17 October 2026
The Vodacom Bulls thrashed Stade Français 56-20 in a high-octane Investec Champions Cup clash at Loftus Versfeld. The Pretoria outfit dominated the collisions and ran in eight tries to secure a commanding bonus-point victory in front of their home crowd.
The hosts fired the opening salvo just 20 seconds into the encounter. Cheswill Jooste pounced on a deft grubber kick in the corner to dot down. Handré Pollard added the extra two points from the tee to establish an early 7-0 lead.
Stade Français replied shortly after with an Ihaia West penalty to get on the scoreboard at 7-3. However, the Bulls launched wave after wave of attack, pinning the visitors deep in their own half. The pressure told when lock Cobus Wiese crashed over from close range after 16 minutes, with Pollard converting to stretch the advantage to 14-3.
The French outfit kept themselves in striking distance through a Louis Foursans-Bourdette penalty in the 32nd minute. Despite having three potential scores chalked off by the officials, the Bulls refused to take their foot off the gas.
An unrelenting assault on the tryline finally paid off in the 36th minute. Eighthman Cameron Hanekom barged his way over for the hosts' third five-pointer. Pollard maintained his perfect record off the tee to send the teams into the tunnel with the Bulls leading 21-6 at halftime.
Stade Français showed immense fight early in the second stanza. Jacques Botha's powerhouse countered for the visitors' opening try in the 44th minute, converted by Foursans-Bourdette. The Bulls hit back instantly through flanker Marco van Staden, who rumbled over, making it 28-13.
The Parisians refused to go quietly and hit back ten minutes later. Petero Mailulu rounded off a sustained period of pressure to score, with Foursans-Bourdette adding the extras. This narrow margin did not last long as the Pretoria side found their second wind.
Jeandré Rudolph sparked the late blitz in the 62nd minute with a spectacular individual effort. The loose forward hacked a clever grubber ahead, chased hard, and regathered cleanly to slide over. Pollard converted before hooker Jan-Hendrik Wessels crossed the whitewash five minutes later to blow the scoreline out to 42-20.
With the French defence completely out of gas, Jooste turned on the afterburners. The blistering winger sliced through for two quick-fire tries in the dying minutes to complete his hat-trick. Pollard locked in the final conversion to cap off a clinical 56-20 masterclass on the highveld.
Scorers:
Vodacom Bulls: Tries: Cheswill Jooste (3), Cobus Wiese, Paul de Wet, Cameron Hanekom, Marco van Staden, Jeandre Rudolph, Jan-Hendrik Wessels. Conversions: Handre Pollard (8).
Stade Français: Tries: Jacques Botha, Petero Mailulu. Conversion: Louis Foursans-Bourdette (2). Penalties: Ihaia West, Louis Foursans-Bourdette.
Teams:
Vodacom Bulls: 15 Luan Giliomee, 14 Sebastian de Klerk, 13 Sango Xamlashe, 12 Harold Vorster, 11 Cheswill Jooste, 10 Handre Pollard, 9 Paul de Wet, 8 Cameron Hanekom, 7 Elrigh Louw (c), 6 Marco van Staden, 5 JF van Heerden, 4 Cobus Wiese, 3 Khutha Mchunu, 2 Jan-Hendrik Wessels, 1 Alu Tshakweni. Replacements: 16 Johan Grobbelaar, 17 Gerhard Steenekamp, 18 Francois Klopper, 19 Jaco Grobbelaar, 20 Jeandre Rudolph, 21 Embrose Papier, 22 Stravino Jacobs, 23 Willie le Roux.
Stade Français: 15 Leo Monin, 14 Aisake Nawaqadrua, 13 Freddy Duguivalu, 12 Julien Delbouis, 11 Lester Etien, 10 Ihaia West, 9 Martin Blum, 8 Juan-Martin Scelzo (c), 7 Mathieu Hirigoyen, 6 Pierre Huguet, 5 Fabrice Metz, 4 Jacques Botha , 3 Moses Alo-Emile, 2 Alvaro Garcia Albo, 1 Thomas Bue. Replacements: 16 Ethan Tia, 17 Sergo Abramishvili, 18 Braxton Asi, 19 Petero Mailulu, 20 Setareki Turagacoke, 21 Louis Foursans-Bourdette, 22 Samuel Ezeala, 23 Rufus McLean.