Springbok’s late heroics help Bulls to edge out Benetton while Scarlets hammer hapless Zebre Parma
Akker van der Merwe on the charge for the Bulls.
A late converted try from Springboks hooker Akker van der Merwe helped the Bulls to clinch a narrow 17-15 victory over Benetton in Friday’s United Rugby Championship clash in Treviso.
If truth be told, the Bulls were lucky to be victorious as Benetton held an edge for most of this encounter and Van der Merwe’s score drew his side level with their hosts before David Kriel held his nerve to slot the match-winning conversion in the game’s dying moments.
The men from Pretoria’s other points came via another five-pointer from Reinhardt Ludwig which was also converted by Kriel while Keagan Johannes added a penalty.
For Benetton, Tomas Albornoz succeeded with four penalties and Rhyno Smith also slotted a three-pointer off the kicking tee.
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The match started brightly for the home side as they were awarded an early penalty, after the Bulls were blown up for an indiscretion while fielding the kick off, and Albornoz made no mistake from the kicking tee.
Two minutes later, Benetton doubled their lead when Johan Grobbelaar was penalised for obstruction and Smith showed his class as he slotted a monster place-kick from the halfway mark.
Despite those setbacks, the Bulls did not panic and were soon on the attack in Benetton’s half but some unforced errors from them and a resilient defensive from their hosts meant they could not narrow the gap.
The next 20 minutes was an arm wrestle as both sides gave their all in a bid to take control of proceedings but the sides cancelled each other out during that period.
The visitors eventually opened their account courtesy of a three-pointer off the kicking tee from Johannes – who started at fly-half after Boeta Chamberlain was a late withdrawal after illness struck the visitors’ camp in Italy in the build-up to this match – in the 23rd minute, after Benetton’s forwards were penalised for an indiscretion at a scrum.
The rest of the half was characterised by excellent defence from both sides although Albornoz added another penalty in the 35th minute which gave his side a 9-3 lead at half-time.
The second half started in similar fashion to the first with the sides battling to gain the ascendancy and the Bulls had a chance to narrow the gap in the 55th minute, after Paolo Odogwu infringed at a ruck, but Johannes’ shot at goal was off target.
Despite that setback, the Bulls were soon on the attack and two minutes later Johannes stabbed a teasing cross-field kick through for Kurt-Lee Arendse. The Springboks wing could not gather the ball but Ludwig did and he crossed the whitewash.
His effort was disallowed, however, as television replays revealed that Arendse had knocked on and referee Eoghan Cross disallowed the try. Shortly afterwards, the visitors were penalised on defence and Albornoz slotted his third penalty.
The Bulls needed a response and that came in the 70th minute when Ludwig would not be denied as he powered over the try-line from close quarters. The home side then thought they had won the game when Albornoz added his fourth penalty in the 73rd minute.
However, the men from Pretoria finished stronger and drew level when Van der Merwe dotted down off the back of a lineout drive deep inside Benetton territory before Kriel added the extras to seal their triumph.
Scarlets clinch bonus-point triumph over Zebre Parma
In Friday’s other match, the Scarlets backed up last weekend’s narrow win over the Bulls with an impressive 30-8 bonus-point triumph over Zebre Parma at Parc y Scarlets.
It was the Scarlets’ third successive victory after they also beat Cardiff in Round Four of the URC and Friday’s win saw Tom Rogers, Macs Page, Blair Murray and captain Josh Macleod cross for tries while Ioan Lloyd added two conversions and as many penalties
Ben Cambriani scored an early try for the Italians while Geronimo Prisciantelli slotted a drop goal.
Buoyed by snapping a five-match losing streak at Parc y Scarlets when they beat the Bulls in Round Five, Scarlets took an early lead through Lloyd’s penalty.
But Zebre, on a run of three successive defeats, fought back to take an 8-6 lead courtesy of Prisciantelli’s drop goal and Cambriani’s try from Giovanni Montemauri’s superb kick.
Lloyd’s second penalty reduced the deficit to two points and Scarlets then moved back in front when Rogers went over in the corner following a slick move for an 11-8 half-time lead.
Two tries in the opening six minutes of the second half saw Scarlets surge ahead, with Page first bursting clear of the Zebre defence and leaving them trailing in his wake, Lloyd adding the extras.
Murray then went over shortly afterwards after a terrific team move and Macleod crossed for a fourth try from close range after a maul following sustained Scarlets pressure, Lloyd converting the latter.
Zebre, who have failed to win away from home in the competition since January 2021, rarely threatened to add to their tally.
Scarlets comfortably saw the game out to extend their unbeaten run against Zebre to 18 games, winning 17 of them, while also registering a third win in a row in the URC for the first time since February 2023.