Bulls slay Dragons in Pretoria

URC REPORT: The Bulls strengthened their United Rugby Championship play-off hopes with a 55-20 win over the Dragons in Pretoria on Saturday.

Jake White’s side outscored the Welsh region by eight tries to three during the 80 minutes.

Fullback Kurt-Lee Arendse and centre Lionel Mapoe each claimed doubles, while there were also Bulls touchdowns for No.8 Arno Botha, hooker Johan Grobbelaar, flank Marcell Coetzee and substitute Zak Burger.

Chris Smith kicked five conversions and a penalty, and Morne Steyn converted Burger’s score, while the Dragons posted tries for wings Rio Dyer and Jared Rosser, plus flyhalf Sam Davies, who also booted a penalty and conversion.

It took only four minutes for the Bulls to display their enviable power up front, and although the Dragons initially thwarted a driving maul, they could not clear and Botha claimed a try that Smith converted.

Smith extended the Bulls’ advantage through a ninth-minute penalty, before the Dragons exerted pressure without reward as they looked to reduce their early deficit.

Dragons showed a commendable approach, looking to attack from deep at times, and they were not flustered by the Bulls’ physical approach, with Davies kicking a 24th-minute penalty.

But the Bulls always looked capable of moving up a gear, and they did so in ruthless fashion by scoring two tries in three minutes.

Mapoe rounded off a slick move to touch down between the posts, then scrumhalf Embrose Papier made a touchline break before sending an unmarked Arendse over.

Smith converted both scores, and the Bulls were suddenly out of sight, leading by 21 points midway through the second quarter.

The Bulls were in relentless pursuit of a bonus point, and it arrived two minutes before the break courtesy of Grobbelaar, who touched down following another imposing drive by hungry Bulls forwards.

Smith’s fourth successful conversion took the Bulls past 30 points, but the Dragons conjured a consolation through a well-worked move as Davies’ inside pass was collected by Dyer, who sprinted clear to score and make it 31-8 at half-time.

Dyer’s score lifted the Dragons, and they pounced again two minutes after the restart when Davies intercepted a Bulls pass, found centre Adam Warren in support, and he sent Rosser sprinting clear.

Dragons No.8 Ollie Griffiths went off injured, and he had barely left the field before the Bulls struck again through a mesmeric score by Arendse that saw him leave defenders trailing from 60 metres out.

Davies claimed a third try for the visitors, but the Bulls quickly resumed normal service through touchdowns from Coetzee, Mapoe and Burger that underlined their dominance.

Man of the Match

The Bulls are renowned for their immense physical power, driven by a juggernaut pack, and they did not disappoint at Loftus Versfeld, with hooker Grobbelaar heavily involved.

He scored his team’s bonus-point try after rounding off a line-out drive, and he was at the heart of a strong team display.

Play of the match

While there is much to appreciate about the Bulls’ enviable forward-based game, they also possess backs capable of shredding opposition defences.

In fullback Kurt-Lee Arendse they have an attacker of the richest quality, and he provided the individual highlight through a blistering 60-metre solo score that saw him leave Dragons defenders in a state of bewilderment.

The scorers:

For Bulls:
Tries: Botha, Mapoe 2, Arendse 2, Grobbelaar, Coetzee, Burger
Cons: Smith 5, Steyn
Pen: Smith

For Dragons:
Tries: Dyer, Rosser, S Davies
Con: S Davies
Pen: S Davies

Teams:

Bulls: 15 Kurt-Lee Arendse, 14 Canan Moodie, 13 Lionel Mapoe, 12 Harold Vorster, 11 Madosh Tambwe, 10 Chris Smith, 9 Embrose Papier, 8 Arno Botha, 7 Cyle Brink, 6 Marcell Coetzee (captain), 5 Ruan Nortje, 4 Walt Steenkamp, 3 Jacques van Rooyen, 2 Johan Grobbelaar, 1 Gerhard Steenkamp.
Replacements: 16 Joe van Zyl, 17 Simphiwe Matanzima, 18 Mornay Smith, 19 Reinhardt Ludwig, 20 WJ Steenkamp, 21 Zak Burger, 22 Morné Steyn, 23 Cornal Hendricks.

Dragons: 15 Jordan Williams, 14 Jared Rosser, 13 Adam Warren, 12 Jack Dixon, 11 Rio Dyer, 10 Sam Davies, 9 Gonzalo Bertranou, 8 Ollie Griffiths, 7 Ben Fry, 6 Harri Keddie (captain), 5 Ben Carter, 4 Huw Taylor, 3 Chris Coleman, 2 Elliot Dee, 1 Aki Seiuli.
Replacements: 16 Taylor Davies, 17 Josh Reynolds, 18 Leon Brown, 19 Joe Davies, 20 Lennon Greggains, 21 Rhodri Williams, 22 Will Reed, 23 Ioan Davies.

Referee: Frank Murphy (England)
Assistant referees: Marius van der Westhuizen, Morne Ferreira (both South Africa)
TMO: Ben Blain (Scotland)

Additional source: @URCOfficial