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IOL News
3 days ago
- Sport
- IOL News
Six-try Bulls secure URC semi-final spot with entertaining victory over Edinburgh at Loftus Versfeld
Centre Harold Vorster dives over in the corner for one of the six tries the Bulls scored in the quarter-final against Edinburgh at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday. Image: BackpagePix The Bulls are through to another semi-final in the United Rugby Championship (URC) after a hard-fought victory over a fighting Edinburgh at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria on Saturday. After struggling to get going for most of the first forty minutes, the hosts scored three crucial tries in the early stages of the second half, completing a 42-33 victory to secure a home semi in the final four of the tournament. They scored six tries to entertain the 20 000-strong crowd but had to defend for their lives in the final 20 minutes. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ That is when the Scottish club found a second wind at altitude and mounted a fightback when they were down 39-21. Two late tries gave them a sniff with 15 minutes to play, but some excellent defensive efforts by the hosts saw them halt attack after attack of the visitors. It was all Edinburgh when the contest kicked off, and they got off to a better start with two tries within the first 15 minutes of play. They put the Bulls under pressure and a yellow card to Sebastian de Klerk for a shoulder charge after three minutes didn't help the home side. However, after they absorbed the pressure of the first quarter and the nerves settled, with fullback Willie le Roux at the helm of the attack, the Bulls mounted their fightback and took control of the game. Le Roux assisted two of the fightback tries. His distribution down the backline from first receiver was excellent, and the cutout passes he threw caught the Edinburgh defence out a couple of times. That line he ran off an Embrose Papier pass that led to David Kriel's score was sublime. So too was a pass out wide to De Klerk on the left touchline that put the flyer into space. He then chipped the defence and passed to Vorster for the third try in the corner. Two tries that will be contenders for try of the match in the Bulls camp, were the solo effort of flyhalf Keagan Johannes from almost his own half and Canan Moodie's try where Le Roux also assisted. As a second receiver, Le Roux took the ball to the line and with a lovely delayed pass, he put Moodie in a gap to run through and score. The build-up to the Moodie try was excellent between the forward and backs It was those two tries after eight minutes of rugby in the second half that put the Bulls in the driving seat. They got out to a good gap after trailing 21-18 at halftime. The burrowing try of captain Ruan Nortjé after about 50 minutes of rugby was the final points for the home side, but they built up a good enough lead to defend. That they did with some strong tackles and good turnovers as the visitors continued to look for a way back in the game.
The Citizen
12-05-2025
- Sport
- The Citizen
Camaraderie and competitiveness drive Bulls to second in the URC
The Bulls have highlighted team spirit and healthy competition as key factors in their recent success and win over Cardiff. Man of the match against Cardiff, Bulls winger Sebastian de Klerk says team spirit is at an all-time high. Picture: Johan Orton/Gallo Images A third win in a row for the Bulls has seen them stampede up to second position on the United Rugby Championship log, helped by an upset in Italy. A strong all-round performance saw the Bulls crush Cardiff 45–21 in their second last league phase match to overtake Glasgow Warriors, who had a surprise 33–7 defeat against Benetton at Stadio Monigo. The Bulls now lie four points ahead of Glasgow. With Leinster out of reach and the Bulls' final game at home against Dragons, who have only won one match this season, things are unlikely to change. This, especially as Glasgow must travel to Leinster for their final game. That means the Bulls will almost certainly play a home semi-final should they progress passed their quarter-final at the end of the month. 'We need to build on this' Bulls winger Sebastian de Klerk played brilliantly to earn man of the match against Cardiff, finding gaps at ease, proving too good under the highball and pouncing at the merest whiff of opportunity as he scored two tries. 'We won a good win this afternoon. We need to build on this. Hopefully we can carry it into next week as well,' the 25-year-old said. Speaking of the confidence in the Bulls camp amid their great run of form (six wins from their last seven games) and the camaraderie boosted by a history-making tour in Europe, De Klerk said their team spirit was at an all-time high. 'We are working hard for the whole unit, for our wives, for our families, everyone. We are trying to do it for them, make them proud.' De Klerk said there is competition for places, but players are not working against each other. 'It's a great environment, we are pushing each other. It's not a jealousy type of competition, so that's brilliant in our team.' Bulls boss tells players to enjoy the game Bulls director of rugby Jake White was especially pleased with the home win, as the Bulls have struggled at Loftus this season. 'One of my messages to the players was that they must enjoy [the game],' White said. 'We must enjoy the fact that we've done well enough to give ourselves the chance to get a home semi although we need to win a quarter-final first.' The only blemish on the Cardiff game was that flyhalf Johan Goosen suffered another knee injury and had to be carted off the field. This is after missing about three months of rugby this season for an earlier knee injury.
