Bulls enter play-offs on a high with nine-try demotion of Dragons

Bulls cemented their place in the United Rugby Championship play-offs after putting the Dragons to the sword with a dominant 55-15 victory.

The hosts ran riot with nine tries to consolidate second place in the table and ensure they will host a quarter-final at the Loftus Versfeld Stadium in two weeks’ time, while the Dragons suffered a 17th defeat of the season which leaves them cut adrift at the bottom.

It did not take long for the Bulls to make their mark, scoring twice in the opening seven minutes through David Kriel and Cobus Wiese, and they secured a four-try bonus point before the break when Sebastian de Klerk ran over before Akker van der Merwe crossed on the stroke of half-time.

The Dragons were second best in the first period but responded with two tries of their own in the second.

Huw Anderson ran over two minutes after the interval following a breakdown penalty and their second came in sensational fashion as Rhodri Williams collected from his own kick to put 10 points on the board.

But, any hopes of an unlikely Dragons comeback were snuffed out when Van der Merwe added his second of the afternoon and a procession of Bulls tries followed.

Four came in the space of 11 minutes, with Sergeal Petersen crashing over twice before Marcell Coetzee and Devon Williams got in on the act to stretch their advantage to 45. Lewis Morgan’s final try of the game for the Dragons was nothing more than a consolation.