“This is a tremendous relief for the guys within the group. They did not want to come here and lose another game, therefore I am quite pleased with their performance. I am pleased with the team’s cohesiveness this week and our training methods.”
This is how Bulls head coach Jake White described the mood in the locker room following his team’s 44-22 bonus-point victory against Benetton on Friday in Treviso in the United Rugby Championship.
After losing to Glasgow and Munster in the first two weeks of the tour, this victory was most welcome.
The Bulls trailed 9-3 at halftime following an error-filled opening 40 minutes in which they missed lineouts, gave a few scrum penalties, and struggled to establish their offensive rhythm — as a result of a knock-on, forward pass, or incorrect decision with the ball in hand.
Even the usually outstanding Kurt-Lee Arendse fumbled a routine catch that resulted in an offside penalty and three points for the home team, and the defence was forced to scramble after being outflanked.
Ruan Nortje and Elrigh Louw scored tries for the Pretoria side early in the second half, while captain Marcell Coetzee, fellow flank Marco van Staden, and experienced hooker Bismarck du Plessis dominated the breakdowns.
Manuel Zuliani scored a touchdown for Benetton, and Tomas Albornoz added a fifth penalty to give the hosts a 22-20 lead with 22 minutes remaining.
Chris Smith put the Bulls back in front with a three-pointer, and then Jan-Hendrik Wessels, Coetzee, and Stravino Jacobs scored tries in the final 10 minutes, while master kicker Morné Steyn converted several superb touchline kicks.
“I’ve always had a smile on my face! I’ve been trying to tell you guys: we’ll get it right. This is a difficult tour. The second half was amazing. “We had numerous opportunities in the first half, but we failed to capitalize,” White stated after the game.
“This is a tremendous relief for the guys within the group. They did not want to come here and lose another game, therefore I am quite pleased with their performance. I am proud of their cohesiveness this week and our training methods.
Now they are rewarded for their previous efforts. In the opening period, we had opportunities. We defended unbelievably well, as they did not score a try despite our efforts to keep them out. But I had the impression that we played all of our rugby in our own half – not because we wanted to, but because they squeezed us there.
In the second half, we were rewarded for making line breaks and applying pressure to their defense. Tonight, I thought our defense was exceptional, as we put them under pressure and forced numerous turnovers at the breakdown and in the tackle.
“It’s fantastic that we were able to finish with 41 points in the second half and a bonus-point victory, considering the difficulty of the venue.
“Therefore, I’m very happy and proud. The Bulls are a proud squad, but we haven’t played our best rugby in the past two weeks.”
But the victory at Stadio Monigo was marred by No. 8 Elrigh Louw’s injury right before the final whistle. The Bok loose forward was hurt in the maul that led to Wessels’ touchdown and was helped off with ice on his right ankle by Du Plessis and Reinhard Ludwig following Jacobs’ score.
“We will scan it as soon as we return to the hotel. He stated that he heard something ‘go’, which, although it seems odd, is actually a good sign because, often, when you have a syndesmosis (ankle sprain), you don’t… “This is comparable to an eight-week injury,” White added.
Morné Steyn doing Morné Steyn things 🤩#BKTURC #URC | #BENvBUL @BlueBullsRugby pic.twitter.com/YAdB7bpu6U
— Vodacom United Rugby Championship (URC) (@URCOfficial_RSA) October 21, 2022
Therefore, I hope it’s not too serious. If we can give him some time to recover and get him back on the field… I highly doubt he will be able to play on Monday, but we have one game (next Sunday against the Sharks at Loftus Versfeld) and then four weeks off.
If he misses the next game, he may be available by the end of the month of November.
Points-Scorers
Benetton 22 – Try: Manuel Zuliani. Conversion: Tomas Albornoz (1). Penalties: Albornoz (5).
Bulls 44 – Tries: Ruan Nortje, Elrigh Louw, Jan-Hendrik Wessels, Marcell Coetzee, Stravino Jacobs. Conversions: Chris Smith (2), Morné Steyn (3). Penalties: Smith (3).