It wasn’t at all pretty at times, but damn it was effective. The Vodacom Bulls got their Vodacom United Rugby Championship campaign back on track with a comprehensive 40-7 win over Cardiff at Loftus Versfeld on Friday night.
After the loss against the DHL Stormers, the doubt had crept back in, and the Bulls needed a good result more than anything else. And Cardiff, sans their test stars, and above the Bulls on the log, provided the cannon fodder.
To say the Bulls were dominant is an understatement, and at times they toyed with Cardiff around the field.
But while they had everything in their favour, clinical they were not. After five first-half tries, only one was scored in the second half. If anything, more than half a dozen scoring chances were wasted.
WIN IS A WIN
This was, however, not a night to be nitpicking about the inaccuracies. A win is a win and five points are five points. It provides a momentum boost and belief again after they were dismantled by the Stormers pack.
Cardiff were not close to being the same sort of test. But especially in the second half, the Bulls made them look a lot better than they were on the night. In the URC, Cardiff have never beaten the Bulls, making this the fifth consecutive win in league matches for the Pretoria side.
There were a lot of positives from the game. The Bulls learnt they could do without Wilco Louw and their scrum stayed strong.
And they returned Cameron Hanekom to the field after 10 months on the sideline. His physicality was immediately felt and while the game was long won by then, the fact that he is back on the field is not only another miracle of science but a testament to his determination. The Bulls will be very happy if he only grows in strength from here.
PAPIER ON SONG
Apart from this, there were some impressive cameos from the journeymen. Embrose Papier returned from diaper duty to show what the Bulls missed last week. Ruan Nortje, Nizaam Carr and Marcell Coetzee were all thundering upfield, and Marco van Staden’s appearance in the second half provided some telling hits and a turnover that mattered.
But the Bulls' failure to reach the 50 mark just showed how inaccurate they were. A better side would have put this Cardiff side away with more ease.
Luckily for the Bulls, all they can do is build momentum again and take the points as they come.
Handre Pollard’s boot looked solid, and David Kriel kept growing in stature at the back. Kurt-Lee Arendse was brutal in how he toyed with his opponents while weaving through the Cardiff defence, and Canan Moodie was class. Cheswill Jooste deserved more chances, but they didn’t come his way.
On the night, the scoreboard is all that matters, and it was Cardiff who scored their only try - and their only chance at crossing the tryline - as early as the third minute when Kriel dropped a pass in midfield and Callum Sheedy scored at the other end of the park.
It was the only blip that cost points and it was Cardiff’s only real chance of the night. Because shortly afterwards the Bulls took control and never let it go.
Alun Lawrence was shown a yellow card four minutes later for knocking the ball out of Papier’s hands at a ruck while on the ground, and the Bulls took full advantage.
HAMMER BLOWS
The two hammer blows were almost identical. Penalties drilled into the corner and lineout drives that weren’t stopped. In the eighth minute, it was Coetzee, and in the 11th, it was Johan Grobbelaar who went over.
There was a try disallowed in the 24th minute when Carr broke off the back of the scrum, Papier went forward and a bullocking run by Wiese went over. The replays showed Papier trying to get out of the way but impeding the tackler, and the try was notched off.
The Bulls made up for it when a counterattack from Jooste found Arendse, who danced between defenders in the middle of the field, sending the ball inside for Kriel to score.
Papier got the bonus-point try with a blistering sideline move, as Arendse left defenders for dead and then passed to a flying Papier to run 30 metres to score.
The strangest try, however, came just before halftime. Moodie broke up the middle, tried to offload and spilt a loose ball backwards in the chaos, only to find Carr booting the grounded ball to the far touchline. The kick landed perfectly for Elrigh Louw, who beat a defender to power over the sideline for an unbelievable try.
At 33-7 at halftime, the game was basically done.
Vermaak scored in the second half after a good carry upfield by Hanekom, but the rest of the half disintegrated as Cardiff tried to keep the scoreline down and the Bulls made way too many mistakes.
Still, five points, a win and a dollop of confidence were just what coach Johan Ackermann ordered.
SCORERS
Vodacom Bulls - tries: Marcell Coetzee, Johan Grobbelaar, David Kriel, Embrose Papier, Elrigh Louw, Ruan Vermaak. Conversions: Handre Pollard (4), Kriel.
Cardiff Rugby - try: Harry Millard. Conversion: Callum Sheedy