The Bulls had only three points to show from a penalty that was put away by Chris Smith and they were faced with a mountain to climb after the restart to get themselves into the game.
Whatever coach Jake White told his players during the halftime break worked wonders as they came back to run riot with five tries from Ruan Nortje, Elrigh Louw, Jan-Hendrik Wessels, Marcel Coetzee and Stravino Jacobs.
Benetton’s only try was scored by Zuliani Manuel but Albornoz kept them in the hunt and in the second half they took a slender 22-20 lead before the Bulls took control of proceedings.
The Bulls' confidence will be high when they host the Sharks at Loftus at the weekend where they will be out to consolidate their position in the top half of the table.
Albornoz ended the match with 17 points from five penalties and one conversion while Smith scored 11 points and substitute and veteran kicker Morné Steyn contributed six.
Scorers
Benetton (9) 22
Bulls (3) 44
Benetton — Try: Zuliani Manuel; Conversions: Tomas Albornoz (1); Penalties: Tomas Albornoz (5)
Bulls — Tries: Ruan Nortje, Elrigh Louw, Jan-Hendrik Wessels, Marcel Coetzee, Stravino Jacobs; Conversions: Chris Smith (2), Morné Steyn (3); Penalties: Chris Smith (3)
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Bulls launch spirited fightback to earn bonus-point victory over Benetton
Image: Luca Sighinolfi/INPHO/Shutterstock/BackpagePix
The Bulls produced a stunning second-half performance to claim a 44-22 bonus-point victory over Benetton in their United Rugby Championship (URC) clash played at a wet Stadio Monigo on Friday night.
With this vital win on tour, the Bulls stopped the bleeding after successive defeats to the Glasgow Warriors and Munster and climbed to third spot on the log standings.
This match only came to life in the second half as all six tries were scored after the restart after what turned out to be a dismal opening stanza with few notable and exciting moments in the drizzle.
Home side Benetton went into the halftime break with a slender 9-3 lead and the educated boot of Tomas Albornoz was the difference as he successfully found the middle of the poles from his three penalties.
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The Bulls had only three points to show from a penalty that was put away by Chris Smith and they were faced with a mountain to climb after the restart to get themselves into the game.
Whatever coach Jake White told his players during the halftime break worked wonders as they came back to run riot with five tries from Ruan Nortje, Elrigh Louw, Jan-Hendrik Wessels, Marcel Coetzee and Stravino Jacobs.
Benetton’s only try was scored by Zuliani Manuel but Albornoz kept them in the hunt and in the second half they took a slender 22-20 lead before the Bulls took control of proceedings.
The Bulls' confidence will be high when they host the Sharks at Loftus at the weekend where they will be out to consolidate their position in the top half of the table.
Albornoz ended the match with 17 points from five penalties and one conversion while Smith scored 11 points and substitute and veteran kicker Morné Steyn contributed six.
Scorers
Benetton (9) 22
Bulls (3) 44
Benetton — Try: Zuliani Manuel; Conversions: Tomas Albornoz (1); Penalties: Tomas Albornoz (5)
Bulls — Tries: Ruan Nortje, Elrigh Louw, Jan-Hendrik Wessels, Marcel Coetzee, Stravino Jacobs; Conversions: Chris Smith (2), Morné Steyn (3); Penalties: Chris Smith (3)
TimesLIVE
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