The Vodacom Bulls hosted Ulster at Loftus Versveld in front of 19 436 spectators in what started as a tightly contested encounter with Ulster 9-3 in the lead at halftime. The Bulls however regrouped in the second half and took the lead on the scoreboard early on, which they maintained until the end of the match beating Ulster 34-16.
The first half saw Ulster initially attacking into the Bulls' half using their strong forward pack and enjoying the majority of the possession and territory. The Bulls' defence however held up and prevented some try-scoring opportunities. The Bulls regrouped in the latter part of the first half and started to attack into the Ulster half but poor execution at critical times and some good Ulster defence prevented them from really threatening the Ulster try line. Pressure play by Ulster forced some penalties against the Bulls which they converted into points with their accurate long-range kicker. The halftime score was 9-0 in favour of Ulster.
The Bulls started the second half by playing much better rugby and trying to up the tempo of the game however, Ulster tried everything to slow it down with regular "injury" breaks. The Bulls enjoyed more territorial advantage and possession and regularly attacked into the Ulster half scoring points for their efforts. They took the lead within 2 minutes of the half and managed to stay in the lead until the final whistle.
09:20 A penalty is given against the Bulls just inside their half which is successfully kicked by Nathan Doak (3-0).
23:51 A penalty is given against Ulster 5 meters from their try line in front of the uprights after repeated attacking phase play by the bulls. Successfully kicked by Chris Smith (3-3).
20:00 Ulster attacked into the Bull's quarter using their forwards to gain territory and placing the Bulls under pressure. The Bulls' defence however held up to prevent any tries from being scored and only conceded 3 points through a penalty. They managed to play themselves out of their half putting some attacking phases together.
29:20 A penalty is given against the Bulls just inside their half which is successfully kicked by Nathan Doak (6-3).
35:50 A penalty is given against the Bulls just inside the Ulster half which is successfully kicked by Nathan Doak (9-3).
40:00 The Bulls managed to regroup and started to play into Ulster's half launching some attacks however poor execution at critical times and some good Ulster defence prevented them from really threatening the Ulter try line. Pressure play by Ulster forced some penalties against the Bulls which they converted into points with their accurate long-range kicker.
42:53 The Bulls score a try when Marcell Coetzee crashes over the try line from repeated forward driving attacks on the try line. Converted by Chris Smith (9-10).
51:20 A penalty is given against Ulster within their half. Successfully kicked by Chris Smith (9-13).
55:13 Madosh Tambwe scores a brilliant try after the ball is chip kicked through in the Ulster half collected by Harold Voster who passed it to Madosh Tambwe who broke through a tackle to score. Converted by Chris Smith (9-20).
60:00 The Bulls tried to up the tempo of the game but Ulster is trying everything to slow it down with regular "injury" breaks. The Bulls enjoyed more territorial advantage and possession and are regularly attacked into the Ulster half scoring points for their efforts.
64:01 Ulster centre Luke Marshall scores a try under the uprights after beating the Bulls' defence in their quarter. Converted by Nathan Doak (16-20).
65:19 Ulster lock Kieran Treadwell is yellow carded for a high and dangerous tackle.
65:29 Bulls hooker Johan Grobbelaar scores a try from a strong driving maul that resulted from the yellow card penalty. Converted by Chris Smith (16-27).
73:10 Bulls captain Marcell Coetzee is yellow carded for foul play.
76:01 Kurt-Lee Arendse scores a brilliant intercept try against the run of play which he ran in from within the Bulls' half to score giving the Bulls a bonus point. Converted by Morne Steyn (16-34).
Scorers:
Vodacom Bulls: Tries: Marcell Coetzee, Madosh Tambwe, Johan Grobbelaar, Kurt-Lee Arendse. Conversions: Chris Smith (3), Morne Steyn. Penalties: Chris Smith (2)
Ulster: Tries: Luke Marshall. Conversions: Nathan Doak. Penalties: Nathan Doak (3).
Vodacom Bulls: 15. Kurt-Lee Arendse, 14. Canan Moodie, 13. Cornal Hendricks, 12. Harold Vorster, 11. Madosh Tambwe, 10. Chris Smith, 9. Zak Burger, 8. Elrigh Louw, 7. Cyle Brink, 6. Marcell Coetzee (c), 5. Ruan Nortje, 4. Walt Steenkamp, 3. Mornay Smith, 2. Johan Grobbelaar, 1. Gerhard Steenekamp. Replacements: 16. Joe van Zyl, 17. Simphiwe Matanzima, 18. Robert Hunt, 19. Reinhardt Ludwig, 20. Arno Botha, 21. Keagan Johannes, 22. Morne Steyn, 23. Lionel Mapoe.
Ulster: 15. Mike Lowry, 14. Ben Moxham, 13. James Hume, 12. Luke Marshall, 11. Ethan McIlroy, 10. Ian Madigan, 9. Nathan Doak, 8. Duane Vermeulen, 7. Nick Timoney, 6. Jordi Murphy, 5. Iain Henderson (c), 4. Kieran Treadwell, 3. Marty Moore, 2. Brad Roberts, 1. Andrew Warwick. Replacements: 16. Tom Stewart, 17. Eric O’Sullivan, 18. Tom O’Toole, 19. Mick Kearney, 20. Matty Rea, 21. John Cooney, 22. Marcus Rea, 23. Stewart Moore.
Article by Francois du Toit
