The Scarlets ended the Vodacom Bulls' unbeaten streak with a 23-22 win in their second win of the United Rugby Championship season.
The Bulls fans could "maybe" feel done in by the referee, however, the number of mistakes made by the Bulls on the attack and defence in wet conditions kept their host in contact on the scoreboard which allowed them the opportunity to surprise.
The Bulls started like a house on fire with Canan Moodie, scoring a long-distance try within the first minute of the match. Despite the Bulls' dominance, the Scarlets scored their first try when Scarlets' captain Josh Macleod bulldozed his way over the tryline, in their first visit to the Bulls' twenty-two after ten minutes of play in the first half.
Zak Burger sniped blindside off a failed five-meter lineout maul to stroll over for the Bulls' second try to lead 12-07 after fifteen minutes of play in the first half.
Kurt-Lee Arendse scored the Bulls' third try following good work by Canan Moodie to extend the Bulls' lead to 19-07. A converted penalty by the Scarlets' Ioan Lloyd reduced the Bulls' lead to 19-10 at the halftime break.
The Bulls dominated at this stage of the match and enjoyed a 54% territorial and 56% positional advantage. However, the Scarlets' 74% tackle success percentage was the main reason for the Bulls scoring three tries to the one of the Scarlets.
The Scarlets came out after the halftime break firing on all cylinders and winger Blair Murray scored an impressive try breaking through several tackles to reduce the Bulls' lead to 19-15.
With thirty minutes to play Boeta Chamberlain converted an easy penalty to which the Scarlets replied with a converted penalty by Ioan Lloyd two minutes later.
The third quarter degraded into a scrappy affair, the rain making it extremely difficult on the field of play. Despite the Bulls' increased dominance the number of mistakes made by the Bulls' kept the Scarlets in the game with a credible chance to still win the match.
A ridiculous red card shown to Johan Grobbelaar reduced the Bulls to fourteen men for the final thirteen minutes of the match.
Following the red card the Scarlets set up camp in the twenty-two of the Bulls and eventually took the lead with a brilliant try by winger Tom Rogers who beat several halfhearted tackle attempts by the Bulls. The Scarlets led 23-22 with seven minutes to play.
Scorers:
Scarlets: Tries: Josh Macleod, Blair Murray, Tom Rogers. Conversions: Ioan Lloyd. Penalties: Ioan Lloyd (2).
Vodacom Bulls: Tries: Canan Moodie, Zak Burger, Kurt-Lee Arendse. Conversions: Boeta Chamberlain (2). Penalty: Boeta Chamberlain.
Teams
Scarlets: 15 Ioan Nicholas, 14 Tom Rogers, 13 Johnny Williams, 12 Eddie James, 11 Blair Murray, 10 Ioan Lloyd, 9 Gareth Davies, 8 Taine Plumtree, 7 Josh Macleod (c), 6 Max Douglas, 5 Sam Lousi, 4 Alex Craig, 3 Henry Thomas, 2 Ryan Elias, 1 Kemsley Mathias. Replacements: 16 Marnus van der Merwe, 17 Alec Hepburn, 18 Sam Wainwright, 19 Jac Price, 20 Dan Davis, 21 Efan Jones, 22 Sam Costelow, 23 Macs Page.
Vodacom Bulls: 15 Henry Immelman, 14 Sebastian de Klerk, 13 Canan Moodie, 12 Harold Vorster, 11 Kurt-Lee Arendse, 10 Boeta Chamberlain, 9 Zak Burger, 8 Cameron Hanekom, 7 Reinhardt Ludwig, 6 Kuyenzeka Xaba, 5 Cobus Wiese, 4 Ruan Vermaak, 3 Wilco Louw, 2 Armand van der Merwe (cc), 1 Jan-Hendrik Wessels. Replacements: 16 Johan Grobbelaar, 17 Dylan Smith, 18 Francois Klopper, 19 JF van Heerden, 20 Celimpilo Gumede, 21 Embrose Papier, 22 Chris Barend Smit, 23 Stedman Gans.
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