Vodacom Bulls Secured Bonus-point Win Against DHL Western Province

 

The Vodacom Bulls hosted arch-rivals DHL Western Province in Pretoriatonight and did what was asked of them and scored a bonus-point 45-27 win.

The first half was a ding dong battle with both sides not able to take control of the match. The Bulls were in the lead at the break with 17-15, however, Western Province scored ten points during the last five minutes of the match.

The Bulls upped the tempo in the second half and managed to put the result beyond doubt with 10 minutes still to go.

10:23 Morne Steyn converted a penalty to open the Bulls' account on the scoreboard. (03-00)

18:33 Western Province's powerful maul from a lineout created a brilliant try by JJ Kotze. (03-05)

20:00 The first quarter of the match was an even affair with both sides willing to give the ball a lot of air, creating an exciting match with both sides having several try-scoring opportunities.

21:40 Robert Hunt scored the Bulls' first try. (10-05)

29:15 Cornel Smit (Western Province) was shown a yellow card.

29:25 Keagan Johannes broke next to a maul on the Western Province's try line and scored the Bulls' second try. (17-05)

38:19 Marcel Theunissen took a quick tap from a penalty a forced his way over for the Western Province's second try. (17-12)

41:02 Tim Swiel converted a penalty for Western Province. (17-15)

40:00 The first half was a ding dong battle with both sides not able to take control of the match. The Bulls were in the lead at the break with 17-15, however, Western Province scored ten points during the last five minutes of the match.

48:05 David Kriel went over in the corner for the Bulls' third try. (24-15)

51:27 Cornel Smit scored Western Province's third try. A great inside pass by Tim Swiel led to the try. (24-22)

58:49 David Kriel scored his second try of the evening after some great handling by the Bulls' backline. This also was the Bulls' bonus-point try. (31-22)

60:00 The Bulls sped up the game a lot during the third quarter as they started to pull away from their visitors on the scored board.

70:50 Lizo Gqoboka scored the Bulls' sixth try with a pick-up and drive on the visitors' try-line. (38-22)

72:12 Western Province hit back immediately with a try by Tristan Leyds for Western Province's bonus-point try. (38-27)

75:46 The Bulls were rewarded a penalty try. (45-27)

79:00 Tristan Leyds scored his second try of the match. (54-34)

Scorers:
Vodacom Bulls: Tries: Robert Hunt, Keagan Johannes, David Kriel (2), Jaco Labuschagne, Lizo Gqoboka, Penalty Try. Conversions: Morne Steyn (4). 
Western Province: Tries: JJ Kotze, Marcel Theunissen, Cornel Smit, Tristan Leyds (2). Conversions: Tim Swiel (3). Penalty: Tim Swiel.

Teams: 

Vodacom Bulls: 15. James Verity-Amm, 14. David Kriel, 13. Stedman Gans, 12. Marco Jansen van Vuren, 11. Stravino Jacobs, 10. Morne Steyn (c), 9. Keagan Johannes, 8. Muller Uys, 7. WJ Steenkamp, 6. Jaco Labuschagne, 5. Janko Swanepoel, 4. Rynhardt Ludwig, 3. Robert Hunt, 2. Bismarck du Plessis, 1. Simphiwe Matanzima. Replacements: 16. Joe van Zyl, 17. Lizo Gqoboka, 18. Sebastian Lombard, 19. Raynard Roets, 20. Werner Gouws, 21. Bernard van der Linde, 22. Juan Mostert, 23. Richard Kriel.

Western Province: 15. Tristan Leyds, 14. Sergeal Petersen, 13. Juan de Jongh, 12. Cornel Smit, 11. Angelo Davids, 10. Timothy Swiel, 9. Godlen Masimla, 8. Keke Morabe, 7. Marcel Theunissen, 6. Nama Xaba (c), 5. Connor Evans, 4. Ben-Jason Dixon, 3. Sazi Sandi, 2. JJ Kotze, 1. Kwenzo Blose. Replacements: 16. Lukhanyo Vokozela, 17. Leon Lyons, 18. Lee-Marvin Mazibuko, 19. Simon Miller, 20. Jarrod Taylor, 21. Bobby Alexander, 22. Kade Wolhuter, 23. Mnombo Zwelendaba.