A valiant, short-handed fightback from the Vodacom Bulls XV fell short as the Airlink Pumas escaped Loftus Versfeld with a breathless 33-31 victory in their Carling Currie Cup clash.
A catastrophic first half saw the Bulls reduced to 12 men at one stage. Yet, they somehow fought their way back from a 19-0 deficit to set up a grandstand finish, leaving fans at Loftus completely captivated by the drama.
The Airlink Pumas wasted absolutely no time asserting dominance. Fly-half Nevaldo Fleurs pulled the strings early, setting up winger Alfondso Isaacs for a try in just the 4th minute. Less than ten minutes later, Pumas captain Willie Engelbrecht barged over the whitewash, and with Fleurs adding both conversions, the visitors coasted into a swift 14-00 lead.
Then, the match descended into disciplinary chaos for the home side as flanker Abongile Nonkontwana was sent to the bin for a dangerous shoulder tackle, an infringement later upgraded to a 20-minute red card.
Three minutes later, the Pumas took immediate advantage of the extra space, and lock JJ Scheepers powered over for the Pumas' third try.
After 23 minutes of play the Bulls caught a lifeline when a deliberate knock-on by Alfondso Isaacs resulted in a Penalty Try and a yellow card for the Pumas winger.
Just as the Bulls looked to consolidate, a complete refereeing crackdown arrived in the 32nd minute. Hooker Siphosethu Mnebelele and prop Kebotile Maake were sent to the sin bin in rapid succession. Moments later, Cephas van Biljon joined them, leaving the Bulls to defend with an astonishing 12 players on the pitch.
Remarkably, the 12-man Bulls held firm against the Pumas' onslaught until the halftime whistle, retreating to the sheds trailing 19-7.
With players trickling back from the sin bin, the Bulls emerged for the second half like a team possessed. Prop Johnathan Eloff crashed over in the 43rd minute, followed closely by a stellar try from hooker Siphosethu Mnebelele, who immediately redeemed his first-half yellow card. Skipper Keagan Johannes locked down the conversions, suddenly levelling the scores at 21-21.
The Pumas, desperate to stop the bleeding, turned to their bench. Substitute hooker Jan-Henning Campher proved to be the game-changer, scoring off a clinical rolling maul in the 54th minute.
The Bulls refused to go quietly. Sandi Msengana pulled a try back in the 69th minute, but a missed conversion left the hosts trailing by two.
Campher then crossed for his second try of the afternoon in the 74th minute, which looked to put the game out of reach at 33-26. In a frantic final act, Bulls full-back Hakeem Kunene showed incredible pace to score in the 76th minute. However, the tough sideline conversion missed the target, allowing the Pumas to desperately run out the final clock and secure a famous 33-31 away victory.
Scorers:
Vodacom Bulls: Tries: Hakeem Kunene, Siphosethu Mnebelele, Sandi Msengana, Johnathan Eloff, Penalty try. Conversions: Keagan Johannes (2).
Airlink Pumas: Tries: Jan-Henning Campher, JJ Scheepers, Willie Engelbrecht, Alfondso Isaacs. Conversions: Nevaldo Fleurs (4).
Teams:
Vodacom Bulls XV: 15 Hakeem Kunene, 14 Riyaad Bam, 13 Demitre Erasmus, 12 Christiaan Vlok, 11 Lindsey Jansen, 10 Devon Williams, 9 Keagan Johannes (captain), 8 Dieter Schubert, 7 Abongile Nonkontwana, 6 Kebotile Maake, 5 Sintu Manjezi, 4 Johnathan Eloff, 3 Jean Erasmus, 2 Siphosethu Mnebelele, 1 Dylan Smith. Replacements: 16 Jon Hobson, 17 Damian Baker, 18 Dian Coetzee, 19 Jacques Swarts, 20 Cephas van Biljon, 21 Thomas Beling, 22 Brooklyn Newman, 23 Aka Boqwana
Airlink Pumas: 15 Jaycee Nel, 14 Alfonso Isaacs, 13 Sango Xamlashe (vice-captain), 12 Wian van Niekerk, 11 Banie Britz, 10 Nevaldo Fleurs, 9 Thomas Bursey, 8 Willie Engelbrecht (captain), 7 Ruwald van der Merwe, 6 Ntsika Fisanti, 5 Tiaan de Klerk, 4 JJ Scheepers, 3 Sampie Swiegers, 2 Chyle van Zyl, 1 Etienne Janeke. Replacements: 16 Jan-Henning Campher, 17 Kudzwai Dube, 18 Junior Banda, 19 Stephan Krugel, 20 Thabo Ndimande, 21 Russwill Fredericks, 22 Tino Swanepoel, 23 Darren Adonis.