Friday in Llanelli, the Bulls suffered a heartbreaking 37-28 loss to the Scarlets in their United Rugby Championship round 13 match.
The Scarlets have now won only four of their last 13 matches, while the Bulls have suffered their fifth loss of the season.
Scarlets outscored the South African visitors in the first half by three tries to two, giving them a comfortable 27-14 advantage at the break.
Both teams scored bonus-point tries in the second half, but the home team prevailed. The second half was tense as both teams hurled all they had at each other.
Scarlets scored the first points of the encounter with a penalty kick in the third minute, but the Bulls scrumhalf Zak Burger scored a try following a pick-up from a ruck to run through for the lead immediately after.
The Scarlets applied strong pressure in attack, and it paid off as they crossed the tryline three times, with tries from flank Dan Davis, prop Kemsley Mathias, and scrumhalf Gareth Davies, who collected a fantastic chip kick before sprinting over the line.
The successful conversions gave them a comforting 24-7 advantage.
The Bulls attempted to react in kind by crossing the try line, but the ball was held up. A spell with errors cast by both teams, followed by a spell with errors cast by both teams.
Stravino Jacobs scored the Bulls’ second converted try and the score was 27-14 at halftime.
The Bulls responded with back-to-back tries from flanker Cyle Brink and replacement prop Simphiwe Matanzima within seven minutes to claim their extra point and trail the Scarlets by only one point.
The Bulls then suffered a decisive blow when they were reduced to 14 players after receiving a yellow card, allowing the Scarlets to pounce and score their bonus point try with two minutes remaining, which put the match out of reach for the Pretoria team and secured the victory for the home team.
SCARLETS VS BULLS URC SCORERS AND TEAMS:
Trys: Dan Davis, Kemsley Mathias, Gareth Davies, and Johnny McNicholl Sam Costelow (3) and Dan Jones (2). Costelow scored penalties (3).
Bulls — Tries: Zak Burger, Stravino Jacobs, Cyle Brink, Simphiwe Matanzima. Chris Smith converts: (4).
Scarlets roster: 15 Johnny McNicholl, 14 Steff Evans, 13 Joe Roberts, 12 Ioan Nicholas, 11 Ryan Conbeer, 10 Sam Costelow, 9 Gareth Davies, 8 Sione Kalamafoni, 7 Dan Davis, 6 Aaron Shingler (captain), 5 Sam Lousi, 4 Vaea Fifita, 3 Sam Wainwright, 2 Daf Hughes, 1 Keesley Mathews.
Taylor Davies (16), Steff Thomas (17), Harri O’Connor (18), Morgan Jones (19), Carwyn Tuipulotu (20), Dane Blacker (21), Dan Jones (22), and Eddie James (23).
Bulls – 15 Johan Goosen, 14 David Kriel, 13 Lionel Mapoe, 12 Harold Vorster, 11 Stravino Jacobs, 10 Chris Smith, 9 Zak Burger, 8 Elrigh Louw, 7 Cyle Brink, 6 Marco van Staden, 5 Ruan Nortje (captain), 4 Ruan Vermaak, 3 Mornay Smith, 2 Johann Grobbelaar, 1 Gerhard Steenekamp.
Subs: 16 Jan-Hendrick Wessels, The lineup is as follows: 17 Simphiwe Matanzima, 18 Francois Klopper, 19 Janko Swanepoel, 20 Nizaam Carr, 21 Embrose Papier, 22 Cornal Hendricks, and 23 Wandisile Simelane.
»Scarlets prevail against Bulls in a URC thriller«