Bulls in dominant form as they bump off Dragons

MATCH REPORT: It was a proper stampede at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday as the Bulls beat the Dragons 55-15 in a fitting tribute for the deceased Cornal Hendricks.

The Bulls finished their final United Rugby Championship game of the group season and locked in their second position on the log. Next up is a home quarterfinal.

After an emotional week for the Bulls, they came together as a team, showed patience and discipline, and controlled the game from start to finish.

The hosts had a brilliant start, and Cameron Hanekom nearly scored in the second minute, but he was bumped out into touch just before diving over the whitewash.

Two minutes later, David Kriel dotted down after the outside backs showed some spark, converted by Keagan Johannes.

And then Cobus Wiese made a meal of the defenders, scoring the Bulls’ second try.

This time Johannes converted, stretching the homeside’s lead to 12-0.

After a great little pass by Willie le Roux to Sebastian de Klerk, the quick winger got over in the corner.

Remembering Cornal Hendricks 💙

A beautiful tribute from Vodacom @BlueBullsRugby, @DragonsRFC and all at Loftus Versfeld 🤝@Vodacom #URC | #BULvDRA pic.twitter.com/gNmjC52L1o

— Vodacom United Rugby Championship (URC) (@URCOfficial_RSA) May 17, 2025

And it was one-way traffic at Loftus.

The Dragons split the Bulls’ defense in midfield through a beautiful break by the Dragons’ fullback, Angus O’Brien almost got the visitors over the tryline.

The Bulls’ defence was solid, but the visitors had set up camp in the Bulls’ 22.

The Dragons conceded the penalty for collapsing their scrum and lost the only opportunity they had to score so far in the first half.

The Bulls had flooded the gainline throughout and went for a breather after 40 minutes, comfortably in control.

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In the shadow of the halftime break, Akker van der Merwe bulldozed over before the hooter went.

But the Dragons weren’t done, and they came out sprinting in the second half and were rewarded with a try after a high San Francisco bridge pass to Huw Anderson on the outskirts.

It was Bulls 26, Dragons 5.

Cracker play followed in the 50th minute by Rhodri Williams, the Dragons No. 9, who picked up a loose ball behind the ruck, kicked ahead and managed to dive on the ball with Willie le Roux on his back.

But the Bulls hit back as Van der Merwe got his second after a drive from a lineout.

This was followed up with their sixth, compliments of Sergeal Petersen, who ran a direct line straight through the opposition to the tryline.

The winger got his second try, slipping and sliding as he did so, after receiving an overhead pass.

And if there was one way for Bernard van der Linde to bid the Bulls farewell, it was scrumhalf Bernard van der Linde’s break that set up Marcell Coetzee’s try in the 65th minute.

With this eighth try, the Bulls reached 50 points in this encounter.

* To recap all the drama, CLICK HERE!

The flood gates were well and truly open as Devon Williams added his name to the try scorers after they introduced their replacements.

The only blemish on the Bulls’ performance was the poor kicking by Johannes, a concern as they gear up for the playoffs.

The Dragons fought back, upped the tempo with a few minutes left of their season to play.

They won the penalty at the breakdown and kicked for the corner, and were rewarded when Lewis Morgan went over.

Man of the Match: Nama Xaba for the turnovers he created and his massive defensive effort.

Scorers:

For Bulls:
Tries: Kriel, Wiese, De Klerk, Van der Merwe 2, Petersen 2, Coetzee, Williams
Cons: Johannes 5

For Dragons:
Tries: Anderson, Williams, Morgan

Teams

Bulls: 15 Willie le Roux, 14 Sebastian de Klerk, 13 Canan Moodie, 12 David Kriel, 11 Sergeal Petersen, 10 Keagan Johannes, 9 Izak Burger, 8 Cameron Hanekom, 7 Ruan Nortje (captain), 6 Nama Xaba, 5 JF van Heerden, 4 Cobus Wiese, 3 Mornay Smith, 2 Akker van der Merwe, 1 Jan-Hendrik Wessels.
Replacements: 16 Johan Grobbelaar, 17 Simphiwe Matanzima, 18 Francois Klopper, 19 Jannes Kirsten, 20 Marcell Coetzee, 21 Bernard van der Linde, 22 Stedman Gans, 23 Devon Williams.

Dragons: 15 Angus O’Brien (co-captain), 14 Harry Rees-Weldon, 13 Joe Westwood, 12 Aneurin Owen, 11 Huw Anderson, 10 Lloyd Evans, 9 Rhodri Williams, 8 Aaron Wainwright, 7 Shane Lewis-Hughes, 6 Ryan Woodman, 5 Ben Carter (captain), 4 Joe Davies, 3 Chris Coleman, 2 Brodie Coghlan, 1 Dylan Kelleher-Griffiths.
Replacements: 16 Lewis Morgan, 17 Jamie Hughes, 18 Paula Latu, 19 Barny Langton-Cryer, 20 Evan Minto, 21 Che Hope, 22 Ewan Rosser, 23 Ashton Hewitt.