The Vodacom Bulls produced a scintillating powerful defensive performance, and then turned it on when it mattered to give their season an almighty boost with a 26-19 victory over defending Vodacom United Rugby Champions Glasgow Warriors at the Scotstoun.
With the win they became the first South African team to win in Glasgow in the URC, and added to their maiden win in Limerick last weekend to complete a massively successful European tour and can now look forward to fighting for second spot on the log in the last two weeks of the regular season.
While there was a consistent effort to downplay the revenge scenario after Glasgow’s epic win in the final at Loftus Versfeld last season, this was a game that was played on determination and emotion. There was something different about this Bulls side, and it was personal.
The amount of times players sprinted around the park to haul in Glasgow attackers must have matched the number of dominant tackles that drove the home side backwards and caught them behind the gain line.
In all the Bulls made a massive 181 tackles on the night, and everyone of those was felt both by the Glasgow players and the fans in the crowd.
This was a night when the Bulls decided that they would not lose. A line in the sand was drawn and they emerged with four valuable points for their efforts.
GLASGOW GET A CRUCIAL BONUS POINT
With it they enhanced their chances of taking the second spot, although Glasgow’s two late tries gave them a losing bonus point that keeps them just ahead of the Bulls. Frustratingly for Bulls fans, they had a chance to deny the Scottish side that bonus point with a penalty after the hooter, but veteran fullback Willie le Roux decided to boot the ball out and end the game.
Unfortunately that decision meant the Bulls now need Glasgow to slip up in one of their two remaining games and not get full points if they want to sneak ahead of them in the final tally.
Glasgow have a tougher road in, so it is imaginable - especially as they have away trips to Benetton and Leinster to finish their pool games, while the Bulls have home games against Cardiff and Dragons that they will feel confident of getting full points in.
Still, the bonus point aside, the past two weeks have been absolutely incredible in terms of resolve and determination and have shown the Bulls that if they have to return to Europe they certainly could go into any game with confidence having won more away from home than they have at Loftus Versfeld this season.
Taking 8 points for their two games against Munster and Glasgow is an incredible feat given South African teams’ travelling records in the past and shows just how much this Bulls’ team has grown in the past few seasons.
MASSIVE PERFORMANCES
And on the night there were some massive performances - none the least from Springbok loosehead Jan-Hendrik Wessels, who has grown in leaps and bounds since returning from his first stint with the Boks last season.
Wessels saved a certain try in the third minute, put in countless big hits and was everywhere on the field, earning himself the man of the match award with ease.
But he had competition. Wilco Louw gobbled up penalty after penalty in the scrum, enhancing his reputation as the best tighthead in the competition at the moment while the shift put in by players such as Marco van Staden - running hard at 8 - as well as Cobus Wiese, JF van Heerden and Johan Grobbelaar was exceptional.
🐃 The @Vodacom Bulls beat the defending #URC champions in Glasgow! ⚔️#GLAvBUL pic.twitter.com/Nbg9ZCy4ur
— SA Rugby magazine (@SARugbymag) April 25, 2025
Harold Vorster might not have got the shine, but he made 19 tackles on the night, two ahead of Wessels and Van Staden to underline the wall in the midfield that Glasgow mostly couldn’t pass.
And then there were the tactics. The Bulls sat without possession for much of the game - having just 38 per cent in the first half and a similar amount in the second. But where they kept their noses in the game with Johan Goosen’s deadly boot in the first, and survived on their defence, they upped the ante in the second to take control of the game.
Goosen’s three penalties - two long range ones included - gave the Bulls a narrow lead at the break of 9-7 - after Glasgow scored late in the half through replacement wing Jamie Dobie when the Bulls ran out of defenders with Wilco Louw in the bin for a shoulder charge.
BULLS SHONE IN SECOND HALF
But the second half was a very different affair. Their early pressure allowed them to send a penalty to the corner and a monster maul saw Grobbelaar break away from the back and power his way over with David Kriel and Canan Moodie on his back.
Goosen added a penalty a few minutes later and then a clever bit of counter attacking led to a try for Kriel. The midfielder covered a cross kick with ease, passed back inside to Sebastian de Klerk, who booted the ball downfield behind the defence and easily won the chase.
De Klerk popped the ball up to Kriel to score and from a two point lead at the break, the Bulls were suddenly 26-7 ahead.
They had chances to extend the lead, but failed to do so, and allowed Kyle Steyn and Stafford McDowall to cross late and get Glasgow an incredibly valuable bonus point.
But while the final standings will be determined in the next few weeks, the Bulls showed why they have been successful this season, and why their season may be different from the heartaches of the past.
There is still a long way to go and many battles to be fought, but if they play like this it would be foolish to bet against them.
Scorers
Glasgow Warriors - tries : Jamie Dobie, Kyle Steyn, Stafford McDowall. Conversions: George Horne (2)
Vodacom Bulls - tries: Johan Grobbelaar, David Kriel. Conversions: Johan Goosen (2). Penalties: Goosen (4).
FULL TIME 😤🔥
— Official Blue Bulls (@BlueBullsRugby) April 25, 2025
W Secured in Scotland 🐂@Vodacom #URC | @URCOfficial_RSA #KidsRound | #ForeverBlue pic.twitter.com/ch3mQkd7yD