Watching paint dry may have been more exciting than the action at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday, but in the end, the Bulls will be relieved about pulling off a 22-16 win over Edinburgh in their United Rugby Championship opener.
For the first hour, both teams almost took turns to try to lose the game as they just couldn’t find their rhythm on attack or shore up their defence.
The loss of star tighthead prop Wilco Louw to illness on match-day didn’t help either, as the Bulls conceded a series of scrum penalties.
To be fair to the starting Bulls front row of Alulutho Tshakweni, captain Akker van der Merwe and Francois Klopper, Edinburgh tried every trick in the book to make an absolute mess of the set-piece, and Welsh referee Ben Breakspear heavily penalised the home side – sometimes leaving puzzled looks on the Pretoria pack’s faces.
Dynamic young No 8 Cameron Hanekom tried hard to spark the Bulls into action with a couple of trademark charges, but an almost inevitable knock-on and wrong decision would follow.
The lineouts were also a nightmare for the home side, with streetwise Scotland international lock Grant Gilchrist disrupting the set-piece in whichever way.
The resultant scrums almost always ended in a penalty for the visitors, one of which was slotted by flyhalf Ross Thompson for a 3-0 lead after 15 minutes.
The Bulls, though, continued arguably their worst performance in years as nothing went right for them, with even the usually energetic David Kriel unable to make much of an impact from fullback.
But the hard toil was not in vain as finally the Bulls’ hands didn’t let them down on the half-hour mark, as flyhalf Jaco van der Walt found Chris Barend Smit and then Stedman Gans, and the centres created the space for Springbok wing Canan Moodie to surge to within a few metres before putting flank Jannes Kirsten over for a superb try.
😍 Free-flowing magic from the Vodacom @BlueBullsRugby with Canan Moodie pulling the strings!
A dazzling way to score the first try of the contest 🌟 #BKTURC #URC | #BULvEDI pic.twitter.com/xxxi9ZlMkd
Suddenly the Pretoria team found their touch as a strong counter-ruck ended with them back in the Edinburgh 22, and eventually Van der Walt scored on the left.
At 12-3, the Bulls thought they were away, but it was not to be as Hanekom was yellow-carded for repeated infringements, and Edinburgh pounced through hooker Ewan Ashman from a five-metre lineout drive.
Things became grim for the home fans when Edinburgh pivot Thompson booted over a penalty to put them 13-12 ahead early in the second half, and when Bulls loosehead Simphiwe Matanzima got a yellow for a series of scrum penalties, it looked like Jake White’s team would not rescue the result.
But a timely water break on the hour mark seemed to spring the Bulls into action as they put together a tenacious passage of defence to keep out the Scottish club after 16 phases.
The Bulls got the turnover near their tryline and kicked a 50-22, and it was replacement back Boeta Chamberlain who took a quick lineout, and Keagan Johannes and Chris Barend Smit combined to put Player-of-the-Match Moodie through under the posts for the decisive try in the 65th minute.
. @CananMoodie benefits from the High IQ Vodacom Bulls play! 🧠 👏@BlueBullsRugby #BKTURC #URC | #BULvEDI pic.twitter.com/kPLF22W9qj
— BKT United Rugby Championship (URC) (@URCOfficial) September 28, 2024
Chamberlain added a late penalty to stretch the lead to nine points, and despite another Thompson penalty, the Bulls held on for a scrappy triumph.
Points-Scorers
Bulls 22 – Tries: Jannes Kirsten, Jaco van der Walt, Canan Moodie. Conversions: Van der Walt (1), Boeta Chamberlain (1). Penalty: Chamberlain (1).
Edinburgh 16 – Try: Ewan Ashman. Conversion: Ross Thompson (1). Penalties: Ross Thompson (3).