The Bull Run in Pamplona may just have found its match: the performance by the Bulls of Pretoria in the opening 49 minutes of their 29-19 victory over the Ospreys on Saturday night.
The aim for Jake White’s team for the rest of the United Rugby Championship should be to bottle those 49 minutes and have it on repeat, as they played some utterly mesmerising rugby that swept the Swansea outfit off their feet.
Pace, power and panache were all on display, and what made it even more special was the fact that they earned their four-try bonus point as early as the 23rd minute.
While a lot of the attention will rightly be on some of the questionable decisions made by referee Eoghan Cross and his match-official team – with the Bulls receiving two yellow cards and a red to David Kriel – how they went about dismantling the Ospreys should not be lost in the process.
Veteran Springbok fullback Willie le Roux was pulling the strings with aplomb on attack and was chose as the Player-of-the-Match, sending a clear message to Rassie Erasmus that he is definitely still sharp enough to reach his 100th Test cap in November.
Fellow internationals Kurt-Lee Arendse – who grabbed a brace – and Canan Moodie were as sharp as ever in the backline, while No 8 Elrigh Louw increased his burgeoning reputation as a Test player with another fine outing in which he also scored a try.
The highlight for the Bulls would’ve been scrumhalf Embrose Papier’s solo try, with captain Ruan Nortjé stealing an Ospreys lineout and feeding his No 9, who sliced his way through the defence with searing pace.
“It’s obviously having Willie there, and understanding how we can move them around,” White said about the terrific Bulls attacking play.
“Just the way he controls the game ... You wouldn’t have heard how he was talking to the players, how he took control.
“I can’t under-play the fact that as a squad, we would’ve found a way to lose that game two or three years ago, and today, we found a way to win it.
“But I think the turning point for me was when Embrose (Papier) went through and scored that try from a turnover lineout.
“We are happy with the way we want to play – we can change from a massive pack to a running pack to a kicking team to a running team ... and within a game as well, which is the ideal way to coach.”
But it wasn’t just about the backs, as White singled out barnstorming tighthead prop Wilco Louw – who should surely be up for a Bok recall next month – for his contribution to a commanding Bulls scrum that at times resembled a rumbling driving maul as they marched the Ospreys backwards.
Cameron Hanekom wins the penalty 🔥
The Vodacom Bulls beat Ospreys despite being down to 14 👏🐂#VURC pic.twitter.com/4p6CEKjZJs
Unfortunately for the Bulls, Elrigh Louw and prop Gerhard Steenekamp will miss Friday’s clash against the Scarlets in Llanelli (8.35pm start) after failing their HIAs during the Ospreys game – although White was confident that they would be ready for Bok duty against Scotland, England and Wales next month.
But White will hope to have Kriel’s red card rescinded this week – after he was adjudged to have made a dangerous hand-off on Ospreys flyhalf Dan Edwards – while fit-again utility back Devon Williams will join the squad this week, too.
David Kriel is sent off 🟥
— SuperSport Rugby (@SSRugby) October 12, 2024
What are your thoughts on this moment? 👇
📺 Stream #VURC on DStv: https://t.co/0P0NNhnwKw pic.twitter.com/Bh0Sjwv4ol
“One was a mistake where the guy ran into him (Alulutho Tshakweni in a dangerous tackle). The other one is debatable (Kriel), and I’m not convinced that Elrigh (deliberate knock-down) tried to knock that ball down – he actually tried to catch it,” White said about the three cards.
“David carried the ball into contact into a 10 (Edwards) that’s five-foot-two, and David’s six-foot-four...
“I actually asked the ref if David hadn’t put his arm out, and the 10 had hit his head, would the 10 have gotten a red card?
“And the ironic thing is that the 10 didn’t go off. The 10 stayed on the field because, to quote the referee, ‘he got hit in the throat’.”