Springbok and Bulls veterans Handre Pollard and Willie le Roux produced the big-match plays of another imposing South African weekend in the United Rugby Championship (URC).
The Bulls edged Ireland’s Munster 34-31 in a home match they simply could not afford to lose in the play-off Race to the Eight.
Two hours later, the high-flying Lions added the Dragons scalp to their impressive recent form, winning 42-26. The Sharks, on Friday night, had begun the Northern Hemisphere shutout with a determined 21-15 win against Cardiff.
This meant the South African URC teams had completed seven wins from seven starts in South Africa in the past fortnight, and positioned the country with three clubs in the top eight with just four league rounds to play.
The Stormers played Edinburgh in the late game last night and will remain second in the league regardless of the result.
Pollard, with two long-range penalties, kept the Bulls ahead in the last 20 minutes, and Le Roux’s 50/22 kick in the 79th minute halted Munster’s momentum and ensured the final minute would be played near the visitors’ goal line.
The Bulls, in eighth, can break into the top four when the league resumes in April
Pollard, as he has done for the past decade, turned pressure penalty kicks into points. Le Roux stated the value of 100 Test matches for the Boks and double that for several clubs, including the Bulls, in making the most crucial play of the afternoon.
Individually scrumhalf Embrose Papier continued his outstanding season, scoring two tries and oozing class and confidence in all aspects of his game.
The Bulls grizzled up front, led by loosehead prop Gerhard Steenekamp, to put on a scrum exhibition. Centre Stedman Gans prospered, while replacement wing Cheswill Jooste scored an individual pearler.
“Every team has special players who can do something out of nothing. Embrose showed it today,” said Bulls coach Johann Ackerman. “When he gets space, he’s dangerous, and the same applies to Cheswill. But as a team, we create opportunities and then we don’t finish them.”
Munster, thumped 45-0 a week ago in Durban, made eight changes to their starting XV, including picking Ireland’s Test half-back combination of Craig Casey and Jack Crowley.
Typically, Munster fought hard and were pushing for a win going into the final few minutes. However, the Bulls’ mentality has grown so much that they never lost belief in a thrilling finish.
It is finding that 1% extra in effort and work rate, and thankfully that’s what the players produce in critical moments of the match when the Dragons had momentum and there was only one score in it I’m proud of the effort, but we know the hard work is about to begin
— Ivan van Rooyen, Lions coach
The Bulls, in eighth, can break into the top four when the league resumes in the third week of April.
The Lions, with scrumhalf Nico Steyn as Player of the Match, produced a stunning try-scoring third quarter to douse the Dragons’ flame and move into the top five.
The Lions, who average 30 points a match, are the first side to score more than 400 points in the league this season, but coach Ivan van Rooyen was as mindful that they have conceded the second most, with 385. He spoke of the desire of his players to scramble on defence as the definitive characteristic of the win.
“It is finding that 1% extra in effort and work rate, and thankfully that’s what the players produce in critical moments of the match when the Dragons had momentum and there was only one score in it,” he said. “I’m proud of the effort, but we know the hard work is about to begin.”
The Lions, eliminated from the EPCR Challenge Cup, don’t play for the next fortnight, while the Stormers travel to Toulon and Bulls to Glasgow for the last 16 of the Champions Cup.
The Sharks next play Connacht in Galway, Ireland, in the Challenge Cup last 16.
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