Bulls outmuscle Edinburgh with a six-try spectacle at Loftus, setting up a blockbuster URC semi-final clash with the Sharks in Pretoria.
The Bulls booked their spot in the United Rugby Championship (URC) semi-finals with a hard-fought win over Edinburgh in Pretoria. The result sets up a crunch all-South African showdown against the Sharks at Loftus Versfeld next weekend.
First Half: Edinburgh Edge Early Momentum
The Bulls suffered an early setback when winger Sebastian de Klerk was sin-binned for a dangerous tackle. Edinburgh took full advantage, with Wes Goosen and Ross Thompson scoring to open a 14-3 lead, despite a Keagan Johannes penalty for the hosts.
Once restored to 15 men, the Bulls responded through Cameron Hanekom, before a Willie le Roux break set up David Kriel. Harold Vorster added a third try, but poor goal-kicking (one from four) left the Bulls trailing 21-18 at half-time.
Second Half: Bulls Turn On The Power
The Bulls dominated after the break, with Canan Moodie scoring to give them the lead. Keagan Johannes added a brilliant solo try, and captain Ruan Nortje powered over for a sixth.
Edinburgh fought back through Ewan Ashman, and a yellow card to JF van Heerden gave them hope. But Ross Thompson’s sin-binning soon after erased their advantage.
Wes Goosen’s second try narrowed the gap to nine, but the Bulls closed out the match calmly to seal a 42-33 win and book a home semi-final against the Sharks in an all-South African clash at Loftus.
White’s URC Rollercoaster
Bulls boss Jake White explained that while he was pleasantly surprised by his team’s comeback, he did send some strong words from the coaching booth to the players on the field when they fell so far behind.
“We learned our lessons from the last time we played them in Edinburgh,” White said. We were down but got a (winning) result. Whereas the last time we played them, we didn’t.
“We were 24-7 down and today 21-8 down. Not many teams would come back in a quarter-final when you are down by that much and win it as convincingly as we did at the end.
“A couple of choice words were said. I can’t say that on national TV,” he laughingly said. “But what are you going to do? You can’t shout and scream and behave like a lunatic up there.”
URC Quarter-Final Line-Up Results
Match 1: Glasgow Warriors (1.34) beat Stormers (3.35) by 36-18
Match 2: Bulls (1.06) beat Edinburgh (8.40) by 42-33
Match 3: Leinster (1.01) beat Scarlets (12.00) by 33-21
Match 4: Sharks (1.38) versus Munster (3.15) by 6-4 in penalty shootout after 24-24 draw.
Fans and punters are in for a treat. These URC playoffs are ideal for those interested in online sports betting, given the odds and unpredictable nature of all the teams.
