Cape Town — Led by an inspirational display from captain Marcell Coetzee, the Bulls proved that they are serious United Rugby Championship title contenders on Saturday with a hard-fought 34-16 bonus-point victory over Ulster.
Having battled to find their rhythm in the opening 40 minutes, the Bulls turned a 9-3 halftime deficit around in fine style in front of a sizable crowd at Loftus Versfeld.
The Bulls now move up to sixth on the URC log with 42 points, one ahead of the Sharks.
#BULvULS
— Official Blue Bulls (@BlueBullsRugby) April 2, 2022
FT: If there was one thing the 19 436 fans who came out today deserved, it was a Vodacom Bulls win.
The boys delivered. Against a tough Ulster side, we claim a 34-16 win at Loftus. Take a bow, South Africa#Loftus25K #TrueToTheBlue @Vodacom #URC @URCOfficial_RSA pic.twitter.com/Wif5LeKpwZ
And it was skipper Coetzee, playing against his former team, who stood tall to spark the second-half comeback by scoring four minutes after the break, while he also contested the breakdowns ferociously and made a number of effective carries and tackles.
But it was Ulster who were on top in the first half – not only on the scoreboard, but also in general play. Scrumhalf Nathan Doak slotted three penalties to put his team ahead by six points, and the Belfast outfit were able to disrupt the Bulls attack with big hits in defence and timely interventions at the breakdowns.
Former Bulls captain Duane Vermeulen won a few turnovers on the ground, while hooker Brad Roberts wasn’t far behind in putting his team on the front foot.
Centres Luke Marshall and James Hume kept the Bulls strike-runners such as Harold Vorster, Madosh Tambwe and Kurt-Lee Arendse in check as well, while star No 8 Elrigh Louw didn’t see much of the ball going forward either.
It was Coetzee, though, who put the Bulls in the lead for the first time when he forced his way over the line after a series of carries by the rest of the pack close to the line.
Flyhalf Chris Smith’s conversion saw the Pretoria side 10-9 up, and the No 10 added a penalty soon after that to make it 13-9.
Jake White’s side grew in confidence as a result, and they took charge when wing Madosh Tambwe showed his class to hold off a defender to finish in the corner after Harold Vorster picked up a loose ball and put him away down the left.
Ulster never stopped trying, though, and brought themselves back into the contest when impressive No 12 Marshall squeezed his way over in the 64th minute, which Doak converted to make it a thrilling finish at 20-16.
But a yellow card to lock Kieran Treadwell for a dangerous tackle on Arendse – which seemed a bit hard and probably only warranted a penalty – saw the Bulls take full advantage of having an extra player as hooker Johan Grobbelaar rumbled over from the resultant driving maul.
𝘾𝙖𝙩𝙘𝙝 𝙃𝙞𝙢 𝙄𝙛 𝙔𝙤𝙪 𝘾𝙖𝙣 💨
Kurt-Lee Arendse dots down to hand the Vodacom Bulls a 34-16 bonus point victory over Ulster 🔵
Vodacom #URC pic.twitter.com/VITB20Vm45
Despite a yellow card to Coetzee later for a dangerous tackle on Ulster wing Ben Moxham, the Bulls were able to get the best possible outcome as Arendse pounced to grab an intercept and secure the four-try bonus point.
Points-Scorers
Bulls 34 – Tries: Marcell Coetzee, Madosh Tambwe, Johan Grobbelaar, Kurt-Lee Arendse. Conversions: Chris Smith (2), Morné Steyn (2). Penalties: Smith (2).
Ulster 16 – Try: Luke Marshall. Conversion: Nathan Doak (1). Penalties: Doak (3).
IOL Sport