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The Bulls produced their unique brand of blended rugby as they steamrolled Munster 45-14 in their United Rugby Championship (URC) quarterfinal at Loftus yesterday to advance to the semifinals against log-leaders Glasgow Warriors.
The backs and forwards clicked like poetry at times, especially in the opening eight minutes, demolishing the Irish team’s scrum and flying over for two tries.
Nuggety scrumhalf Embrose Papier forced his way over for the first five-pointer and right-wing Kurt-Lee Arendse scored the second, put away after a neat move by full-back Willie le Roux after fielding a kick up-field.
Then the juggernaut turned to jughead amid some silly errors. Perhaps the most costly was when prop Gerhard Steenkamp was blown for running into captain Marcell Coetzee, breaking the momentum, and Munster took advantage to ultimately score their first try.
Glasgow is so clinical. There were some silly offloads [today] and some great ones, so we have to cut on those silly ones. And they defend very well, they don’t make it easy for you so our patience with the ball will have to improve — Johan Ackermann, Bulls coach
A forward pass by Canan Moodie and an accidental obstruction by Papier cost the Bulls two first-half tries that would have put the result beyond doubt long before half time. But even with the mistakes, the Bulls were resolute on defence, making the visitors work damn hard to get over the line for their two tries.
Irresistible force
The way the hosts bullied the Munster pack and then held firm in defence, they looked like a merger of irresistible force and an immoveable object.
After conceding two tries and seeing their lead shrink to 17-14, the Bulls were triggered into action once again, with hooker Johann Grobbelaar forcing his way over almost immediately after the restart.
Then eighthman Cameron Hanekom, a former Bok under-20 star, produced a classic try as he took the ball from a lineout and forced his way over to secure a half-time lead of 31-14.
Munster pressed the attack in the second half, with centre Alex Nankivell frequently probing for gaps, but they couldn’t break the Bulls, who waited patiently for their moments.
Papier hammered the nail into the Munster coffin when he pounced on the ball in open play inside his own half and darted down the field to score his second try unchallenged.
Jacobs barges through
Wing Stravino Jacobs barged through on the left corner after taking a skip pass from Le Roux.
The match turned a little scrappy after that, although both sides produced entertaining rugby as they ran the ball, with a few more mistakes costing the Bulls a bigger margin of victory, but somehow those didn’t matter so much.
Mastery and mistakes seem to be bedfellows for the Loftus-based outfit, but Bulls coach Johan Ackermann will be looking for a tighter performance next weekend at Murrayfield, Edinburgh, when they compete in what will be their fourth URC semifinal. “Glasgow is so clinical,” he said yesterday.
“There were some silly offloads [today] and some great ones, so we have to cut on those silly ones. And they defend very well, they don’t make it easy for you so our patience with the ball will have to improve. It’s two quality sides, the margins are going to be so small next week, we’re going to have to perform even better.”
SCORERS
Bulls:
Tries: Embrose Papier (2), Kurt-Lee Arendse, Johann Grobbelaar, Cameron Hanekom, Stravino Jacobs
Conversions: Handre Pollard (6)
Penalties: Pollard
Munster:
Tries: Jack O’ Donoghue, Alex Nankivell.
Conversion: JJ Hanrahan (2).
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