Bulls’ bonus-point try in the 57th minute. Pollard’s third conversion made it a 19-point lead heading into the final quarter.
The Bulls rubbed salt into the Dragons’ wound in the closing stages of the game, with Van Staden scoring his second try before Devon Williams and Sergeal Petersen both crossed the tryline.
Man of the match: The award goes to Bulls captain Marcell Coetzee, who produced another industrious performance in all facets of the game. He also scored one of his team’s seven tries.
The scorers:
For Dragons:
Try: Inisi
Con: Evans
For Bulls:
Tries: Papier, Grobbelaar, Coetzee, Van Staden 2, Williams, Petersen
Cons: Pollard 3, Kriel 3
Teams:
Dragons: 15 Cai Evans, 14 Jared Rosser, 13 Fine Inisi, 12 Fetuli Paea, 11 Rio Dyer, 10 Tinus de Beer, 9 Niall Armstrong, 8 Harrison Keddie (captain), 7 Harry Beddall, 6 Ryan Woodman, 5 Seb Davies, 4 Levi Douglas, 3 Chris Coleman, 2 Elliot Dee, 1 Wyn Jones.
Replacements: 16 Oli Burrows, 17 Rhodri Jones, 18 Dillon Lewis, 19 Matthew Screech, 20 Thomas Young, 21 Morgan Lloyd, 22 Harri Ackerman, 23 Huw Anderson.
Bulls: 15 Devon Williams, 14 David Kriel, 13 Stedman Gans, 12 Harold Vorster, 11 Canan Moodie, 10 Handre Pollard, 9 Embrose Papier, 8 Cameron Hanekom, 7 Elrigh Louw, 6 Marcelle Coetzee (captain), 5 Ruan Nortje, 4 Cobus Wiese, 3 Francois Klopper, 2 Johan Grobbelaar, 1 Gerhard Steenekamp.
Replacements: 16 Marco van Staden, 17 Jan Hendrik Wessels, 18 Mornay Smith, 19 Ruan Vermaak, 20 Mpilo Gumede, 21 Paul de Wet, 22 Willie le Roux, 23 Sergeal Petersen.
Referee: Sam Grove-White (Scotland)
Assistant referees: Ben Breakspear (Wales), Lucas Yendle (Wales)
TMO: Colin Brett (Scotland)
