Bulls bag full-house in Galway

MATCH REPORT: The Bulls scored four tries to bag a full-house of competition points against a plucky Connacht side in Galway by 28-14.

The Bulls started the more settled of the two sides bossing territory and possession as well as the set-piece.

A linebreak by hooker Van der Merwe got the Bulls into the Connacht 22-metre area and the Bulls earned a penalty for offside.

The opted to go to the corner and formed a maul that led to Embrose Papier sniping on the blindside and get the pass away to Sebastian de Klerk for the opening score in the sixth minute which Goosen converted.

*To recap all the action CLICK HERE

Back-to-back penalties conceded by Connacht gave the Bulls a five-metre lineout which the Bulls couldn’t turn into points after a solid defensive effort by the home side to force the handling error.

Connacht No.8 Sean Jansen was red carded for an elbow to the head in the 21st minute on Marcell Coetzee but the visitors struggled to capitalise on their scoring opportunities due to poor handling and ill-discipline.

Coetzee went off in the 30th minute for a head injury assessment as both sides squandered scoring opportunities following a Connacht linebreak which they couldn’t finish which Moodie ran back but also couldn’t get the score to extend the Bulls’ lead.

The Bulls eventually got the score in the 35th minute after a turnover by Cameron Hanekom which led to Canan Moodie chipping the ball ahead and Embrose Papier winning the foot race to dot down which Goosen converted.

Connacht almost got one back on the stroke of half-time through replacement Paul Boyle who got a linebreak but couldn’t finish it off as the ball was lost and Le Roux kicking it off the park to head for oranges.

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The Bulls made the perfect start to the second-half as David Kriel dotted down in the 42nd minute which Johan Goosen converted.

Connacht looked dangerous on attack after a break by replacement Caolin Blade as the home side went wide, but Moodie read Jack Carty’s pass to perfection and intercepted to race away for the bonus-point score in the 54th minute.

Bulls No.8 Mpilo Gumede found himself in hot water when he was red carded in the 57th minute for a push in the face to David Hawkshaw which was deemed to be in the eye-area.

Connacht erased the scoreboard donut when David Hawkshaw crashed over from close-range following sustained pressure with ball-in-hand in the 62nd minute.

Connacht bagged their second score of the night off a break by Shane Jennings who found replacement No.9 Caolin Blade on his inside to go over for the try in the 75th minute.

The home side showed a lot of fight in the final stages of the match and had an opportunity to strike back with a try to secure a losing bonus-point, but the Bulls turned the ball over to signal the end of a hard-fought contest.

The scorers

For Connacht:
Tries: Hawkshaw, Blade
Cons: Forde 2

For the Bulls: 
Tries: De Klerk, Papier, Kriel, Moodie
Cons: Goosen 4

Red cards: Sean Jansen (Connacht – 21st minute: Dangerous play – elbow to the head), Mpilo Gumede (Bulls – 57th minute: Dangerous play – push to the face and eye area)

Connacht: 15 Shane Jennings, 14 Shayne Bolton, 13 Piers O’Conor, 12 Cathal Forde, 11 Santiago Cordero, 10 Jack Carty, 9 Ben Murphy, 8 Sean Jansen, 7 Conor Oliver, 6 Josh Murphy, 5 Niall Murray, 4 Joe Joyce (captain), 3 Jack Aungier, 2 Dave Heffernan, 1 Denis Buckley.
Replacements: 16 Dylan Tierney-Martin, 17 Jordan Duggan, 18 Sam Illo, 19 Darragh Murray, 20 Paul Boyle, 21 Caolin Blade, 22 David Hawkshaw, 23 Shamus Hurley-Langton.

Bulls: 15 Willie le Roux, 14 Canan Moodie, 13 David Kriel, 12 Harold Vorster, 11 Sebastian De Klerk, 10 Johan Goosen, 9 Embrose Papier, 8 Mpilo Gumede, 7 Cobus Wiese, 6 Marcell Coetzee (captain), 5 JF van Heerden, 4 Ruan Vermaak, 3 Francois Klopper, 2 Akker van der Merwe, 1 Alulutho Tshakweni.
Replacements: 16 Johan Grobbelaar, 17 Gerhard Steenekamp, 18 Mornay Smit, 19 Jannes Kirsten, 20 Cameron Hanekom, 21 Keagan Johannes, 22 Aphiwe Dyantyi, 23 Stedman Gans.

Referee: Mike Adamson (Scotland)
Assistant referees: Jonny Erskine (Ireland), Paul Haycock (Ireland)
TMO: David Sutherland (Scotland)