The Vodacom Bulls survived a massive Munster onslaught to narrowly defeat the Irish province 34-31 in their Vodacom United Rugby Championship match on Saturday and take another step towards the competition playoffs.
The Bulls were outscored five tries to four and often had themselves to blame for opening the door to Munster’s late rally when they looked in control of the game, but at least took five points on offer to move forward with another home victory.
But the two points Munster took out of the game are crucial and will keep them ahead of the Bulls on the log and may play a significant factor later in the competition when things go down to the wire in the Race for the Eight.
MOMENTS OF BRILLIANCE AND DESPAIR
It was a difficult game all round for the Bulls. There were moments of sheer brilliance that took your breath away but interspersed with moments of sheer lunacy and mistakes that would make a coach tear their hair out in the coaching box.
As exceptional as some of their tries were, there were moments when they ceded the momentum to Munster and allowed them a way back in. Thanks to Handre Pollard’s dead-shot kicking at the end they stayed ahead on the scoreboard, but bloody hell they made it difficult for themselves.
Munster should be praised for their fight. Their signature song tells them, of course, to stand up and fight and after their 45-0 loss to the Sharks last weekend they were never likely not to do just that.
The introduction of Jack Crowley was a masterstroke. His tactical kicking, calmness under attack and ability to read the situation made him the general that directed Munster around. Certainly the addition of Crowley and Craig Casey made a marked difference to Munster as they kept their pack on the front foot.
It was a similar tactic by the Bulls, who played a lot off the impressive form of Embrose Papier and Pollard, but won the early aerial battle through their Springbok wingers Kurt-Lee Arendse and Canan Moodie.
Up front it was Marcell Coetzee who led from the front, made a few turnovers and put in a massive performance that played a big part in the game.
BULLS LUCKY TO WIN
But looking at the game soberly, most Bulls fans will say they were lucky to get away with a win here.
Munster controlled a big part of the first half, were tactically superior and were on the attack late in the game, and could have stolen it.
What made the difference was a few things. Ruan Nortje was incredibly lucky not to get a red card for a head clash in a reckless ruck clean out, but in his absence the Bulls scored two tries - one of them which must go down as one of the best ever to be scored at Loftus Versfeld.
Munster had gone 7-0 up, thanks to constant pressure and an assault that drew all the defenders in before Sean O’Brien got the ball through a floated Casey pass on the wing to waltz in and score.
From a scrum Papier picked up the ball and broke, first shrugging off the closest tackle before accelerating past one, then two defenders. Finally with the tryline in sight, his inside out flummoxed the final two defenders to give him a score that will long be remembered at the ground and should immediately be entered in a try of the season log.
PAPIER MAGIC
Three minutes later Nortje received his marching orders, but the Bulls weren’t about to let the numerical disadvantage bother them. From the very next attack midfielder Stedman Gans went outside Alex Nankivell, handed him off and accelerated enough to make enough space to send the ball outside to Moodie, who wasn’t going to let an open tryline go to waste.
The Bulls would have felt confident going into the break seven points up, but their start to the second half was disastrous, as Munster came out steaming and found little resistance as they closed the gap to just two within a minute.
Alex Kendellen ran a perfect line against a lazy defence to ghost through, popping the ball to Edwin Edogbo, who set up the ruck for Tom Ahern to stroll in amid a defence in disarray.
Papier featured again for his second try after hooker Niall Scannell lost the ball forward and Ruan Vermaak, sensing the moment, booted the ball downfield.
It wasn’t surprising that Papier won the race, bobbled the ball and then ran in to score his second, underlining the questions about how he continues to be ignored for the national side’s alignment camps.
MUNSTER KEPT COMING BACK AT BULLS
Munster hit back again, and once again it was Ahern who went over from close range, with the Bulls just not being able to take control of the game.
But then things seemed to change. A Bulls move out wide found space and Cheswill Jooste and the exceptional SA under-20 flyer had the afterburners to beat one on the inside, then run cross field and change direction to beat the last two defenders. If Papier’s first try was magic, then this was a close second.
A 50 metre penalty bomb by Pollard made it 31-19 and it looked as if the Bulls had sealed it, but Munster had other ideas.
Crowley put Ben O’Connor through the most exceptional gap, holding the ball back and popping it at the right time for the fullback to flat foot Willie le Roux and bring the Irish team within strike range.
POLLARD BOMB CRUCIAL
Pollard fired another penalty bomb and it seemed the Bulls were safe again, only for Cobus Wiese to drop the kickoff in his own 22, and Munster to launch attack after attack, finally being rewarded when Edogbo placed the ball over the line.
The Bulls controlled the last few minutes well, and got the victory but they will be frustrated at their own failings, letting Munster back in late in the game and another Loftus match where the altitude saw the opposition finish stronger again.
But a win is a win, and they will now head to Glasgow for their Investec Champions Cup Round of 16 match with Franco Smith’s side.
And they will know if they make the same mistakes away from home, their chances of advancing aren’t likely to be good.
SCORERS
VODACOM BULLS - tries: Embrose Papier (2), Canan Moodie, Cheswill Jooste. Conversions: Handre Pollard (4). Penalties: Pollard (2).
MUNSTER - tries: Sean O’Brien, Tom Ahern (2), Ben O’Connor, Edwin Edogbo. Conversions: Jack Crowley (3)