Bulls secure home quarterfinal berth

MATCH REPORT: The Bulls will contest a fourth home United Rugby Championship quarterfinal after defeating a plucky Benetton outfit by 45-19 at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday.

The scoreline might flatter the Bulls, as Benetton stayed within touching distance at various points in the game, but the Bulls’ bench’s impact saw them pull away to a comfortable victory.

The result means the Bulls can’t finish lower than fourth place at the conclusion of Round 18.

*To recap all the action, CLICK HERE!

The Bulls got off to a fast start with Sergeal Petersen crossing the line in the right-hand corner for the opening try in the fourth minute, sparked by a Canan Moodie linebreak.

Pollard slotted the conversion kick.

Willie le Roux crossed the whitewash on the occasion of his 400th first-class match in the 13th minute following a patient build-up by the forwards, with Pollard adding the extras.

A series of penalties conceded by the Bulls allowed Benetton territory and possession, which Rhyno Smith exploited to break the line and set Louis Lynagh up for the visitors’ opening score after 19 minutes of play.

The Bulls extended their lead in the 29th minute through a try by Johan Grobbelaar off the back of a line-out maul.

Springbok Elrich Louw walked off into the tunnel for a suspected head injury assessment in the 32nd minute.

The Bulls appeared to have secured the four-try bonus point when captain Ruan Nortje barged over for the try on the 35th minute mark, but the try was disallowed due to a knock-on by Embrose Papier in the build-up.

The knock-on occurred due to Benetton scrumhalf Alessandro Garbisi playing Papier in an offside position.

The Italian No.9 was sent to the sinbin for his cyncial action.

The Bulls got the try in the end through Cobus Wiese, who barged over the line after Cameron Hanekom initiated the attack with a quickly taken scrum penalty two minutes before halftime. Pollard slotted the conversion.

A loose pass by the Bulls gifted  Smith the opportunity to ghost through untouched and get five points back for Benetton in the 39th minute.

Smith converted his own try as the hooter sounded for halftime.

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Benetton struck the first blow in the second half when Lynagh dotted down for a brace in the 42nd minute against the run of play. Smith added the conversion.

The Bulls created some breathing room on the scoreboard when Petersen grabbed a brace in the 56th minute. Pollard split the uprights to restore a 14-point lead.

Mpilo Gumede’s 63rd-minute try saw the Bulls take a firm grip on the match, with Pollard’s conversion bringing up 40 points on the scoreboard.

Ruan Nortje put the cherry on top after being denied earlier with his try in the 75th minute.

Scorers

For the Bulls:
Tries: Petersen 2, Le Roux, Grobbelaar, Wiese, Gumede, Nortje
Cons: Pollard 5

For Benetton:
Tries: Lynagh 2, Smith
Cons: Smith 2

Yellow card: Alessandro Garbisi (Benetton, 34′ – Cynical foul: playing the scrumhalf in the red zone)

Teams:

Bulls: 15 Willie le Roux, 14 Devon Williams, 13 Canan Moodie, 12 Harold Vorster, 11 Sergeal Petersen, 10 Handre Pollard, 9 Embrose Papier, 8 Cameron Hanekom, 7 Elrigh Louw, 6 Jeandre Rudolph, 5 Ruan Nortje (captain), 4 Cobus Wiese, 3 Wilco Louw, 2 Johan Grobbelaar, 1 Gerhard Steenekamp
Replacements: 16 Marco van Staden, 17 Jan-Hendrik Wessels, 18 Francois Klopper, 19 Ruan Vermaak, 20 Mpilo Gumede, 21 Paul de Wet, 22 Stedman Gans, 23 Stravino Jacobs

Benetton: 15 Matt Gallagher, 14 Louis Lynagh, 13 Paolo Odogwu, 12 Tomas Medina, 11 Federico Zanandrea, 10 Rhyno Smith, 9 Alessandro Garbisi, 8 So’otala Fa’aso’o, 7 Lorenzo Cannone, 6 Riccardo Favretto, 5 Federico Ruzza (captain), 4 Mattia Midena, 3 Tiziano Pasquali, 2 Bautista Bernasconi, 1 Nahuel Tetaz Chaparro
Replacements: 16 Nicholas Gasperini, 17 Ivan Nemer, 18 Marcos Gallorini, 19 Niccolò Cannone, 20 Giulio Marini, 21 Jadin Kingi, 22 Cristiano Tizzano, 23 Leonardo Marin

Referee: Craig Evans (Wales)
Assistant referees: Christopher Allison (South Africa) and Hanru van Rooyen (South Africa)
TMO: Ben Breakspear (Wales)