The Bulls, with their scrum at the forefront, were way too strong for the Dragons on Saturday as they surged to a comfortable 55-15 victory in their final round-robin United Rugby Championship (URC) match.
In front of a sparse crowd at Loftus Versfeld, the Pretoria side entertained with their overall performance and produced a strong display up front, coupled with some nifty attacking in the backline to run their opponents to pieces.
They scored nine tries and secured second place on the URC log with the win.
The Bulls, commemorating the legacy of former player Cornal Hendricks, who passed away this week, played some brilliant rugby.
Apart from the first 10 minutes after halftime, they made their visitors look like an ordinary side right through the duel.
Those 10 minutes where the Dragons scored two tries, and the injury replacement of lock Cobus Wiese in the first half were the only blemishes on the Bulls’ overall game, and director of rugby Jake White will be pleased with how his side went, even after he made a couple of personnel changes for the duel.
While the platform was laid with the four tries scored in the first half, Hendricks would’ve been happy with the way they turned on the slick offloads and running rugby in the second half.
Those three tries, when White rang the replacements, showed that even if the Bulls bring on the new players, they can keep up the pressure on their opponents.
Winger Sergeal Petersen scored two of the tries in that time, while replacement loose forward Marcell Coetzee rounded off the third shortly after the kickoff that the home side received after Petersen’s second score.
It was a lovely running move when replacement scrumhalf Bernard van der Linde made a break, giving the ball out to Petersen before he found Van der Linde again, with captain Ruan Nortjé setting Coetzee away.
In the first half, it was the two tries within the first 10 minutes by David Kriel and Wiese that laid the platform for the home side’s dominance.
White will be happy with the accuracy of his side, especially on the attack.
They used the opportunities that came their way and had a pretty decent conversion rate when it came to rounding off their chances.
They dominated the scrums and had some strong rolling mauls too with hooker Akker van der Merwe scoring both of his five-pointers at the back of devastating drives.
Fetcher Nama Xaba stamped his authority at the breakdown, winning numerous penalties for the home side, while he also put in some strong tackles.
He played like someone who had a point to prove, and his performance will surely give White some food for thought ahead of the playoffs.
Replacement hooker Johan Grobbelaar took over some responsibility in the breakdown steals when he joined the fray.
The intensity by the side throughout the clash will boost the Bulls ahead of their home quarter-final.
Yes, there are certain areas they need to fix, especially soft penalties and moments where they let the Dragons through, coupled with some handling errors.
But for the most part, White will be happy, even after resting some frontline players.
His team dominated and will have all the momentum going into their next game.
They also honoured the legacy of Hendricks with a performance that would’ve had the former Bok and Bulls star smiling down on them.
Points-Scorers
Bulls 55 – Tries: David Kriel, Cobus Wiese, Sebastiaan de Klerk, Akker van der Merwe (2), Sergeal Petersen (2), Marcell Coetzee, Devon Williams. Conversions: Keagan Johannes (6).
Dragons 15 – Tries: Huw Anderson, Rhodri Williams, Lewis Morgan.
