The Bulls kept up their hunt for a top two finish in the United Rugby Championship’s (URC) league phases but it may have come at a price in their 45-21 win over Cardiff Blues at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday.
Flyhalf Johan Goosen left the field in the 11th minute with what looked like a significant injury. He has played a pivotal role in their recent success and not having his trusty boot in the knockout stages of the URC will be a cause for concern for the Bulls.
In fact, director of rugby Jake White cut a dejected figure when Goosen received medical attention before leaving the field.
The Bulls, nonetheless, went on the stampede in the remainder of the first half before losing their lustre in the last half hour.
They were particularly forceful upfront.
Prop Wilco Louw has already established himself as the cornerstone of the Bulls’ URC campaign. The routine destruction he has inflicted on the opposition scrum has made him the most fearsome tighthead prop in the competition. This time, he gave Cardiff the blues with another powerful and technically proficient performance that helped give the hosts the platform from which they pummelled the Cardiff defence.
Generally speaking, the hosts had the better of the collisions, and it allowed their strike runners all the momentum to take lumps out of the Cardiff defence.
There were times the hapless Cardiff looked helpless as they were manhandled in the tight exchanges. Cardiff is the highest placed Welsh team in the URC, and why Wales delivered just two players to the 38-man British & Irish Lions squad due to tour Australia was perhaps partly explained in this match.
The Bulls’ direct approach paid healthy dividends, as they made significant territorial gains. But they weren’t just bashing brutes, they showed variety in the way they unlocked the visitors’ defence, and much of that was channelled through fullback Willie le Roux.
The unheralded Harold Vorster again delivered an honest shift, and without the ball. He too has been one of the Bulls’ most consistent performers.
Right-wing Canan Moodie built on this burgeoning form, again soaring high under contestable kicks.
Left-wing Sebastian de Klerk was decisive when he was called into action, and his brace of tries is testament to his effort.
The Blues had little momentum in the first half. They barely got the ball through two phases before coughing up possession. But, to be fair, they operated under suffocating pressure from the Bulls’ defence.
It was only in the second half that they found their voice in attack, and it happened just as the Bulls lost theirs after De Klerk’s second try in the 51st minute.
Cardiff’s bench made their presence felt, no more than veteran loose forward Taulupe Faletau. They scored a well-constructed try by flank Alex Mann and they increasingly made inroads. They scored two more but they crucially failed to nail down a bonus point.
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