Following the Bulls’ comprehensive 55-15 victory over the Dragons in the United Rugby Championship, here’s our five takeaways from Loftus Versfeld.

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One-way traffic in Pretoria as the high-flying Bulls stormed their way to an emphatic victory to hammer the final nail in the coffin of a shameful season for the Dragons.

Huw Anderson, Rhodri Williams and Lewis Morgan crossed the whitewash for the travelling Welsh outfit, but those were barely consolation tries in what was more like a training run for the Bulls.

Jake White’s men ran in nine tries in the slaying of the Dragons, with David Kriel grabbing the opening try in the fourth minute to get the scoreboard ticking.

Cobus Wiese, Sebastian de Klerk, Akker van der Merwe (2), Sergeal Petersen (2), Marcell Coetzee and Devon Williams all followed suit as the Bulls kept the scorekeepers busy in an absolute mauling.

Tributes to Cornal

While the vibe at Loftus rose as the Bulls ran in try after try in the hammering of the Dragons, it was an incredibly emotional start to proceedings as Pretoria paid tribute to the late Cornal Hendricks.

The former Springboks speedster sadly passed away on Wednesday after suffering a heart attack, and as Jake White predicted, it was an incredibly emotional day.

Fans were invited to leave flowers, notes and tokens for the fallen Bok at Loftus before the game, and after issuing a touching statement before the game, it was heartwarming to see the Dragons players and coaching staff pay tribute to the ex-dual international after their captain’s run.

It all continued prior to kick-off with Bulls players Nizaam Carr and Stravino Jacobs laying down further tributes before the two sides ran out. A moment of silence was also reserved before Hendricks’ guilty pleasure song was played at the ground.

‘Privilege and honour to be his coach’ – Jake White leads tributes for former Springboks winger Cornal Hendricks

Hendricks was a much-loved character on and off the field, and one must tip the hat to both teams for paying tribute to him in such a manner.

Always one to share a smile, Hendricks was a fierce competitor on the pitch and resilient one, too, having come out of an enforced retirement due to a health issue to not only compete at the highest level but shine in doing so.

After two years away from the game, he returned to action with the Bulls, who took a gamble on him, and helped the side win two Currie Cup titles and successfully transitioned from a lethal attacking winger to a classy centre.

He never got the opportunity to add to his 12 Test caps and five tries earned between 2014 and 2015 but boy did he come close with world-class performances for the men from Pretoria.

While South Africa mourns the passing of a true warrior, an unreal athlete and an infectious character, today it was about remembering and paying tribute to the man who serves as an inspiration to all, and the Bulls and Dragons did just that.

Willie le Roux continues to weave his magic

While Hendricks was universally loved, few knew him better than Springboks veteran Willie le Roux, who played with and against him since their respective schoolboy days. The pair represented Boland, the Cheetahs, Bulls and Springboks together, with Le Roux assisting Hendricks for his first try in the Green and Gold jersey.

Le Roux has been in excellent form since returning from injury, but today felt like a personal tribute to his old mate as he produced another attacking masterclass.

The Dragons were well off the pace for most of the encounter, which has been the case for the majority of the season, but the Springboks playmaker certainly punished them with every opportunity he got.

With Johan Goosen sidelined, Le Roux played a crucial role in helping stand-in fly-half Keagan Johannes in marshalling the troops around the park and creating the gaping holes to punch through the Dragons’ defence.

Rassie Erasmus has openly stated that the Springboks want to get Le Roux to 100 Test caps this year, but on current form, those won’t be token caps with the veteran back thoroughly deserving of a call-up.

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Best part of the Dragons’ season

The Dragons started the season well, beating rivals Ospreys in the first round of action, but since then, it’s been a downward spiral with head coach Dai Flanagan dismissed after just six matches.

Flanagan’s departure did not result in any sort of upswing with Filo Tiatia overseeing 12 straight defeats in the URC.

Quite frankly, it’s been a shambolic campaign from the men from Gwent with the only shining light being that it is now over. Tiatia has a mighty task ahead of him in the off-season, if he is tasked with staying on, as the Dragons have been quite clearly the worst team in the league.

The budgets afforded to the Welsh regions certainly don’t help matters, but Cardiff came inches shy of a place in the play-offs.

The Dragons also had an insanely long injury list heading into this match, leading to semi-pros Lewis Morgan and Jamie Hughes answering the side’s SOS call and were flown out to South Africa to feature on the bench – the latter forced to play over an hour at altitude in the front-row following Dylan Keller-Griffiths’ injury. But that simply cannot be used as an excuse for 17 defeats in 18 matches, as all teams have to deal with injuries.

There are a handful of positives, though, in the form of scrum-half Rhodri Williams and back-rower Aaron Wainwright, while Ryan Woodman looks a real prospect. Those are players Tiatia can build his starting XV around, particularly when players like Elliot Dee are back from injury too.

Bulls in rude health

There was a sense of clunkiness from the Bulls today but White did rotate and get some minutes into some players’ legs before the play-offs.

However, those who took to the park today were a class above their opposition as they dominated every facet of the game.

2024 Springboks debutants Cameron Hanekom and Jan-Hendrik Wessels were sublime yet again as they hit top form at the perfect time for the Bulls.

Akker van der Merwe was excellent once again, and once his shift was done, Johan Grobbelaar picked up from where he left off and was just as brilliant.

Goosen’s absence is a hammer blow to their title hopes, but Johannes shone with the ball in hand as he combined so well with Le Roux to rip open the Welsh defence, time and time again. The only blight on his game was placekicking.

The depth White has at his disposal was further highlighted by the livewire cameo of Bath-bound Bernard van der Linde, as well as the barnstorming showings of Marcell Coetzee, Jannes Kirsten, Francois Klopper and Simphiwe Matanzima.

Finally, Nama Xaba got a rare chance in the starting XV and took his opportunity with both hands with a man of the match shift to add to White’s selection headache heading into the knockout stages.

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Src: Planetrugby.com - https://www.planetrugby.com/news/bulls-v-dragons-five-takeaways-including-fitting-tribute-to-cornal-hendricks-as-springboks-star-against-shambolic-basement-dwellers