While a lot of attention may be placed on Mpilo Gumede’s red card, the performance from the Bulls in their 28-14 bonus-point United Rugby Championship victory over Connacht in Galway should receive the necessary plaudits, too.
Connacht may have been missing Irish Test players Bundee Aki, Mack Hansen and Finlay Bealham, but the Bulls also didn’t have the likes of Kurt-Lee Arendse, Elrigh Louw, Wilco Louw, Marco van Staden and captain Ruan Nortjé available.
The weather conditions are difficult to handle at The Sportsground as well, which is exposed to the elements as it’s an open arena used for dog racing too. Yet, the Bulls overcame all those challenges to score four tries – and it should have been many more, considering their efficient lineout and scrum, and general forward dominance.
Connacht also had No 8 Sean Jansen red-carded in the 22nd minute for a dangerous tackle on Marcell Coetzee.
Hooker Akker van der Merwe led the charge for the visitors, captain Coetzee was prominent, and lock JF van Heerden and flank Cobus Wiese controlled the lineouts.
New Springbok loose forward Cameron Hanekom made some telling runs off the bench, and prop Gerhard Steenekamp got stuck in too.
The front-foot ball was used well by halfbacks Embrose Papier and Johan Goosen – who made an effective comeback from a lengthy layoff due to a broken nose – and fullback Willie le Roux sprinkled his magic dust throughout.
YOUR PLAYER OF THE MATCH 😮💨🏆@Vodacom #URC | @URCOfficial_RSA #ForeverBlue pic.twitter.com/cwBERrJ4S1
“We had a lot of opportunities in the first half, and that was into the wind, which was very, very strong,” Bulls coach Jake White said.
“So, to have all that territory, possession and opportunities we had in the first half – the way we managed the game makes me very happy, as it sets us up nicely for the next couple of weeks.
“We had 12 lineouts and lost one – that’s considering we had no (Reinhardt) Ludwig, no Ruan Nortjé.
“Happy that we changed our lineout in terms of personnel, and still got a good return in the first half.
“It got a bit sloppy in the end, but that’s what happens – a little bit of fatigue, a little bit of inexperience of getting them to understand that we needed to change it up a bit.
“But we will work that out this week. A guy like JF van Heerden, who’s relatively young still in terms of calling lineouts, will have to learn from that performance in the second half.”
David Kriel can’t be stopped 🔥
The No.13 flies over the line for the Vodacom @BlueBullsRugby third try of the day 👏#BKTURC #URC | #CONvBUL pic.twitter.com/JILEhsEjGy
The only real blot on the Bulls performance was Gumede’s red card in the 58th minute for making contact with the “eye area” of Connacht replacement back David Hawkshaw, who had held the No 8’s leg after clearing him out at a breakdown.
Gumede reacted angrily to being held and tried to push Hawkshaw away, before grabbing his nose as well. TMO David Sutherland and referee Mike Adamson – who are both from Scotland – initially had differing views on the matter.
One man who will look to be a bit sharper with his finishing against Saracens in Saturday’s Champions Cup opener in London (7.30pm start) will be Bok wing Canan Moodie, who was caught a few times after breaking the line – although he scored the bonus-point try with an intercept.
A sequence of events 📸
The Vodacom @BlueBullsRugby charge through Galway, leaving @connachtrugby in the dust!#VUpYourSummer | @Vodacom #URC | #CONvBUL pic.twitter.com/4Vx1DOBjZF
“He looked at times as if he had eaten too much food in the buffet for the last month, while he was on tour!” White quipped.
“I said that to him, he’s going to have to start staying away from the buffet – because generally I expect him, when he got put away a couple of times, I thought he would finish.
“But as I said, I think we’ve got to try to keep him away from the buffet for a couple of days!”
Canan Moodie won't pass up opportunities like this ⚡⚡⚡
📺 Stream #VURC on DStv: https://t.co/0P0NNhnwKw pic.twitter.com/FoWMYWf1CZ