Bulls survive Edinburgh onslaught on home turf

Edinburgh’s South African-born fullback Henry Immelmann missed a penalty after the hooter that would have given his side a famous win over the Vodacom Bulls in their Vodacom United Rugby Championship match at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday. The Bulls held on to win 33-31.

The final penalty, which came in controversial circumstances, came after winger Stravino Jacobs put in an exceptional tackle on Mark Bennett, stopping him dead in his tracks.

While Bennett’s neck whipped back, replays showed that Jacobs hit him on the chest, after Bennett was ducking down, and the impact of the big hit caused the neck to snap back.

The problem came in the conversation between referee Adam Jones and television ref Sean Brickell, both from Wales as Brickell continued to press Jones that the impact was “forceful on the chest area” - which Jones then replied was legal. While both determined there was no impact to the head area, they then decided that the shoulder went up to the head area, which meant a penalty.

If Immelmann had kicked the penalty, it would have been a poor end to a great, entertaining game that gave nine tries and would have been settled on controversy, not on form.

#BULvEDI FT: Dramatic victory for the Vodacom Bulls as they narrowly beat Edinburgh 33-31 at Loftus Versfeld. Important win for Jake White's men. Well done, manne! #TrueToTheBlue #BullsHeard @Vodacom #URC pic.twitter.com/gYa9yfo7Yo

— Official Blue Bulls (@BlueBullsRugby) September 24, 2022

There is a real argument that the television match official currently has too much input, and this was the perfect example of a TMO trying to convince the referee of a card that simply wasn’t there.

The controversy put a sour taste on the game, which showed how dangerous Edinburgh are and how naive the Bulls were on their home turf. In the end the result was probably justified, and would have been a good ending if Morne Steyn’s 78th minute penalty was the end of it all.

Still, Edinburgh had to get credit, they converted their tries when it mattered, outscored the Bulls five tries to four and soaked up the pressure well.

Under Jones’s management of the game they got away with murder at the breakdown, and managed to slow down the Bulls' ball and control the tempo of the game. While the Bulls had preached a tempo game all week, it was Edinburgh who controlled the tempo and slowed the game down at will.

The amount of stoppages in the first half was a perfect example of this, as Edinburgh conceded almost 10 penalties in the half, but had as many injury stoppages to stop the Bulls' momentum.

While from a Bulls point of view it may have been frustrating, it was also a lesson in game management and credit must go to Edinburgh for getting away with it when it mattered.

Considering the Bulls surged to an early 15-0 lead, the way Edinburgh controlled the tempo from then on and exploited the Bulls' mistakes shows just how good they are as a developing unit.

QUIET COMEBACK FOR GOOSEN

The Bulls were seething at the start, and hit the front early on with Johan Grobbelaar finishing a beautiful switch with Marcell Coetzee to power his way over the line. Elrigh Louw followed him onto the scoresheet seven minutes later with a try as the Bulls led 15-0 without breaking a sweat.

But then the momentum changed, and Edinburgh used their chances well, first spreading it wide to exploit the poor defence out wide as Charlie Savala went in at the corner.

Johan Goosen had a quiet comeback, and looked very rusty in his 50 minutes on the field, and while he can’t be blamed for some of the Edinburgh tries, it was clear the Bulls fullback wasn’t on his game and it impacted on the defence out wide.

Darcy Graham scored his first before halftime, but it was the Bulls who surged forward at the start of the second half to see Cornal Hendricks score in the corner 40 seconds into the half.

Graham got his second, as Goosen left the outside channel open and could only watch as Graham got the ball in space and went in at the corner.

It was clear Edinburgh were getting the upper hand in momentum and the naivety of the Bulls was clear to see when Immelmann missed a penalty that hit the post, and the Bulls were caught napping, as a chasing Graham kneed the ball forward and pounced for an opportunist try that should never have been.

Jacobs scored just after the hour mark and Smith’s boot put the Bulls ahead, but it was Edinburgh who hit back with an exceptional backline try, with Damian Hoyland putting them ahead for the first time in the game.

The Bulls thought they had won it when Steyn put over the penalty to make it 33-31 with less than a minute to go.

But then the drama happened, and the Bulls sat in disbelief, until Immelmann pulled his shot wide, and brought the smiles back to Loftus.

But also a realisation that the Bulls have a lot of work to do if they are to go one better than their final spot last season.

Scorers

Vodacom Bulls - tries: Johan Grobbelaar, Elrigh Louw, Cornal Hendricks, Stravino Jacobs. Conversions: Chris Smith (2). Penalties: Smith (3).

Edinburgh - tries: Charlie Savala, Darcy Graham (3), Damian Hoyland. Conversions: Mark Bennett (3).