Glasgow punish sloppy Bulls

MATCH REPORT: The Bulls’ European tour ended on a disappointing note with a 12-21 defeat to Glasgow Warriors at Scotstoun Stadium on Friday

The Bulls will return home with one win from three attempts following their defeat to Ulster a fortnight ago and a narrow win against Connacht last weekend.

*To recap all the action CLICK HERE!!

It was an intense battle, however Glasgow’s three tries, including a penalty try, proved decisive, with Adam Hastings adding two conversions.

Stravino Jacobs and Willie le Roux crossed the line for the Bulls, while Keagan Johannes added a conversion.

The hosts looked poised to strike early when a powerful break by Scott Cummings drove the Scottish side deep into the Bulls’ five-metre area.

However, a knock-on halted their momentum. Nonetheless, a high tackle was spotted in the build-up, giving Glasgow another opportunity. They opted for a line-out and executed some excellent interplay before Scotland captain Sione Tuipulotu powered over for the opening try.

Adam Hastings added the extras to give Glasgow a 7-0 lead after just six minutes.

The Bulls responded swiftly. Sebastian de Klerk produced a moment of brilliance with his blistering pace, bursting through the defence before offloading to Jacobs, who strolled over the line. Johannes missed the conversion, leaving the hosts trailing by two.

Glasgow enjoyed the majority of possession and territory, but the Bulls’ defence stood firm, frustrating the Scottish side.

It was the visitors who had a chance to edge ahead following another high tackle, but Johannes’ penalty attempt fell short, and the score remained 7-5 in Glasgow’s favour.

The Bulls came out with pure intent, looking dangerous with the ball in hand. They got the ball in the right areas, and after a few phases, De Klerk put in another offload to send Willie Le Roux on his way for the five-pointer. Johannes added the conversion for a 12-7 lead.

It got a little more challenging for Glasgow as they went down to 14 men after South African Nathan Macbeth was yellow carded.

Springbok duo Le Roux and Arendse linked up perfectly before the latter dived over the line. However, the try was chalked off after a knock-on was spotted in the build-up.

And instead, it was Glasgow who got the next points. From a line-out, the hosts put in a maul and were awarded a penalty try when the Bulls were deemed to have collapsed the maul.

Glasgow extended their lead after Macbeth powered over the line at the back of yet another incredible maul. Hastings added the conversion for a 21-12 lead.

Man of the match: Glasgow Warriors’ Jack Dempsey impressed with his strong carries; it certainly didn’t look like he had been sidelined for several months. Bulls wing Sebastian de Klerk also deserves a mention, having set up two tries. However, our nod goes to Sione Tuipulotu. The centre was in fine form, making some lethal headway in the midfield and scoring a try.

The scorers:

For Glasgow Warriors:
Tries: Tuipulotu, Penalty try, Macbeth
Cons: Hastings 2

For Bulls:
Tries: Jacobs, Le Roux
Cons: Johannes

Yellow cards: Nathan Macbeth (Glasgow Warriors, 52 – deliberate knock-on), Francois Klopper (Bulls, 65 – collapsing the maul)

Teams

Glasgow Warriors: 15 Josh McKay, 14 Kyle Steyn (captain), 13 Stafford McDowall, 12 Sione Tuipulotu, 11 Kyle Rowe, 10 Adam Hastings, 9 George Horne, 8 Jack Dempsey, 7 Matt Fagerson, 6 Gregor Brown, 5 Scott Cummings, 4 Max Williamson, 3 Murphy Walker, 2 Johnny Matthews, 1 Jamie Bhatti
Replacements: 16 Seb Stephen, 17 Nathan McBeth, 18 Sam Talakai, 19 Alex Samuel, 20 Alex Craig, 21 Euan Ferrie, 22 Ben Afshar, 23 Dan Lancaster

Bulls: 15 Willie le Roux, 14 Sebastian de Klerk, 13 David Kriel, 12 Harold Vorster, 11 Stravino Jacobs, 10 Keagan Johannes, 9 Embrose Papier, 8 Jeandre Rudolph, 7 Reinhardt Ludwig, 6 Marcell Coetzee, 5 Ruan Nortje (captain), 4 Cobus Wiese, 3 Mornay Smith, 2 Johan Grobbelaar, 1 Gerhard Steenekamp.
Replacements: 16 Juann Else, 17 Etienne Janneke, 18 Francois Klopper, 19 JJ Theron, 20 Nama Xaba, 21 Paul de Wet, 22 Stedman Gans, 23 Kurt-Lee Arendse.

Referee: Craig Evans (Wales)
Assistant referees: Mike Adamson (Scotland), Ru Campbell (Scotland)
TMO: Keith David (Wales)