Connacht v Bulls: Five takeaways as ‘deadly’ De Klerk is key provider in narrow victory that isn’t without controversy

Adam Kyriacou
Paul de Wet and Sebastian de Klerk impressed for the Bulls.

Paul de Wet and Sebastian de Klerk impressed for the Bulls.

Following a 28-27 win for the Bulls over Connacht in the United Rugby Championship (URC) on Friday, here’s our five takeaways from the match at Dexcom Stadium.

The top line

The Bulls bounced back from last week’s disappointing second-half performance against Ulster as they picked up their third win from four games in the URC this season.

Scores from Paul de Wet (2) and the evergreen Willie le Roux were added to by 13 points off the kicking tee from Keagan Johannes as the visitors clung on for victory.

Connacht were picked apart all too easily at times as a bright start and strong finish bookended a poor patch, as they suffered a second loss from three matches thus far.

Josh Ioane, Caolin Blade, Sean Naughton and Mack Hansen scored their tries as this loss was cushioned somewhat by the province sealing two bonus points on the night.

Deadly De Klerk

De Wet may grab the headlines for his scores but he would be the first to buy Sebastian de Klerk a coffee at the airport ahead of the flight to Glasgow after his two assists.

De Klerk’s speed was deadly as he scorched past Connacht’s defence at will on several occasions and did just that before handing on to his scrum-half for two run-ins.

He is a pleasure to watch when on song and the Bulls will hope the wing stays fit and gets his hands on the ball as much as possible moving forward as he turns games.

Controversy

The game’s controversial moment was on 20 minutes when Connacht’s Josh Murphy copped a 20-minute red card after lashing out at Bulls hooker Jan-Hendrik Wessels.

Plenty was missed or could not be proven due to poor camera angles, such as the alleged grab of the crotch from Wessels that, according to Murphy, caused him to react. There was also head contact made by Murphy in the initial tackle that led to the ruck where all hell broke loose and prompted numerous replays which came to no avail.

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Ultimately, Murphy received a 20-minute red for his strike to Wessels’ head but the Bulls front-rower, if Murphy is correct, is lucky no angle showed his alleged grab.

Class is permanent

Willie le Roux might be getting on in years but he still knows how to control a game with ball in hand, with Friday another demonstration of the man’s rugby intelligence.

The 36-year-old was often in the backline as a distributor and kicker as he dovetailed nicely with Johannes, who kicked two conversions, two penalties and one drop-goal.

While Le Roux doesn’t possess the speed he once had and at times can be something of a liability defensively, there’s still something magical about his distribution, timing and ability to command time in possession, with his draw and give to suck in Bundee Aki one for youngsters to watch and take in. This is how you fix and give a pass.

Ireland watch

Finlay Bealham, Cian Prendergast, Blade, Hansen and Aki were all in action this evening, just two days after being selected in Andy Farrell’s Ireland squad for the autumn.

While Bealham and Prendergast were part of a Connacht scrum that struggled against the Bulls, they were busy around the field and can be content with their showings.

Blade was busy while Hansen finished expertly late on and looked full of energy on his return to action, with Aki a handful as a carrier in his hour’s work to show his worth.

READ MORE: URC team news: How to watch Round Four, kick-off times and match officials

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