Bulls run riot in Italy in dominant URC opener

MATCH REPORT: The Bulls made a statement on their opening night of the new Vodacom United Rugby Championship season, dismantling Zebre Parma 47-13 in Italy on Saturday.

Johan Ackermann’s side dominated the contest physically and clinically, with their forwards laying the foundation for a comprehensive victory.

The visitors turned their superiority into points throughout the match, overwhelming Zebre at the set piece and capitalising on their opportunities to run in a string of tries.

Reinhardt Ludwig was among the standout performers, while the Bulls’ forward pack continued to apply pressure as the hosts struggled to contain them.

The Bulls were made to defend from the kick-off after a cracking start by the hosts but soon found their mojo and dominated proceedings from there on in.

The visitors earned their first scrum after a Zebre handling error, won a penalty at the set piece and kicked for touch.

Damiano Mazza then produced an excellent steal at the breakdown to win a penalty as the Bulls entered Zebre’s half for the first time.

The Bulls conceded a soft penalty at the breakdown in front of their posts, and Tommaso Allan made no mistake with the kick as Zebre opened the scoring.

After 15 minutes, the Bulls launched an attack deep inside Zebre’s 22, but a cross-kick was safely marked and cleared by the hosts.

Zebre then conceded a breakdown penalty for slowing the ball down, and the Bulls kicked to touch in search of a maul. However, the visitors were penalised for obstruction as they attempted to drive over from the lineout.

Matteo Canali was shown a yellow card after illegally stopping a driving maul, with the Bulls awarded a penalty try. Minutes later Alan slotted another penalty goal to close the gap within one point, trailing by 6-7.

The Bulls’ response was immediate. Reinhardt Ludwig crashed over after the restart wasn’t taken cleanly by Zebre.Curwin Bosch added the extras.

Zebre worked hard to get on the front foot and advance up to five metres of the tryline, but the Bulls cleaned it up and Bosch sent it skyward for an excellent clearance.

In the following movement, Paul de Wet snatched an intercept and raced to grab the third five-pointer for the Bulls, converted by Bosch.

Heading into half-time, territory and possession were evenly matched, but the difference was that the visitors converted their opportunities into points.

The Bulls were leading 21-6 at half-time.

It was a perfect start for the visitors resulting in a try by lock Ruan Vermaak a minute into the second half and stretching their lead to 28-6.

From the kick-off, the visitors carried on where they left off, going coast-to-coast, stretching Zebre’s defence from touchline to touchline with a sweeping attack.

Minutes later, De Wet almost scored a second after a brilliant run through the middle by Stravino Jacobs, but Zebre got hold of the ball. They couldn’t capitalise and possession changed hands again, and the Bulls were on the hunt again.

When Harold Vorster crossed for another try, the writing was on the wall. The Bulls centre went untouched as he simply strolled over the line, underlining Zebre’s struggles to contain the Pretoria side.

Heading into the last quarter, the visitors were ahead 35-6, and by this stage Zebre had missed 26 tackles compared to the seven of the Bulls.

After an hour, Alessandro Fusco scored Zebre’s first try after the hosts won an attacking scrum and kicked the ball through for him to chase.

The try appeared to spark Zebre into life, with the hosts going close again moments later. Bosch was forced to scramble back and ground the ball after it was kicked over the try line.

Captain Marcell Coetzee thought he got it down with his forwards driving him over the line; however, he was held up.

The skipper led from the front throughout, playing at full pace and producing a near-flawless performance with the second most carries (15) in the game behind Vorster (18).

Zebre had an opportunity to set up their driving maul 10 metres out, backing themselves. They came close, but the ball was stripped from their grip, and they had to endure another Bulls scrum.

Ludwig, another standout performer on the night, grabbed his second try with four minutes remaining, further underlining the Bulls’ dominance up front.

To punish the hosts even more, the Bulls mauled once more and drove for the line, after the hooter had gone, and Zac Burger was the man to dot down.

Man of the Match: Stravino Jacobs had a blinder, storming through defence like a raging bull, however our vote goes to scrumhalf Paul de Wet, who had one of his best outings in the blue jersey for the Bulls.

The scorers:

For Zebre:
Tries: Fusco
Con: Allan
Pens: Allan 2

For Bulls:
Tries: Penalty Try, Ludwig 2, De Wet, Vermaak, Vorster, Burger
Cons: Bosch 5, Le Roux

Yellow cards: Matteo Canali (Zebre Parma, 26’ – cynical); Jeandre Rudolph (Bulls, 75’ -offside)

Teams:

Zebre Parma: 15 Tommaso Allan, 14 Mirko Belloni, 13 Giulio Bertaccini, 12 Damiano Mazza, 11 Simone Gesi,10 Giacomo Da Re, 9 Alessandro Fusco (captain), 8 Giovanni Licata, 7 Samuele Locatelli, 6 Giacomo Ferrari, 5 Leonard Krumov, 4 Matteo Canali, 3 Juan Ignacio Castellano, 2 Tommaso Di Bartolomeo, 1 Federico Pisani,
Replacements: 16 Francisco Minervino, 17 Sergio Pelliccioli, 18 Filippo Alongi, 19 Franco Carrera, 20 Davide Ruggeri, 21 Thomas Dominguez, 22 Marco Zanon, 23 Giovanni Montemauri

Bulls: 15 Willie le Roux, 14 Sebastian de Klerk, 13 Stedman Gans, 12 Harold Vorster, 11 Stravino Jacobs, 10 Curwin Bosch, 9 Paul de Wet, 8 Jeandre Rudolph, 7 Hanro Liebenberg, 6 Marcell Coetzee (captain), 5 Reinhardt Ludwig, 4 Ruan Vermaak, 3 Francois Klopper, 2 Juann Else, 1 Alu Tshakweni
Replacements: 16 Janco Uys, 17 Dylan Smith, 18 Mornay Smith, 19 JF van Heerden, 20 Nizaam Carr, 21 Zak Burger, 22 Cheswill Jooste, 23 Hakeem

Referee: Andrew Brace (IRFU, 115th league game)
Assistant referees: Franco Rosella (FIR) and Alberto Favaro (FIR)
TMO: Olly Hodges (IRFU)