The Vodacom Bulls secured a disciplined and clinical 28-14 win over Connacht in extremely wet conditions on Saturday evening. The Vodacom Bulls scored four tries against two of Connacht to secure a bonus point for four tries scored.
The first half was played in extremely wet conditions which did make handling and attacking play difficult. The Bulls dominated the first half and scored two great tries by Sebastian De Klerk and Embrose Papier to lead 14-00 at the halftime break. The Bulls had 63% possession and enjoyed a 73% territorial advantage, however, their tackle success rate was only 57%.
After three minutes of play, David Kriel sold a brilliant dummy while he sprinted down the touchline to score the Bulls' third try and extended the Bulls' lead to 21-00 following a Johan Goosen conversion.
Connacht started to attack with purpose, however, after fifteen minutes of play Canan Moodie intercepted a silly pass by Connacht to score the Bulls' bonus-point try. Goosen converted to extend the Bulls lead to 28-00.
Following a red card to Celimpilo Gumede, Connacht continued to launch wave after wave of attacks until David Hawkshaw bulldozed his way over the Bulls' tryline to score Connacht's first try. Cathal Forde converted to reduce the Bulls' lead to 28-07 and eighteen minutes still to play in the second half.
Connacht continued their relentless attack and eventually beat the Bulls out wide and Caolin Blade scored their second try, reducing the Bulls' lead to 28-14, which was the final score.
Scorers:
Connacht Rugby: Try: David Hawkshaw, Caolin Blade. Conversion: Cathal Forde (2).
Vodacom Bulls: Tries: Sebastian De Klerk, Embrose Papier, David Kriel, Canan Moodie. Conversions: Johan Goosen (4).
Teams
Connacht Rugby: 15 Shane Jennings, 14 Shayne Bolton, 13 Piers O’Conor, 12 Cathal Forde, 11 Santiago Cordero, 10 Jack Carty, 9 Ben Murphy, 8 Sean Jansen, 7 Conor Oliver, 6 Josh Murphy, 5 Niall Murray, 4 Joe Joyce (c), 3 Jack Aungier, 2 Dave Heffernan, 1 Denis Buckley. Replacements: 16 Dylan Tierney-Martin, 17 Jordan Duggan, 18 Sam Illo, 19 Darragh Murray, 20 Paul Boyle, 21 Caolin Blade, 22 David Hawkshaw, 23 Shamus Hurley-Langton.
Vodacom Bulls: 15 Willie le Roux, 14 Canan Moodie, 13 David Kriel, 12 Harold Vorster, 11 Sebastian De Klerk, 10 Johan Goosen, 9 Embrose Papier, 8 Mpilo Gumede, 7 Cobus Wiese, 6 Marcell Coetzee (c), 5 JF van Heerden, 4 Ruan Vermaak, 3 Francois Klopper, 2 Akker van der Merwe, 1 Alulutho Tshakweni. Replacements: 16 Johan Grobbelaar, 17 Gerhard Steenekamp, 18 Mornay Smit, 19 Jannes Kirsten, 20 Cameron Hanekom, 21 Keagan Johannes, 22 Aphiwe Dyantyi, 23 Stedman Gans.