Steyn saves Bulls' blushes against Edinburgh
REPORT: A late Morne Steyn penalty handed the Bulls a dramatic 33-31 win against Edinburgh at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday.
*To recap all the action CLICK HERE!!!
With Darcy Graham scoring a hat-trick, the Scottish side had fought back from an early 15-0 deficit to lead 31-30 with 10 minutes remaining at Loftus Versfeld.
Steyn’s penalty in the last minute gave the hosts the advantage once again, but Edinburgh were to get one last chance after a dangerous tackle by Stravino Jacobs on Mark Bennett.
Henry Immelman was unable to take advantage from distance with what proved the final kick of the game.
Edinburgh started brightly, but Henry Pyrgos and Immelman both failed with drop-goal attempts inside the opening two minutes and the Bulls went ahead with a Chris Smith penalty.
Ill-discipline cost Edinburgh early on and Grant Gilchrist had a spell in the sin-bin. Short-range tries from Johan Grobbelaar and Elrich Louw gave the Bulls a healthy advantage.
Edinburgh responded as James Lang made a break down the left and the ball was worked further wide for Charlie Savala to touch down.
Bennett nailed a touchline conversion and further Edinburgh pressure paid off as Graham hit the ball at pace and arced around the defence for his first try. With Bennett again adding the extras, Edinburgh trailed just 15-14 at the interval.
The Bulls started the second period strongly and extended their advantage when Cornal Hendricks raced over out wide for another Smith-converted try after Ruan Nortje had been held up.
Edinburgh pulled another try back in fortuitous circumstances after a Bennett penalty attempt struck the upright. Graham was the first to react to the rebound and pounced for his second try.
A Smith penalty gave the Bulls more breathing space, but Graham cut the gap back to one again as he sped over after brilliant handling by Bill Mata and Immelman.
Edinburgh began to sense their chance, but the Bulls broke out after a long spell under pressure, with Jacobs stretching out to score.
Yet again Edinburgh were not finished and a slick move created the opening for Damien Hoyland to score. With Bennett converting, the visitors led for the first time.
Immelman missed a penalty chance to extend the lead, but Steyn made no mistake when he got the chance after an infringement at a maul.
The drama was not over, but Immelman could not punish Jacobs for his high shot on Bennett.
Man of the Match
Outside centre Bennett delivered a highly influential display.
It was his pass which sent Graham over for the first of his scintillating hat-trick and he also provided the final pass for Hoyland to touch down.
To add to that he landed three conversions.
Play of the match
Edinburgh scored some eye-catching tries as they ran the Bulls close.
The score which led to them taking the lead with 10 minutes to go was as slick as they come.
Lang sucked in the defence before more quick hands from Savala and Bennett sent Hoyland racing over the line.
The scorers:
For Bulls:
Tries: Grobberlaar, Louw, Nortje, Stravino
Cons: Smith 3
Pens: Smith 2
For Edinburgh:
Tries: Savala, Graham 3, Hoyland
Cons: Bennett 3
Yellow card: Grant Gilchrist (Edinburgh, 17 – repeat infringements)
Teams:
Bulls: 15 Johan Goosen, 14 Cornal Hendricks, 13 Lionel Mapoe, 12 David Kriel, 11 Stravino Jacobs, 10 Chris Smith, 9 Zak Burger, 8 Elrigh Louw, 7 Ruan Vermaak, 6 Marcell Coetzee (captain), 5 Ruan Nortje, 4 Walt Steenkamp, 3 Mornay Smith, 2 Johan Grobbelaar, 1 Gerhard Steenekamp.
Replacements: 16 Jan-Hendrik Wessels, 17 Simphiwe Matanzima, 18 Francois Klopper, 19 Janko Swanepoel, 20 Marco van Staden, 21 Embrose Papier, 22 Morné Steyn, 23 Stedman Gans.
Edinburgh: 15 Henry Immelman, 14 Darcy Graham, 13 Mark Bennett, 12 James Lang, 11 Damien Hoyland, 10 Jaco van der Walt, 9 Henry Pyrgos, 8 Viliame Mata, 7 Luke Crosbie, 6 Jamie Ritchie (cc), 5 Grant Gilchrist (cc), 4 Sam Skinner, 3 WP Nel, 2 Dave Cherry, 1 Pierre Schoeman.
Replacements: 16 Stuart McInally, 17 Boan Venter, 18 Luan de Bruin, 19 Marshall Sykes, 20 Hamish Watson, 21 Ben Vellacott, 22 Mark Bennett, 23 Chris Dean.
Referee: Adam Jones (Wales)
Assistant referees: Marius van der Westhuizen (South Africa), Griffin Colby (South Africa)
TMO: Sean Brickell (Wales)
