The Vodacom Bulls climbed temporarily to the top of the Vodacom United Rugby Championship log after a hard-fought, gritty 18-12 win over Cardiff in their match in the Welsh capital on Friday night.
Two tries rocked Cardiff early on but from then on the Bulls had to defend like demons and while a lot of decisions didn’t go their way, they ground out a hard-fought win against a spirited side with a partisan crowd behind them.
But as the dust settled, the Bulls would leave Cardiff with four points, and knowing that in their three away games they have racked up 10 points, with the narrow loss to Ulster the only blemish on their touring schedule.
The gritty win may go a long way later on in the season when the URC gets to the business end and while it wasn’t always the best rugby and the Bulls at times struggled on the artificial pitch, they did lay a marker in terms of self-belief.
It is hard to think of a similar dominant Bulls defensive performance in recent times, and while Cardiff did score two tries in the game, for large parts of it, it was the Bulls defence that looked more than comfortable at handling their attack.
On more than one occasion the Bulls stunted the attack with a turnover penalty while their scrum - especially in the second half with Gerhard Steenekamp and Johan Grobbelaar joining Wilco Louw up front, was in menacing form.
Cardiff may have had most of the possession in the second half, but the Bulls scrum sent out a chilling message, and ensured every setpiece basically turned into a Bulls penalty.
It was understandable to be a bit disappointed after the Bulls opened the game with two blistering tries, that they didn’t plant the knockout blow, but sometimes these games, especially on artificial pitches in foreign stadiums, need to find a response that wins the game no matter what.
Coach Jake White will be very happy that his side found that response, and will praise their defensive systems on the night.
But the way the Bulls finished the game was a far cry from how they started.
The first try - which could easily be a contender for try of the season - rocked the home crowd after just 10 minutes.
What started with an audacious long pass by Devon Williams, found Stedman Gans on the wing and the midfielder stepped inside the defence to offload to David Kriel. Kriel’s well-timed chip over the last defender found a flying Embrose Papier, who scored the opening try in sensational fashion.
This was followed a few minutes later by a poor pass being scooped into the hands of Sebastian de Klerk, who didn’t need a second invitation to run 50 metres to score and put the Bulls 12-0 up.
Cardiff came roaring back, and it wasn’t a surprise that several phases on the Bulls line eventually stretched the defence enough for Mason Grady to go in at the corner.
At 12-5 at the break, the Bulls were taking some strain, but they started to play a lot smarter, more clinical rugby in the second half.
As Cardiff ran at them more, they targeted the breakdown, scrambled on cover defence and won some crucial penalties to stop the home side’s momentum.
Chris Smith put over an early penalty in the second half to give them some breathing space, but the game became close again after a controversial try where Ray Lee-Lo picked the ball up from a ruck and ran straight through without a hand being put on him.
The reffing team determined that Lee-Lo wasn’t part of a ruck, even though five players were on the ground and therefore didn’t have to be behind the ball when he picked it up, awarding the try and giving the home side a lot more hope.
The Bulls bench made a telling impact as they came on and some impressive second half performances, including Cameron Hanekom’s cameo and Ruan Nortje’s driving force in the team were some of the standout moments that helped the Bulls get the victory.
But none were more impressive than the scrum, which helped Louw to the man of the match award, and sent a clear message out to the rest of the competition at the same time.
And while a bit close for comfort, the Bulls will be incredibly happy with a second victory away from home.
Scorers
Cardiff - tries: Mason Grady, Ray Lee-Lo. Conversion: Tinus de Beer.
Vodacom Bulls - tries: Embrose Papier, Sebastian de Klerk. Conversion: Chris Smith. Penalties: Smith (2)