The Vodacom Bulls overpowered Exeter Chiefs to score six tries to secure a 39-28 bonus-point victory in their Heineken Champions Cup match at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday night.
Both teams attacked hard in the first half, and it was a close game. However, the Vodacom Bulls led 20-14 at halftime because they had scored three tries to the Exeter Chiefs’ two.
The Vodacom Bulls dominated the second half because they attacked at will and scored most of their try-scoring chances. They scored three more tries to bring their total to six, while the visitors could only score two because their captain and center, Henry Slade, was sent off for a dangerous tackle in the 54th minute.
In the first 10 minutes of the game, Exeter set the tone for the match by getting close to the try line, but the Pretoria team stopped them.
In the 14th minute, Springbok No. 8 Elrigh Louw dove over after getting a pass from a ruck. This gave the Vodacom Bulls their first points and a 7-0 lead.
Five minutes later, the Exeter Chiefs tied the score when fullback Josh Hodge ran through a hole to finish off a great team try that started with a lineout and spread the ball out wide.
Vodacom Bulls flyhalf Chris Smith scored a penalty goal to put his team back in the lead, but wing After David Kriel won a turnover at a ruck, he spread the ball out to give them their second try. This made it 15-7 in favor of the home team.
Solomone Kata of the Exeter Chiefs closed the gap when, in the 32nd minute, he forced his way over the chalk from a rolling maul to put his team only one point behind the Vodacom Bulls. There were still a few minutes left in the half.
Vodacom Bulls Lock Ruan Vermaak powered his way over the tryline from a pick-and-go to give the home team a 20-14 lead as they went into the locker room.
The started the second half with a bang. Two minutes after play started again, center Wandisile Simelane ran through for a try that gave them a bonus point. Ten minutes later, hooker Johan Grobbelaar scored from a rolling maul.
Exeter took a big hit when Slade was sent off for a dangerous tackle in the 52nd minute. This left them with only 14 players for the rest of the game.
Even so, they kept fighting. In the 64th minute, replacement Jannes Kirsten scored in the corner from a pick-and-go. However, this was quickly cancelled out when Simelane scored his second try from an interception to give the home team a 39-21 lead.
Exeter fought until the end, and they got their bonus point try when Jack Innard touched down in the final seconds. With Skinner’s conversion, Exeter had to settle for a 39-28 loss.
Photo by Steve Haag Sports/INPHO/Shutterstock/BackpagePix
