Bulls continue their charge up the URC table by trouncing Dragons
The Bulls continued their charge towards a possible URC playoff place by claiming an emphatic 55-20 victory over the Dragons in Pretoria. The Dragons conceded eight tries at Loftus Versfeld, although they also delivered three of their own in an entertaining if one-sided encounter.
Full-back Kurt-Lee Arendse and centre Lionel Mapoe each claimed doubles, while there were also Bulls tries for number eight Arno Botha, hooker Johan Grobbelaar, flanker Marcell Coetzee and substitute Zak Burger.
Chris Smith kicked five conversions and a penalty, and Morne Steyn converted Burger’s score, while the Dragons posted tries for wings Rio Dyer and Jared Rosser, plus fly-half Sam Davies, who also booted a penalty and conversion.
It took only four minutes for the Bulls to display their enviable power up front, and although the Dragons initially thwarted a driving maul, they could not clear and Botha claimed a try that Smith converted.
Smith extended the Bulls’ advantage through a ninth-minute penalty before the Dragons exerted pressure without reward as they looked to reduce their early deficit. Dragons showed a commendable approach, looking to attack from deep at times, and they were not flustered by the Bulls’ physical approach, with Davies kicking a 24th-minute penalty.
But the Bulls always looked capable of moving up a gear, and they did so in ruthless fashion by scoring two tries in three minutes. Mapoe rounded off a slick move to touch down between the posts, then scrum-half Embrose Papier made a touchline break before sending an unmarked Arendse over. Smith converted both scores, and the Bulls were suddenly out of sight, leading by 21 points midway through the second quarter.
The Bulls were in relentless pursuit of a bonus point, and it arrived two minutes before the break courtesy of Grobbelaar, who touched down following another imposing drive by hungry Bulls forwards.
Smith’s fourth successful conversion took the Bulls past 30 points, but the Dragons conjured a consolation through a well-worked move as Davies’ inside pass was collected by Dyer, who sprinted clear to score and make it 31-8 at half-time.
Dyer’s score lifted the Dragons, and they pounced again two minutes after the restart when Davies intercepted a Bulls pass, found centre Adam Warren in support, and he sent Rosser sprinting clear. Dragons number eight Ollie Griffiths went off injured, and he had barely left the field before the Bulls struck again through a mesmeric score by Arendse that saw him leave defenders trailing from 60 metres out.
Davies claimed a third try for the visitors, but the Bulls quickly resumed normal service through touchdowns from Coetzee, Mapoe and Burger that underlined their URC dominance.
Comments on RugbyPass
We’re building a bridge but can't agree where the river is.
2 Go to commentsfirst no arms shoulder or helmet tackle into his rib cage is going to be so very painful even to watch. go back to RU mate.
1 Go to commentsBulls by 5. Plus another 50.
3 Go to commentsJohan Goosen avatar. Cute. Surely someone at RP knows how to do a google image search?
3 Go to commentsCan’t these games play a little earlier? Asking for a friend.
3 Go to commentsIt’s impressive that we can see huge stadiums with attendance in the 40 000 to 50 000 region. It shows how popular this competition is becoming. What is even more impressive is the massive growth in broadcast viewership. The URC is one of the two best leagues in the World, the other being the Top14.
7 Go to commentsChristie is not Sottish, like the majority of the Scotland team.
2 Go to commentsHold the phone, decline over-rated. Is it a one game, dead cat bounce or the real thing? Has the Penney dropped? Stay tuned.
45 Go to commentsTotally deserved win for the Crusaders Far smarter than the Chiefs who seem to be avoiding the basics when it matters Hotham showed them what was missing and Hannah seems a real find - a tad light but that can be fixed over time
8 Go to commentsGreat insight into the performance culture with Sarries and I predict Christie will be a fixture in the Scotland team now for some time to come. However, he is slightly missing his own point around Scotland “being soft” when he cites physicality examples in defence of that slight. The issue is much closer to the example he referenced around feeling off before a game but being told “it doesn’t matter, you can still play well” by Farrell. Until Scotland can get their psyche in that square, they will carry on folding under extreme pressure…
2 Go to comments> We are having to adapt, evolve and innovate more than when we were in Super Rugby where there was only really one style that everybody had to play to gain the most success. Have = able to? Interesting what that one style might be? I thought SA sides still had bad tours now, or at least bad schedule, months away? Those extra few hours flights have to be a killer though, no surprise to see their sides doing so badly at the start of the season each year. I wouldn’t enjoy that unfairness as a supporter.
7 Go to commentsThe problem for NZ, and Aus, is they ripped up the SR model and lost a massive chunk of revenue that hasn’t been replaced. Don’t forget SA clubs went North because they were left with no choice, Argy unceremoniously binned and Japan cast adrift. Now SR wasn’t perfect, far from it, but they’ve jumped into something without an effective plan, so far, to replace what they’ve lost. The biggest revenue potential now lies in Japan but it won’t be easy or quick to unlock, they are incredibly insular in culture as a nation. In the meantime, there is a serious time bomb sitting under SH rugby and if it happens then the current financial challenges will look like a picnic. IF the Boks follow their provincial teams and head north then it’s revenue meltdown. Not guaranteed to happen but the status quo is a very odd hybrid, with the Boks pointing one way and the clubs pointing the other way. And for as long as that remains then the threat is real.
45 Go to commentsI think Etene has had some good tuition, likely while at the Warriors to be a professional that helped his rugby jump, but he was certainly thrown in the deep end way too early. Should have arguably 20 less SR caps, and therefor a way better record that he does at his age, but his development would have been fast tracked by the need to satiate his signing away from league. Again, credit to him and others that he has done it so well. Easy to fall over under that pressure in the big leagues like that but he kept at it when I myself wasn’t sure he was good enough.
1 Go to commentsAwesome story. I wonder what a bigger American (SA) scene might have mean for Brex.
1 Go to comments“Johnny McNicholl and the Crusaders” save a Penney. Who has been in camp this week and showed them how to play?
8 Go to commentsSo, reports of the Crusaders’ demise / terminal decline are perhaps just - slightly - premature/exaggerated…? 🤔 Will we see a deep-dive into that by the estimable Rugbypass scribes, and maybe one or two mea culpas? Thought not.
8 Go to comments1. The Chiefs are rudderless without DMac, which enhances his AB chances 2. Chiefs pack are powderpuffs. The hard men arent there anymore 3. They had their golden title chance last yr and wont threaten this yr. Gone in second round of playoffs.
8 Go to commentsHonestly, why did you have to publish such a foolish article the day they play us? 😂
45 Go to comments> They are not standalone entities. They are linked to an amateur association which holds the FFR licence that allows the professional side to compete in the league. That’s a great rule. This looks like the chicken or egg professional scenario. How long is it going to be before the club can break even (if that is even a thing in French rugby)? If the locals aren’t into well it would be good to se them drop to amateur level (is it that far?). Hope they can reset from this level and be more practical, there will be a time when they can rebuild (if France has there setup right).
1 Go to commentsWhat about changing the ball? To something heavier and more pointed that bounces unpredictably. Not this almost round football used these days.
35 Go to comments