Handré Pollard’s 18-point masterclass guided the Bulls to a vital 23-21 victory over a resilient Scarlets side in Wales. Photo: Backpagepix
Image: Backpagepix
The Bulls survived a scrappy performance on Saturday night in Wales to beat a plucky Scarlets 23-21 in their United Rugby Championship encounter.
The victory ensured the Bulls leave Wales with a healthy nine points after two matches there, with the Pretoria-based side now well placed to make a run for a home quarter-final in the final two rounds of the regular season, where they will face Zebre and Benetton.
Nonetheless, the Bulls will not be pleased with their performance, which seemed to be dictated by the desperation of their hosts. They battled to impose themselves on bottom-dwelling Scarlets, often falling into disjointed and ugly play, which suited their opponents.
Their victory was finally seized by an important tighthead in the 77th minute, moving the Bulls up-field to set up a line-out. The Bulls’ pack really flexed their muscle thereafter with a powerful maul, which resulted in a penalty.
It fell to the unerring boot of Springbok flyhalf Handré Pollard to slot over the winning penalty, adding to his 18-point haul on the evening.
Earlier, the fleet-footed Cheswill Jooste opened the scoring for the Bulls as early as the second minute after the visitors executed a well-drilled play off their line-out, the wing released with only the whitewash in front of him.
In what evolved into a frantic first 40 minutes, thereafter, Scarlets refused to be outmuscled by the physically more dominant Bulls, instead landing two tries in response through Callum Woolley in the eighth minute, and then another 12 minutes later as Eddie James crossed the line.
Trailing 10-7, the Bulls launched a scathing counter-attack as the first half-hour clicked over, with Handré Pollard finishing off Embrose Papier’s breakout. The Springbok scrumhalf had done brilliantly to keep the ball alive in his run up-field, discombobulating the Scarlets defence, bumping off a tackle and holding up the ball until his teammates arrived to finish off the opportunity.
Pollard’s boot, meanwhile, ensured a narrow 14-10 lead at the end of the first half after he slotted over both conversions, while his Scarlets counterpart — Joe Hawkins — missed both of his shots at goal.
Scarlets would also fail to fully capitalise on a two-man advantage early in the second half after Stedman Gans and Francois Klopper received yellow cards within four minutes of each other, although they did manage to take the lead briefly through Fletcher Anderson’s try in the 49th minute.
Ultimately, it was Pollard who kept the Bulls scoreboard ticking over, slotting over crucial penalties to once again show the ice in his veins.
Scarlets (10) 21
Tries: Woolley, James, Anderson; Conversion: Hawkins; Penalties: Hawkins (2)
Bulls (14) 23
Tries: Jooste, Pollard; Conversions: Pollard (2); Penalties: Pollard (3)
Yellow Card: Gans, Klopper