Kriel's boot wins it for Bulls in dying moments

MATCH REPORT: The Bulls sneaked a victory in the dying minutes of their Round Six United Rugby Championship match as they beat Benetton 17-15 thanks to a conversion by David Kriel.

The Bulls were forced to make three changes ahead of this clash after overnight illness struck the camp in Italy.

The changes meant Keagan Johannes moved from the impact squad into the flyhalf role, with Boeta Chamberlain among the casualties that also included centre Stedman Gans and speedster Sebastian de Klerk.

Chris Barend Smit and Harold Vorster were the other changes in place of Gans and De Klerk on the five-three split impact squad

Zak Burger was drafted into the match day duty list as well.

These changes had a significant effect on the Bulls, who never looked like the quality side that they are.

Benetton had a fast start and kicked two successful penalty kicks in the first three minutes of the game.

After 14 minutes the Bulls had nothing to show for their efforts as they advanced into the Benetton 22.

The damp conditions proved a real challenge for the Bulls and they struggled to maintain possession and garner their opportunities.

After 20 minutes Keagan Johannes finally put the Bulls on the board with his side still trailing 3-6.

They struggled to stamp their authority on the game, as it was mostly dictated by the home side in the early stages.

Benetton turned over possession numerous times, cancelling any opportunity the Bulls had to stage an attack which also allowed the home team to punish them, sending three successful penalty kicks through the poles heading into half-time.

The Bulls never had any real scoring opportunities in the first half, indicating just how strong the Benetton defence was.

As they headed into halftime, Benetton was comfortably in control, leading by 9-3.

Benettons’ fullback Rhyno Smith kept the Bulls in their own half and also eliminated any options the dangerous Bulls back three had to offer.

The home side continued where they left off in the first half, dominating the breakdown and not allowing the big Bulls forwards any leeway.

The visitors struggled with their line-outs and indicated just how much the Bulls were with their backs against the wall.

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Without an experienced flyhalf on the field, the Bulls were struggling to build phases while overdid the one-off forward runners.

Finally, after a sneaky break by Johannes, it looked like Reinhardt Ludwig got over the whitewash for the first try of the match but a replay indicated that Kurt-Lee Arendse had knocked the ball forward.

Benetton, not to be deterred, marched on, bagging another three points after the hour mark to stretch their lead to 12-3.

Ludwig eventually did get a try as the Bulls penetrated the Benetton trying a second time closing the gap to 10-12.

With seven minutes to go, Tomas Albornoz kicked his fourth successful penalty kick to open the gap to 15-10.

With three minutes remaining, the Bulls had a line-out five metres from the tryline and Harold Vorster drove over from a maul.

Kriel slotted the conversion and in the closing moments, the Bulls took the lead for the first time by 17-15.

Somehow the Bulls pulled the rabbit out of the hat to sneak the win in the final minutes.

MAN OF THE MATCH: Tomas Albornoz dictated the attack and had an accurate kicking record. He combined well with Rhyno Smith at fullback.

Scorers:

For Benetton:
Pens: Albornoz 4, Smith

For the Bulls:
Tries: Ludwig, Van der Merwe
Cons: Kriel 2
Pen: Johannes

Teams:

Benetton: 15 Rhyno Smith, 14 Paul Odogwu, 13 Tommaso Menoncello, 12 Ignacio Brex, 11 Matt Gallagher, 10 Tomas Albornoz, 9 Alessandro Garbisi, 8 Lorenzo Cannon, 7 Michele Lamaro (captain), 6 Alexander Izekor, 5 Federico Ruzza, 4 Niccolò Cannone, 3 Simone Ferrari, 2 Siua Maile, 1 Mirco Spagnolo.
Replacements: 16 Bautista Bernasconi, 17 Thomas Gallo, 18 Enzo Avaca, 19 Eli Snyman, 20 Sebastian Blacks, 21 Manuel Zuliani, 22 Andy Uren, 23 Jacob Umaga.

Bulls: 15 Devon Williams, 14 Aphiwe Dyantyi, 13 Canan Moodie, 12 David Kriel, 11 Kurt-Lee Arendse, 10 Keagan Johannes, 9 Embrose Papier, 8 Elrigh Louw (captain), 7 Reinhardt Ludwig, 6 Marcel Coetzee, 5 JF van Heerden, 4 Cobus Wiese, 3 Wilco Louw, 2 Johan Grobbelaar, 1 Alulutho Tshakweni,
Replacements: 16 Akker van der Merwe, 17 Dylan Smith, 18 Francois Klopper, 19 Ruan Vermaak, 20 Cameron Hanekom, 21 Zak Burger, 22 Chris Barend Smit, 23 Harold Vorster