Super Rugby

Bulls gore Stormers in lightning-affected victory

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Bulls beat the Stormers 39-6 in a lightning-affected Super Rugby Unlocked Round 4 at Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria.

The Bulls were leading by 33 points, in the 64th-minute, when lightning arrived at the ground. The officials took the players off the park and waited for the storm to pass.

After 35 minutes, and with no let-up in the conditions, the game was called off and awarded to the home team – small mercy from the Gods.

Stedman Gans grabbed a brace. Morné Steyn assisted three tries, two with chip-kicks behind the defense, and one with an audacious no-look out-the-back-door pass for Gans’ first try.

Steyn, with a superb display at first receiver, landed four conversions and two penalties for 14 points to go with his three assists.

Damian Willemse’s two early penalties were all the Stormers had to show in a chastening defeat.

Bulls bullied Stormers after a tight first quarter but a 26-point blitz took the game away from the visitors

The hosts stormed to a 32-6 halftime lead after four converted tries by Johan Grobbelaar, Gans, Ivan van Zyl, and Ruan Nortje.

Willemse traded two penalties with Steyn before the Bulls kicked into gear before Grobbelaar scored the game’s first try on 23 minutes.

The hooker’s try kickstarted a 14-minute four-try blitz from Jake White’s charges, which effectively killed the game as John Dobson’s men crumbled.

It came from a powerful driving maul by the forwards and seemed to set the tone for the rest of the contest.

Five minutes later, Gans finished off a sublime move after Van Zyl, a thorn in the opposition’s side, broke off the scrum and beat four defenders to set-up the try.

Super Rugby Unlocked Round 4 Video Highlights: Bulls v Stormers, Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria

The ball got recycled quickly to Steyn, whose sublime pass found Gans to score.

Van Zyl was at it again, this time he finished off another bright attack. Gans took a tackle when he should have passed inside, but he got the offload to the supporting scrumhalf to score.

Steyn missed the conversion – his only misfire of the night – but the hosts had a commanding 19-point lead.

Nortje scored under the posts, next. Steyn collected his own chip-kick before popping inside to sends the lock away for fourth.

Lightning strikes twice as Steyn’s cultured boot hurts the Cape Town franchise

White’s men increased their lead when Gans scored his second, 10 minutes after the restart, after latching onto Steyn’s deft chip-kick.

It was another wonderful piece of skill by the former Springboks flyhalf, who has proved his critics wrong since returning home to Pretoria.

The game broke up as players went down injured and the coaches emptied the benches.

With 16 minutes remaining, the officials stopped the match due to the lightning.  They took the players off the field for safety reasons because of the seriousness of the thunderstorm.

The storm, unfortunately, did not subside and the game was called off.

In line with Super Rugby Unlocked rules, Bulls were awarded the bonus-point win.

Final Score: Bulls 39 (32) Stormers 6 (6)

Scorers

Bulls
Tries – Grobbelaar, Gans (2), Van Zyl, Nortje
Pen – Steyn (2)
Con – Steyn (4)
Drop –
Cards –

Stormers
Tries –
Pen – Willemse (6)
Con –
Drop –
Cards –

Match Officials
Referee: AJ Jacobs
Assistant Ref 1: Aimee Barrett-Theron
Assistant Ref 2: Stuart Berry
TMO: Jaco Peyper

Teams

Bulls

15 David Kriel, 14 Travis Ismaiel, 13 Stedman Gans, 12 Cornal Hendricks, 11 Kurt-Lee Arendse, 10 Morné Steyn, 9 Ivan van Zyl, 8 Duane Vermeulen (captain), 7 Elrigh Louw, 6 Marco van Staden, 5 Ruan Nortje, 4 Jason Jenkins, 3 Trevor Nyakane, 2 Johan Grobbelaar, 1. Jacques van Rooyen

Replacements: 16 Joe van Zyl, 17 Gerhard Steenekamp, 18 Marcel van der Merwe, 19 Sintu Manjezi, 20 Nizaam Carr, 21 Embrose Papier, 22 Chris Smith, 23 Marco Jansen van Vuren

Stormers

15 Warrick Gelant, 14 Leolin Zas, 13 Dan du Plessis, 12 Rikus Pretorius, 11 Edwill van der Merwe, 10 Damian Willemse, 9 Herschel Jantjies, 8 Juarno Augustus, 7 Ernst van Rhyn, 6 Jaco Coetzee, 5 JD Schickerling, 4 Salmaan Moerat, 3 Frans Malherbe, 2 Bongi Mbonambi, 1 Steven Kitshoff (captain)

Replacements: 16 Scarra Ntubeni, 17 Leon Lyons, 18 Neethling Fouche, 19 Chris van Zyl, 20 Ben-Jason Dixon, 21 Marcel Theunissen, 22 Godlen Masimla, 23 Tim Swiel

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  1. Pingback: Sublime Stormers blow Griquas away in Kimberley - Super Rugby | Super 15 Rugby and Rugby Championship News,Results and Fixtures from Super XV Rugby

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