The Vodacom Bulls made heavy weather of their Vodacom United Rugby Championship fixture against Irish side Ulster, giving themselves a perfect start and then conspiring against themselves to finally squeak home 34-26 at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday.
Last week after the 50 point win over Stade Francais, coach Johan Ackermann was frustrated at the amount of chances they gave the opposition despite dominating the game. And on Saturday he would have been tearing his hair out again.
The Bulls rushed to a 21-0 lead, and looked as if they were going to rally to a big score, but then got sloppy, giving away a string of penalties either side of halftime and allowing Ulster to claw their way back into the game.
As the game went on, the Irish side took the invitation, and outscored the Bulls in the second half, with some luck and desperation keeping them out from stealing a victory at Loftus.
While all respect must go to the Belfast side for fighting until the end, the Bulls would have been severely disappointed if they allowed them to take the game after a start like that.
Eventually it was Curwin Bosch who stepped up in the 80th minute to slot a penalty to secure the win, deny Ulster a bonus point and give everyone watching a huge sigh of relief at the outcome.
Full-time at Loftus. The Vodacom Bulls manage to hold off a resurgent Ulster side with a spirited 2nd half performance. @Vodacom #URC | @URCOfficial_RSA https://t.co/T8uQosoksF
— Official Blue Bulls (@BlueBullsRugby) October 24, 2026
BULLS NOW SECOND
That being said, the Bulls win did send them into second spot on the log with one game left before the November break.
And to be fair to them, they weren’t helped by disruptions in the backline when both Sango Xamlashe and Cheswill Jooste were off with an HIA, and they needed to reconfigure their backline.
This is normally the time when Willie le Roux would have played an integral part, but he was being rested this week, so the Bulls needed to find another way to win.
And win they did, although it was a really shaky finish after such a positive start and, to be fair, the Bulls only have themselves to blame.
There was a moment late in the second half when Stuart McCluskey was taken out by Dylan Maart where, had he been an inch infield, Ulster would have scored and gone on to win the game.
Those inches are often the difference between good and bad seasons and Ulster’s record now reads drawn two, lost two from four games, when in reality they have been a lot better than that.
They provided the Bulls with plenty of headaches in the afternoon, but again the Bulls didn’t help themselves either.
PENALTIES COST BULLS
A string of five penalties conceded either side of halftime led to two tries and Ulster not only getting on the scoreboard and into the game, but growing in confidence as well.
And that was all after the Bulls' forward power looked almost unstoppable in the first half hour of the game. Twice they were held up over the line but while they scored after 20 seconds last weekend, this week it was after 110 that returning captain Marcel Coetzee went over at the back of a driving maul for the first try.
Coetzee was to score again in the first half, after a turnover ball gave Handre Pollard the opportunity to get a 50-22, and the lineout led to the Bulls bludgeoning the Ulster line, with Coetzee not to be stopped.
Ulster can't stop the Vodacom Bulls captain 🐂🔵 Marcell Coetzee goes over for a first-half brace 👏 📺 Stream #VURC on DStv: https://t.co/0P0NNhnwKw https://t.co/DEGUzuXC2z
— SuperSport Rugby (@SSRugby) October 24, 2026
In between Elrigh Louw went over as well - this time from a midfield maul set up by the Bulls' forwards that met little resistance and Louw claimed the try.
There were several other times the Bulls threatened, but then conspired to work against themselves, most notably a beautiful break by Jooste where Louw took out the defender beyond the ruck.
There were lost lineouts in the 22 metre area and poor kicks, and a general lack of discipline that was costly all round.
POOR KICK LED TO ULSTER’S FIRST TRY
It was one of these bad kicks - an aimless punt down the middle from Luan Giliomee that led to Ulster’s first try.
Giliomee looked threatening on attack, but it is clear he still needs to work on his kicking game at this level. That kick, however, was run back at the Bulls, using the hands to ensure Chay Mullins was put into space and scored in the corner.
This all happened a minute before halftime, and then Ulster followed it up after the break after the Bulls conceded a string of penalties to go on the back foot, and eventually Dave McCann went over from close range.
The scoreline had gone from 21-0 to 21-14 with the Bulls not offering much from their side, and backpedalling because of the penalties.
And it got a bit worse when a replay showed Coetzee had made head contact in a tackle in the lead-up to McCann’s try.
Thankfully for the Bulls it was only 10 minutes in the bin for their captain, who returned to put in more hard graft.
The TMO takes a closer look, and it's head contact on Ben Donnell 📸 Coetzee will spend 10 minutes in the Sin Bin 🟨 📺 Stream #VURC on DStv: https://t.co/0P0NNho4A4 https://t.co/oDpaoqHCIO
— SuperSport Rugby (@SSRugby) October 24, 2026
But while Ulster were growing in confidence, the Bulls seemed content to be in a holding pattern, with Pollard putting over a penalty while Coetzee was off the field.
ULSTER ALWAYS THREATENED
However, another double blow of penalties opened enough space that Mullins got his second in the opposite corner where he got his first, and suddenly Ulster were within three and threatening to take the lead with 17 minutes to go.
The Bulls found their feet again thanks to the introduction of Cameron Hanekom and Cobus Wiese from the bench and punched up the middle, taking players backwards before Johan Grobbelaar surged over the line.
But even that was cancelled out when Stuart McCluskey went over with 10 minutes to go to make it a five point game.
Bosch missed his first penalty kick at the posts and the Bulls looked at times that they were playing more for survival than for the win, but they had enough in them to claim a penalty in almost the same spot that Bosch missed his first one. This time, to the relief of the Loftus fans, he didn’t miss.
But while the scoreline may look more comfortable than it was, and the Bulls have won three of their four games thus far in the URC, and four out of five for the season, they will know this was by no means a performance to be proud of.
And they will also know winning when struggling to play at their own level means you get to move forward without the pressure of the scoreboard. And you can fix the things that frustrate you from a position of power.
So they will wait for Scarlets next week and know they can and will be expected to play a lot better.
SCORERS
Vodacom Bulls - tries: Marcel Coetzee (2), Elrigh Louw, Johan Grobbelaar. Conversions: Handre Pollard (4). Penalties: Pollard, Curwin Bosch.
Ulster - tries: Chay Mullins (2), Dave McCann, Stuart McCluskey. Conversions: Jack Murphy (3)