CAPE TOWN – While Bulls coach Jake White said beforehand that the result was not that important, he would’ve been delighted by the resolve shown from a young team in a 48-31 victory over the Pumas on Tuesday night.
The Mbombela Stadium clash is part of a Preparation Series for the Rainbow Cup, and in that regard, the men from Pretoria will be pleased with the performance and scoreboard.
The last time these two teams met, the Pumas were 44-14 victors in the Currie Cup in January, but this time around, it was sweet revenge for the Bulls, who produced seven tries and weathered an early storm from the hosts.
The Bulls regained their composure after halftime following a helter-skelter opening 40 minutes, where the more experienced and robust Pumas put them under pressure upfront.
At times, it looked as if the likes of lock Brandon Valentyn and loose forwards Kwanda Dimaza and Phumzile Maqondwana intimidated the young Bulls pack with their physicality, particularly in defence, and the speedy Devon Williams and Tapiwa Mafura posed problems out wide too.
The in-your-face style of the home side knocked the Bulls out of their stride, and led to a number of missed tackles from the visitors in the first half. They did score three tries within 25 minutes, with two lineout maul five-pointers from hooker Joe van Zyl, while powerhouse wing Stravino Jacobs waltzed through from a quick tap penalty.
The Pumas, though, didn’t give up, and fought fire with fire as Francois Kleinhans and Valentyn dotted down to level the scores at 14-14.
But while the Bulls’ handling, lineout and kickoff work let them down on a few occasions, their maul was a ruthless weapon when they did secure possession, while they had the upper hand in the scrums as well.
Just before the break, loosehead prop Gerhard Steenekamp picked the ball up smartly from a collapsed maul and forced his way over, and a Chris Smith penalty gave them the necessary breathing room at 27-17 at halftime.
That late score seemed to knock the stuffing out of the Pumas, who just weren’t able to display the same intensity in the second 40 minutes and were heavily penalised at the breakdown by referee Rasta Rasivhenge.
Bulls tighthead prop Mornay Smith got a deserved five-pointer by pumping his legs after a sustained period of pressure, and centre Marnus Potgieter killed off the game with his finish from a David Kriel tap penalty six minutes later.
White would’ve been further impressed by the determination of his youthful bench, who didn’t stand back for the older Pumas pack despite a few nervy situations.
The Mpumalanga side were rewarded for their late dominance with a penalty try from a scrum, and Dewald Maritz twisted his way over the line in the closing minutes, but Bulls reserve hooker Janco Uys had the final say with another maul touchdown.
POINTS-SCORERS
Pumas 31 – Tries: Francois Kleinhans, Brandon Valentyn, Penalty Try, Dewald Maritz. Conversions: Neil Marais (2), Eddie Fouché (1). Penalty: Marais (1).
Bulls 48 – Tries: Joe van Zyl (2), Stravino Jacobs, Gerhard Steenekamp, Mornay Smith, Marnus Potgieter, Janco Uys. Conversions: Chris Smith (5). Penalty: Chris Smith (1).
IOL Sport