The Bulls play in the final match of the second round of Super Rugby. They host Wellington’s Hurricanes who in recent years have been a threat to all sides.
The Bulls have played the Hurricanes 18 times in Super Rugby and have won eight matches and lost 10. In Pretoria, the Bulls have hosted the Hurricanes 10 times, winning four and losing six.
- The Hurricanes have won their last three games against the Bulls, this after the Bulls had defeated them in their four meetings prior.
- The Bulls have lost their last five games in a row at home, the last time they went on a long losing streak at home was a nine-game drought from 2001 to 2003.
- The Hurricanes have won four of their last five regular season game in South Africa, a span which includes two wins against the Bulls.
- Handre Pollard has scored a try in each of his two previous games against the Hurricanes, scoring a total of 20 points across those fixtures.
- Beauden Barrett is two points shy of becoming the fourth player in Super Rugby history to score 1,000 points.
Match detail
We are waiting for the kick-off.
1.00: PEEEEP! We are underway in Pretoria for the final fixture of round two of Super Rugby.
4.00: TRY! Johnny Kotze takes the chicken-wing pass from Jesse Kriel and is in for the game’s first try. 5-0
5.00: MISS! Handré Pollard can’t add the extras. 5-0
6.00: The Bulls are awarded a penalty after Sam Lousi is pinged for a shoulder charge.
7.00: PENALTY! Pollard finds his range and extends the lead. 8-0
10.00: The Hurricanes earn a penalty after Pierre Schoeman is caught offsides. The visitors kick to the corner.
11.00: Thembelani Bholi is caught offsides. Ihaia West kicks to the corner; the visitors want seven, not three.
12.00: TRY! Ricky Riccitelli crashes over after a well-structured driving. 8-5
13.00: MISS! West misses from the right-hand touchline. 8-5
15.00: The Bulls win the penalty at the breakdown. The Hurricanes have found their way back into this game and are in control.
18.00: The Hurricanes handling has been superb. The offloading in the tackle has been the highlight.
18.00: TRY! Wes Goosen chips, chases, gathers and has an easy run-in for the score. That was some poor defending by Travis Ismaiel, who was nowhere to be seen. 8-10
19.00: CONVERSION! West adds the two points. 8-12
20.00: Lood de Jager knocks-on and the hurricanes have the scrum near midfield.
22.00: Sam Lousi puts in a cheeky grubber, but the ball is in touch. The Hurricanes are starting to find holes in the Bulls defence.
25.00: Rudolf Snyman breaks through midfield, but his poor no-look, out the back-door pass, was terrible. That is the difference between South African and New Zealand’s players and their skills.
25.00: YELLOW CARD! Pierre Schoeman is off for 10 minutes for a “swinging arm with minimal force.” AKA dangerous tackle.
28.00: TRY? Snyman is over, but was there a knock-on prior to the lock getting the bouncing ball?
28.00: No try!
31.00: The game has fizzled out in the last 10 minutes. Scrum to the Bulls in centre-field of the ‘Canes’ 22.
33.00: TRY! Lood de Jager and Snyman combine for a sensational try for the former. Both locks have been immense in the tight, but even better in the loose. 13-12
35.00: MISS! Pollard misses from the sideline, but the Bulls have the lead. 13-12
38.00: The Hurricanes are pinged for illegal scrumming and Pollard clears the danger.
39.00: Vince Aso is caught offside and Pollard will take a shot at goal, just before the break.
41.00: PENALTY! Pollard extends the lead to four. 16-12
The half-time score was Bulls 16 Hurricanes 12
Some halftime stats: Metres carried: Bulls 301 Hurricanes 195. Defenders beaten: Bulls 12 Hurricanes 7 Clean breaks: Bulls 4 Canes 3. Offloads: Bulls 9 Canes 7.
41.00: PEEEEP! We are back underway in Pretoria. The Bulls were excellent in the first 40, especially, not conceding when they were a man down.
43.00: A few scuffles break out after each side concede a penalty.
47.00: The Bulls drive up the field, but their maul is penalised for De Jager breaking away early. West kicks to the corner.
48.00: TJ Perenara beats Andre Warner and dots down. The try is not confirmed after TMO confers. It will be a scrum to the Bulls.
51.00: The Bulls have survived that scare and have possession inside the Hurricanes’ half. The Bulls handling has improved since John Mitchell has taken over at Loftus.
56.00: Burger Odendaal breaks into the Hurricanes 22, but some great work at the ruck from Perenara, saves the day.
59.00: TRY! Beauden Barrett crosses after collecting Perenara’s little grubber. 16-17
60.00: The conversion is good. 16-19
62.00: The last quarter is going to be crucial for the Bulls. Kiwi sides are renowned for their conditioning and accelerating away during this period.
64.00: Side note: Referee Rasta Rasivhenge is having a poor game. He is missing knock-ons, forward passes; Perenara’s try and is guessing in the scrums. Very poor.
66.00: Both teams have two new front rows; I wonder how the ref will call this?
67.00: Penalty for illegal binding against the visitors.
70.00: The Bulls are still in this, they just need to execute in the attacking parts of the Hurricanes territory.
72.00: TRY! Schoeman is over! Pollard charges down West’s kick, the Bulls win the ruck inside the Canes’ 22, recycle quickly and the prop barged over the whitewash. 21-19
73.00: The conversion is wide. 21-19
76.00: The Hurricanes win the penalty at the breakdown. Barrett kicks to touch, just inside Bulls territory. Massive last few minutes in South Africa.
78.00: Rasta Rasivhenge is checking with the TMO for foul play by Lousi on Conraad van Vuuren. This could be a yellow and a penalty.
78.00: Van Vuuren is lucky because he tackles Lousi off the ball, but the swinging arm around Van Vuuren’s neck sees the penalty reversed.
79.00: The Bulls go to the driving maul inside the Hurricanes’ 22. The Bulls are controlling the clock, playing through the phases.
80.00: The hooter sounds and Embrose Papier kicks the ball into touch. Big win for the Bulls.
FULL-TIME
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The final score is Bulls 21 (16) Hurricanes 19 (12)
Scorers
Bulls
Tries – Kotze, De Jager, Schoeman
Pen – Pollard (2)
Con –
Drop –
Cards – Schoeman (Yellow, 25′)
Hurricanes
Tries – Riccitelli, Goosen, B. Barrett
Pen –
Con – West (2)
Drop –
Cards –
Match Officials
Referee: Rasta Rasivhenge (South Africa)
Assistant Ref 1: Marius van der Westhuizen (South Africa),
Assistant Ref 2: Stephen Geldenhuys (South Africa)
TMO: Marius Jonker (South Africa)
Teams
Bulls
15 Warrick Gelant, 14 Travis Ismaiel, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 Burger Odendaal (captain ), 11 Johnny Kotze, 10 Handré Pollard, 9 Andre Warner, 8 Hanro Liebenberg, 7 Thembelani Bholi, 6 Roelof Smit, 5 Lodewyk de Jager, 4 Rudolf Snyman, 3 Frans van Wyk, Jaco Visagie, 1 Pierre Schoeman.
Replacements: 16 Adriaan Strauss, 17 Lizo Gqoboka, 18 Conraad van Vuuren, 19 Nic de Jager, 20 Marco van Staden, 21 Embrose Papier, 22 Marnitz Boshoff, Divan Rossouw.
Hurricanes
15 Matt Proctor, 14 Julian Savea, 13 Vince Aso, 12 Ngani Laumape, 11 Wes Goosen, 10 Ihaia West, 9 Thomas Perenara, 8 Gareth Evans, 7 Ardie Savea, 6 Brad Shields (captain), 5 Sam Lousi, 4 Vaea Fifita, 3 Ben May, 2 Ricky Riccitelli, 1 Toby Smith.
Replacements: 16 James O’Reilly, 17 Chris Eves, 18 Fraser Armstrong, 19 Murray Douglas, 20 Blade Thomson, 21 Jamie Booth, 22 Beauden Barrett, 23 Ben Lam.
