Bulls blitz Chiefs in Brisbane

Editor

The Bulls beat the Chiefs 28-7 in a pre-season game in Brisbane on Tuesday, dedicating the win to the memory of Joost van der Westhuizen.

The encounter, played in very hot and humid conditions, produced four tries to one for the visitors – one of those a penalty try after a powerful maul. There was also a backline try that came off the back of a powerful scrum.

Although the Chiefs did not field any of their current All Blacks, they still had a strong selection that tested the Bulls at times. The visitors cleared their bench in the final quarter, but still outscored their hosts.

The Bulls got out the blocks in a hurry, taking a 14-0 lead after just 11 minutes.

The first try came through inside centre Burger Odendaal when he burst through the back of a powerful Bulls scrum. The second came when the men from Pretoria were awarded a penalty try after the Chiefs repeatedly collapsed the Bulls maul. Captain and fly-half Handré Pollard slotted both conversions.

The Chiefs eventually got on the board in a fast-paced game in the 15th minute, when scrum-half Brad Weber found a gap in the Bulls' defence, sprinting down the sideline. Steven Donald slotted the conversion – leaving the score at 14-7 to the visitors when the teams went for a water break after 20 minutes in the hot and humid conditions.

For the next 20 minutes defence dominated proceedings, as the teams went into the half-time break with the score still at 14-7 to the Bulls.

As they did in the first half, the Bulls got off to a flyer after the break – powerful centre Dries Swanepoel going over for the visitors' third try. Pollard's conversion made it 21-7. After the 60 minute mark water break the teams cleared their benches.

The Bulls' defence continued to hold firm, not that the Chiefs didn't have opportunities. In the 70th minute Toni Pulu made a great break and crossed the line, only to be called back for a forward pass. The Bulls sealed an impressive win when Warrick Gelant raced across the line for a try on the buzzer. Tian Schoeman added the conversion for a 28-7 score-line.

The scorers:

For Chiefs:
Try:
Weber 
Con: Donald

For Bulls:
Tries:
Odendaal, penalty try, Swanepoel, Gelant
Cons: Pollard 3, Schoeman

Chiefs: 15 Shaun Stevenson, 14 Solomona Alaimalo, 13 Tim Nanai-Williams, 12 Johnny Faauli, 11 Latu Vaeno, 10 Stephen Donald (c), 9 Brad Weber, 8 Tom Sanders, 7 Mitchell Karpik, 6 Taleni Seu, 5 Matiaha Martin, 4 Mitchell Brown, 3 Nepo Laulala, 2 Brayden Mitchell, 1 Mitchell Graham
Replacements: 16 Hika Elliot, 17 Sosefo Kautai, 18 Atu Moli, 19 Fin Hoeata, 20 Liam Messam, 21 Finlay Christie, 22 James Lowe, 23 Toni Pulu, 24 Joe Ravouvou, 25 Luteru Laulala, 26 Kane Hames

Bulls: 15 Jesse Kriel, 14 Travis Ismaiel, 13 Dries Swanepoel, 12 Burger Odendaal, 11 Jamba Ulengo, 10 Handre Pollard (c), 9 Rudy Paige, 8 Hanro Liebenberg, 7 Jacques Potgieter, 6 Nic de Jager, 5 Lood de Jager, 4 RG Snyman, 3 Trevor Nyakane, 2 Jaco Visagie, 1 Pierre Schoeman 
Replacements: 16 Edgar Maruthlule, 17 Lizo Gqoboka, 18 Jason Jenkins, 19 Ruan Steenkamp, 20 Piet van Zyl, 21 Tian Schoeman, 22 Warrick Gelant, 23 John-Roy Jenkinson, 24 Jacobie Adriaanse, 25 Renaldo Bothma, 26 Francois Brummer, 27 JT Jackson

Referee: Rohan Hoffmann (Australia)
Assistant referees: Nic Berry (Australia), Jordan Way (Australia)