A Dominant Vodacom Bulls scored a much-needed 29-14 bonus point win against the Dragons on Friday evening in Newport at the Rodney Parade Stadium.
The Vodacom Bulls started like a house on fire and scored 17 unanswered points during the first 20 minutes. The Vodaco Bulls dominated every aspect of the match which was clearly reflected on the scoreboard.
The Dragons flipped the second quarter on its head as they took control the second half. The Vodacom Bulls conceded several unforced errors which gave the Dragons quality attacking ball on the front foot. Two unanswered tries by the hosts reduced the Vodacom Bulls' lead to just 3 points, leading 17-14 going into the second half.
The Dragons started the second half as they ended the first half dominating possession as well as territory. However, during the last seven minutes, the Vodacom Bulls set up camp in the red zone of the Dragons. The dominant scrum of the Vodacom Bulls earned them several penalties during the last seven minutes which resulted in an easy try following a dominant scrum. The Vodacom Bulls led 24-14 with 20 minutes to go.
The last quarter of the match was an even affair with both teams making unforced errors making it a stop-start affair. The Vodacom Bulls added their fourth try to earn a well-deserved 29-14 bonus point win.
Scorers:
Dragons RFC: Tries: Bradley Roberts, Max Clark. Conversions: Sam Davies (2).
Vodacom Bulls: Tries: Kurt-Lee Arendse, Penalty try, Harold Vorster, Bismarck du Plessis. Conversions: Johan Goosen (2). Penalty: Johan Goosen.
As it Happened:
03:47 A loose kick by the host was exploited by Johan Goosen who sent Kurt-Lee Arendse away for the first try of the match. (00-07)
11:26 Johan Goosen converted a penalty for the Vodacom Bulls. (00-10)
15:23 Lewis Jones (Dragons RFC) was sent off with a yellow card.
15:23 A penalty try was awarded to the Vodacom Bulls. (00-17)
24:01 The Vodacom Bulls caught napping as the Dragons scored around the front of the lineout as Bradley Roberts scored the Dragons' first points of the match with a converted try. (07-17)
34:22 Max Clark scored the hosts' second try in the corner. The Dragons are the dominant team at this stage as they launch wave after wave of attacks. (14-17)
59:49 Harold Vorster cut the defence of the Dragons RFC in two to score the Vodacom Bulls third try. (14-24)
64:54 Bismarck du Plessis scored the bonus point try for the Vodacom Bulls from the back of a 5m lineout-mail. (14-29)
Teams:
Dragons RFC: 15. Jordan Williams, 14. Rio Dyer, 13. Steff Hughes (c), 12. Max Clark, 11. Sio Tomkinson, 10. Sam Davies, 9. Lewis Jones, 8. Ross Moriarty, 7. Ollie Griffiths, 6. Sean Lonsdale, 5. George Nott, 4. Joe Davies, 3. Chris Coleman, 2. Bradley Roberts, 1. Aki Seiuli. Replacements: 16. Brodie Coghlan, 17. Rob Evans, 18. Lloyd Fairbrother, 19. Huw Taylor, 20. Taine Basham, 21. Ben Fry, 22. Gonzalo Bertranou, 23. Will Reed.
Vodacom Bulls: 15. Kurt-Lee Arendse, 14. Canan Moodie, 13. Wandisile Simelane, 12. Harold Vorster, 11. David Kriel, 10. Johan Goosen, 9. Izak Burger, 8. Elrigh Louw, 7. Cyle Brink, 6. Marco Van Staden, 5. Ruan Nortje (c), 4. Ruan Vermaak, 3. Mornay Smith, 2. Johan Grobbelaar, 1. Gerhard Steenekamp. Replacements: 16. Bismarck du Plessis, 17. Simphiwe Matanzima, 18. Sebastian Lombard, 19. Janko Swanepoel, 20. Nizaam Carr, 21. Embrose Papier, 22. Bernard van der Linde, 23. Cornal Hendricks.
