Bulls slay ill-tempered Dragons

The Vodacom Bulls continued their impressive home run in the Vodacom United Rugby Championship as they added another half century against a Welsh side with a 55-20 win over the Dragons at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday night.

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Lionel Mapoe and Kurt-Lee Arendse both scored a brace as the Bulls scored eight tries to three in an ill-tempered game where they had to keep their cool.

And while the result was never really in doubt, for a brief moment in the second half the Welsh side threatened to upset the Bulls' momentum with three quick tries that made the scoreline more palatable for the visitors.

Still, on a night where the Bulls were always going to get on top, and where they scored in the third minute through Arno Botha to set the trend, the biggest take home for the Bulls was how they performed and kept their cool under pressure.

The result means they will move above the Sharks after the latter’s poor loss at home to Edinburgh and now are only a point behind the Stormers, with the Cape Town showdown between the two teams likely to determine the South African conference winner.

#BULvDRA FT: It's 4 back-to-back @URCOfficial_RSA wins for the Vodacom Bulls, who claim a 55-20 victory over Dragons tonight. Good effort, lads. Next up, Ulster.#TrueToTheBlue @Vodacom #URC @URCOfficial_RSA pic.twitter.com/OSvTDZjcRD

— Official Blue Bulls (@BlueBullsRugby) March 26, 2022

It was clear from early on that the Dragons were trying to upset their rhythm, and they were only emboldened more by the fact that referee Frank Murphy didn’t penalise the numerous late hits and cheap shots off the ball.

It threatened to boil over at one stage, but the Bulls simply kept their heads down and drove on forward to get the result.

Arendse, in particular, scored one of the better tries of the weekend, with an in and out flummoxing both defenders as he scored his second try.

On the whole the only negative for the Bulls was the injury to Jacques van Rooyen and their bad run of injuries with tightheads continues. Madosh Tambwe’s elbow injury may also be a big hit for the side as well.

MARCHING ON

The Bulls were exceptionally good in the first half and could have scored at least two more tries, getting their bonus point before halftime.

After Botha’s initial try, it was Mapoe who struck shortly afterwards, taking a beauty of a pass from Harold Vorster to ghost through a gap.

Arendse took a great high ball and surged forward, with Embrose Papier sniping down the touchline to return the pass inside for the third try.

Johan Grobbelaar grabbed his try shortly after the half-hour mark to ensure the bonus point, and see the Bulls on their way.

But the Dragons struck on the stroke of halftime as Rio Dyer finished off a planned move, and were given more confidence when Chris Smith passed into the hands of Sam Davies and Jarrod Rosser finished off the interception.

Davies added his own try after Arendse knocked on a clear chance and the Bulls stopped, with Davies exploiting the lack of cover defence to give the Dragons hope of a bonus point.

It didn’t come though, as the Bulls regrouped and struck back - first through Arendse’s spectacular second and then through Marcell Coetzee from close range.

Mapoe added a second after Smith found a gap and a back-flip pass was perfectly executed to a flying Mapoe.

And when Zak Burger added the eighth try of the night, the Dragons were defeated, and the Bulls continued to march on.

Ulster next week will be a much tougher opponent, but their unbeaten run against Welsh opposition has put the fire back in the belly of the Bulls, and they’re running red hot at the moment.

SCORERS

VODACOM BULLS - tries: Arno Botha, Lionel Mapoe (2), Kurt-Lee Arendse (2), Johan Grobbelaar, Marcell Coetzee, Zak Burger. Conversions: Chris Smith (5), Morne Steyn. Penalty: Smith.

DRAGONS - tries: Rio Dyer, Jarrod Rosser, Sam Davies. Conversion: Davies. Penalty: Davies.