The Vodacom Bulls suffered their seventh loss in a row when the Bristol Bears scored nine tries to the seven of the Bulls to secure a well-deserved 61-49 win.
The Bears struck almost from the kickoff when great handling put Benhard Janse van Rensburg in a big gap to stroll over for the Bears’ first try. Tom Jordan converted to extend the Bears’ lead to 07-00 after just three minutes of play.
From the kickoff, the Bulls struck again, and following several players handling the ball, it was prop Max Lahiff who crashed over for the Bears' second try. Tom Jordon converted to extend the Bears’ lead to 14-00.
Again, from the kickoff, Noah Heward intercepted a “loose” pass from Willie le Roux and scored the Bears’ third try after a halfhearted attempt by Sebastian de Klerk to tackle the winger. Tom Jordon converted to extend the Bears’ lead to 21-00 after just eight minutes of play.
The Bulls struck back almost immediately when Jeandre Rudolph picked up a loose ball and crashed over for the Bulls' first points after thirteen minutes of play in the first half. Handre Pollard converted to reduce the Bears' lead to fourteen points.
Off a five-meter lineout, the Bears attacked off a five-meter lineout, spreading the ball wide to winger Kalaveti Ravouvou, who scored an easy bonus-point try for the visitors. Jordan converted to extend the Bears’ lead to 28-07.
At this stage, both teams attacked from anywhere and scored tries almost at will. Stravino Jacobs (Bulls) (2), Noah Heward (Bears) (2), Kieran Marmion (Bears), Kieran Marmion (Bears) and Penalty try (Bulls) added their names on their score sheet. The Bears scored seven tries to the three scored by the Bulls to lead 47-28 at the halftime break.
David Kriel (Bulls) opened the scoring in the second half after three minutes of play, followed by Pedro Rubiolo (Bears), Kalaveti Ravouvou (Bears), Sebastian de Klerk (Bulls), and Willie le Roux (Bulls), who added their names to the score sheet.
The Bristol Bears won 61-49 in a sixteen-try try-fest.
Scorers:
Vodacom Bulls: Tries: Jeandre Rudolph, Stravino Jacobs (2), Penalty try, David Kriel, Sebastian de Klerk, Willie le Roux. Conversions: Handre Pollard (6).
Bristol Bears: Tries: Benhard Janse van Rensburg, Max Lahiff, Noah Heward (3), Kalaveti Ravouvou (2), Pedro Rubiolo. Conversions: Tom Jordan (8)
Teams:
Vodacom Bulls: 15 Willie le Roux, 14 Sebastian de Klerk, 13 David Kriel, 12 Harold Voster, 11 Stravino Jacobs, 10 Handre Pollard, 9 Embrose Papier, 8 Jeandre Rudolph, 7 Elrigh Louw, 6 Marco van Staden, 5 Ruan Nortje (c), 4 Cobus Wiese, 3 Wilco Louw, 2 Johan Grobbelaar, 1 Jan-Hendrik Wessels. Replacements: 16 Akker van der Merwe, 17 Gerhard Steenekamp, 18 Mornay Smith, 19 Ruan Vermaak, 20 Mpilo Gumede, 21 Zak Burger, 22 Stedman Gans, 23 Sergeal Petersen.
Bristol Bears: 15 Rich Lane, 14 Noah Heward, 13 Benhard Janse van Rensburg, 12 James Williams, 11 Kalaveti Ravouvou, 10 Tom Jordan, 9 Kieran Marmion, 8 Bill Mata, 7 Fitz Harding (c), 6 Santiago Grondona, 5 Joe Batley, 4 Pedro Rubiolo, 3 George Kloska, 2 Gabriel Oghre, 1. Max Lahiff. Replacements: 16 Harry Thacker, 17 Ellis Genge, 18 Jimmy Halliwell, 19 Joe Owen, 20 Benjamin Grondona, 21 Harry Randall, 22 Sam Worsley, 23 Matias Moroni.