The Bulls secured a hard-fought 23–21 victory over the Scarlets at Parc y Scarlets on Saturday, 25 April 2026, in Round 16 of the United Rugby Championship.
The win moved the Bulls up to 7th place in the URC table with 49 points, significantly boosting their play-off chances. Springbok fly-half Handre Pollard was the standout performer, scoring 18 points, including a 79th-minute match-winning penalty.
In a confident mood from their impressive recent wins, the Bulls were on the board inside the opening four minutes after wing Cheswill Jooste raced through a gap from a slick line-out move. Pollard converted for an early 07-00 lead for the visitors.
The Scarlets responded with a try from debutant Callum Woolley. The Scarlets' patient build-up play led to Joe Hawkins throwing a lovely miss pass that allowed Woolley to gather and dive over in the corner to mark his first URC appearance.
After twenty minutes of play in the first half, the Scarlets fans were celebrating their second try; Wales centre Eddie James cutting a brilliant line from a line-out move that saw him scythe through the Bulls defence and stretch over to edge the Scarlets 10-7 into the lead.
Eight minutes later, the Bulls broke clear from inside their own half, which eventually led to a try for Pollard. The fly-half’s successful conversion saw the Bulls lead 14-10 at the break.
After ten minutes of play in the second half, the Scarlets were denied a penalty try, but from the ensuing tap penalty, hooker Ryan Elias carried to the line before Fletcher Anderson powered over. The Scarlets led 15-14.
Despite the Bulls being reduced to 13 men at one point due to yellow cards for Stedman Gans and Francois Klopper, Pollard’s accurate kicking kept them ahead by 17-15 with a penalty after seventeen minutes of play in the second half.
Thereafter, the teams traded penalties, and the Scarlets took the lead 21-20 with eight minutes still to play in the second half; however, a late penalty by Pollard, when time was up, secured the Bulls a vital 23-21 win at the Parc y Scarlets.
Scorers:
Scarlets: Callum Woolley, Eddie James, Fletcher Anderson. Penalties: Joe Hawkins (2).
Vodacom Bulls: Tries: Cheswill Jooste, Handre Pollard. Conversion: Handre Pollard (2). Penalties: Handre Pollard (3).
Teams:
Scarlets RFC 15 Blair Murray, 14 Callum Woolley, 13 Joe Roberts, 12 Eddie James, 11 Macs Page, 10 Joe Hawkins, 9 Dane Blacker, 8 Fletcher Anderson (c), 7 Jarrod Taylor, 6 Taine Plumtree, 5 Max Douglas, 4 Sam Lousi, 3 Henry Thomas, 2 Ryan Elias, 1 Kemsley Mathias. Replacements: 16 Marnus van der Merwe, 17 Josh Morse, 18 Harri O’Connor, 19 Jac Price, 20 Dan Davis, 21 Archie Hughes, 22 Carwyn Leggatt-Jones, 23 Ioan Jones.
Vodacom Bulls: 15 David Kriel, 14 Cheswill Jooste, 13 Stedman Gans, 12 Harold Vorster, 11 Kurt-Lee Arendse, 10 Handre Pollard, 9 Embrose Papier, 8 Cameron Hanekom, 7 Elrigh Louw, 6 Marcell Coetzee (c), 5 Ruan Nortje, 4 Ruan Vermaak, 3 Wilco Louw, 2 Johan Grobbelaar, 1 Gerhard Steenekamp. Replacements: 16 Marco van Staden, 17 Jan-Hendrik Wessels, 18 Francois Kloppers, 19 Cobus Wiese, 20 Mpilo Gumede, 21 Paul de Wet, 22 Willie le Roux, 23 Jeandre Rudolph.