Following Edinburgh’s 34-28 victory over the Bulls, here are our five takeaways from the Challenge Cup quarter-final clash.
The top line
Edinburgh held out for a hard-fought victory over the Bulls after ruthlessly cutting the visitors to shreds in the first half.
A James Lang double paired with a try from Magnus Bradbury as well as two conversions and a penalty from Ross Thompson gave the Scots a handy 24-7 lead at half time which they quickly extended through co-captain Grant Gilchrist after the break.
That lead would prove too much for the Bulls to come back from after a shambolic first 40 with David Kriel scoring a try against the run of play.
The Bulls‘ bench breathed new life into the performance as they earned a penalty try while Cameron Hanekom and a second try for Kriel gave the South Africans some hope.
But a gritty Edinburgh outfit held firm as Pierre Schoeman pilfered over to hammer in the final nail in the coffin of his former employer’s Challenge Cup hopes.
Edinburgh punish sluggish Bulls
It was a diabolical start to the match for the visitors as they conceded two tries and had a player sent to the sin bin in the opening 15 minutes.
Edinburgh put Stravino Jacobs under pressure and the winger had his kick charged down and from the ensuing goal-line dropout, the hosts struck. It was wonderful phase play from the Scots with Lang sending Matt Currie cantering through and following up perfectly to finish off the score.
Zak Burger was then a yellow card for what was adjudged to be a deliberate knockdown at the breakdown and after Ben Vellacott grounded short, Edinburgh doubled their lead through Bradbury.
The opening 15 minutes set the tone for the first half as the Bulls wasted opportunity after opportunity and failed to really get their attack going with their first try coming from some individual brilliance from Harold Vorster who tore through the defence after a terrible pass and sent his centre partner over.
Fortune favoured the hosts as Lang’s kick-through came off the leg of Wilco Louw and ricocheted back into his arms and gave him a clear run to the line.
It was a terrible first half from the Bulls, aptly summed up by former Springboks flanker Schalk Burger at half-time.
“The good news for Bulls fans is that the Bulls can’t play much worse,” he said on Supersport’s coverage.
It really couldn’t have been much worse for the Bulls who were wasteful at the lineout, in possession and struggled to clear their lines when they did get the ball in their half.
It was sluggish from the Pretoria-based side that looked a shadow of the team that defeated Bayonne last week.
Discipline proves decisive
While the Bulls fought back to have a crack at victory in the dying minutes of the match, it was their discipline that cost them a spot in the semi-finals.
It was not just the yellow cards for Burger and Jannes Kirsten – who was arguably lucky not to get another – but the execution of the basics.
After winning lineouts, the Bulls attempted to be too cute with their passes to the scrum-half and it killed off good attacking positions. Even in the second half, they failed to set their maul effectively and gifted possession back to the hosts in a threatening position.
The penalty count at full-time reads Edinburgh 9-12 Bulls and while that’s not wildly in favour of the Scots which adds more weight to the soft moments and 20 minutes that the visitors were down a man that cost Jake White’s men.
Bulls Bomb Squad left with too much to do
White loaded his bench with six Springboks hoping that the Bomb Squad-esque tactic would pay dividends in the second half and to his credit, it absolutely did.
Jan-Hendrik Wessells, Canan Moodie and Johan Goosen were game-changing substitutions for the Bulls but ultimately they were left with too much to do.
Perhaps White will rue the decision to take leaders like Marcell Coetzee and Ruan Nortje when he did but he is juggling a long tour after today’s defeat as they return to United Rugby Championship action.
With Goosen having an outstanding game, it was clear to see just how much the Bulls have missed an out-and-out fly-half and perhaps he should have started the match but hindsight is always 20-20.
Edinburgh’s grit
That’s back-to-back wins over South African opposition for Sean Everitt’s charges both by tight margins.
Everitt will be particularly smitten about this result as they managed to keep the Bulls’ powerhouse scrum largely at bay and their route to victory was paved by the brilliance of the pack. Jamie Ritchie was immense so was his back-row partners Hamish Watson and Bradbury.
Lang was superb at inside centre while Thompson’s booming boot kept his side in the right areas of the pitch for most of the match.
They will face a stiff challenge in the form of Bath or Gloucester but on today’s viewing, they will put up a big fight.
Src: Planetrugby.com - https://www.planetrugby.com/news/edinburgh-v-bulls-five-takeaways-as-shambolic-first-half-leaves-springboks-too-much-to-do-against-superb-scots
