An intercept try three minutes from time by Vodacom Bulls captain David Kriel settled an ill-tempered Vodacom United Rugby Championship match, giving the home side a 39-31 win over defending champions Leinster at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday night.
In a game that had several questionmarks about some of the refereeing and TMO calls, the Vodacom Bulls were both hero and villain as they again scored a plethora of tries but leaked too many points for comfort.
Still, with the win Johan Ackermann’s side go top of the table with two wins from two, although they have more than kept the scorers busy over the past two weeks and will need to tighten up a lot more as they head to Ireland to start a three week tour.
They will have some of their Springboks back for the tour, but Ackermann won’t be happy with the defensive effort which saw them first take control of the game, lead 22-10 but then surrender that lead to three quick tries in the second half, and then scramble to win the game.
ILL-TEMPERED GAME
Kriel’s intercept came at a very tense time in the game, which was as ill-tempered as it gets in the modern game, with Leinster’s players consistently trying to be in the Bulls’ players faces.
Strangely, after the Kriel try they won a penalty on the halfway spot because one of the Bulls players “patted 14 on the back” in celebrating the try, but Sam Prendergast couldn’t kick the 50m bomb.
Then, to make things even more tense for Bulls fans, the assistant referee AJ Jacobs told Willie le Roux time was up, and he kicked the ball out, only for referee Adam Jones to overrule him and say there was still six seconds on the clock.
The comedy of errors only added to the drama where TMO Gianluca Gnecci decided a massive head-on collision from Will Connors on JJ Theron was adjudged to only be a yellow when the force alone probably warranted a red. To add to the confusion, Theron didn’t go off with an HIA either and played on.
ATTACK EXCEPTIONAL
Still, while it added to the drama, and purists may argue about the lack of defence, the Bulls attack was certainly exceptional when it got going. As good as it was, so bad was the defence at times, and certainly there is some way for the team to go.
They have now conceded 71 points in two games, and while it has been masked by their 92 points scored, any coach won’t be happy with those stats.
Leinster were never going to be as bad as the 35-0 loss to the Stormers last weekend suggested, and had strengthened their side. Considering they lost last season to the Bulls at Loftus because of a last minute penalty, they have been able to be a bogey side for the Bulls in the past.
But it all started exceptionally well for the home side, with Keagan Johannes stabbing a kick pass through to Sebastian de Klerk on the wing to score. De Klerk created the second after fielding a poor kick, breaking the first tackle and using his speed to surge downfield before putting Kriel away for the first of his two tries.
Connors’ yellow seemed to stiffen Leinster’s resolve and it wasn’t long thereafter, a man down in numbers, that they scored through prop Thomas Clarkson from close range.
12 POINT LEAD AT BREAK
Johannes added a penalty before Gumede added their third on the stroke of halftime, taking the final pick and go to dive over and give his side a 12-point cushion at the break.
But something happened at halftime to ignite Leinster’s fire, and they started incredibly well, taking the lead through Hugh Cooney and then a field-long try by Tommy O’Brien. Suddenly the score was 24-22 and the Bulls were floundering.
Willie le Roux started and finished an excellent counter-attacking try, using the space on offer to stretch Leinster and reclaim the lead before sustained pressure saw Scott Penny grab the lead back by going over from close range.
After stretching Leinster again, Stravino Jacobs took a kick-pass from Willie le Roux to finish off some good pressure, and retake the lead by a point, but things were getting tenser by the minute and Leinster kept attacking.
Kriel’s try settled the game, although the drama continued afterwards.
But as the dust settled and while there are many work-ons for Ackermann and his coaches, they are two from two and have finished their opening leg of the tournament on top.
And can leave for Ireland with confidence.
Scorers
Vodacom Bulls - tries: Sebastian de Klerk, David Kriel (2), Celimpilo Gumede, Willie le Roux, Stravino Jacobs. Conversions: Keagan Johannes (2), David Kriel. Penalty: Johannes
Leinster - tries: Tom Clarkson, Hugh Cooney, Tommy O’Brien, Scott Penny. Conversions: Sam Prendergast (4). Penalty: Prendergast