Bulls 47

Ulster 21

Brenden Nel reports from Loftus Versfeld Stadium

SPRINGBOK VETERAN WILLIE le Roux put on an attacking masterclass as his Vodacom Bulls side smashed Ulster to complete a seven-try romp, winning 47-21 in their United Rugby Championship match at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday.

Le Roux’s tactical nuance, and the combination of power and pace from the Bulls, linked up with the altitude advantage to ensure the Bulls used their home ground to good advantage and sealed the win with three second-half tries, while leading throughout.

Ulster’s best moment came from Jacob Stockdale in the first half, where a solo try saw the power of the winger in full flight, while two late tries made a one-sided scoreline look much more respectable for Richie Murphy’s side.

Ulster struggled with the Bulls scrum, who won several penalties and forced a yellow card for tighhead Corrie Barrett, as they kept the pressure up in the set-piece.

The home side had a magnificent start, crossing the try-line for the first time in the sixth minute as Springbok winger Kurt-Lee Arendse found himself at first receiver, with too much space for the scrum-capped flyer, and twisted his way through two tackles to stretch over and score.

Ulster hit back almost immediately in sensational fashion after a magnificent run by winger Stockdale, who first beat Arendse, then chipped over the last line of defence and collected to score a try reminiscent of his 2018 best.

If there was an example of Le Roux’s incredible skill, a turnover ball in the 14th minute in the Bulls’ 22 was shovelled back to him, and he responded in style with a kick pass to Boeta Chamberlain on the wing, and with one defender to beat, Boeta passed inside to David Kriel to score.

Johan Grobbelaar made the advantage count by scoring from a rolling maul shortly afterwards and sending the home side 21-7 up at the break.

The Bulls were quick out of the blocks and much more clinical in the second half, scoring in the second minute when Le Roux put Kriel through a half gap, and in the momentum, Kriel offloaded to Canan Moodie to go over for an easy-looking try.

Cameron Hanekom ended the game as a contest with a try from a lineout maul that took the scoreline to 33-7 and even though Le Roux put Moodie through for a try that was disallowed because it was judged to be obstruction, the Bulls put the hammer down and scored just afterwards as they outflanked the Ulster defence and several players were on Chamberlain’s outside, only for the pivot to be left alone to run in untouched.

Ulster sparked a bit of life to put themselves into double figures with two late tries in three minutes, as first Ben Carson bumped off Aphiwe Dyantyi in a hit worthy of a replay to score on the one wing and then Stewart Moore finished off a length-of-the-field try to give the scoreline some respectability.

Springbok flanker Elrigh Louw ended the contest in the 78th minute with a bullocking try for the hosts.

Scorers:

Vodacom Bulls – tries: Kurt-Lee Arendse, David Kriel, Johan Grobbelaar, Canan Moodie Cameron Hanekom, Boeta Chamberlain, Elrigh Louw. Conversions: Boeta Chamberlain (3), David Kriel (2), Keagan Johannes.

Ulster – tries: Jacob Stockdale, Ben Carson, Stewart Moore. Conversions: Nathan Doak, James Humphreys (2)

VODACOM BULLS: Willie le Roux, Sebastian de Klerk, Canan Moodie, David Kriel, Kurt-Lee Arendse, Boeta Chamberlain, Embrose Papier, Gerhard Steenekamp, Johan Grobbelaar, Wilco Louw, Cobus Wiese, Ruan Nortje (CAPT), Marco van Staden, Elrigh Louw, Cameron Hanekom

Replacements: Akker van der Merwe, Jan-Hendrik Wessels, Francois Klopper, Sintu Manjezi, Celimpilo Gumede, Keagan Johannes, Stedman Gans, Aphiwe Dyantyi

ULSTER: Mike Lowry, Werner Kok, Stewart Moore, Ben Carson, Jacob Stockdale, Aidan Morgan, Nathan Doak, Andrew Warwick, James McCormick, Corrie Barrett, Iain Henderson (CAPT), Charlie Irvine, James McNabney, Sean Reffell, David McCann

Replacements: Tadgh McElroy, Eric O’Sullivan, Tom O’Toole, Alan O’Connor, Nick Timoney, Dave Shanahan, James Humphreys, Ben Moxham