Vodacom Bulls Go Down Fighting

The Vodacom Bulls crashed out of the EPCR Challenge Cup but never stopped fighting on Saturday as they went down 34-28 against Edinburgh, eventually settling for a heart-breaking six-point defeat at the Hive Stadium in the Scottish capital.

The defeat for the men from Pretoria, who were the last remaining South African team in the European showpiece, dashed all hopes of a domestic team retaining the trophy, following the Hollywoodbets Sharks’ victory in the 2023/24 season.

The match was filled with drama as Edinburgh took full control of the first half, scoring three tries and a penalty goal to one converted try by the visitors for an encouraging 24-7 halftime lead.

A brave second-half fightback by the visitors, however, saw the match go down to the wire. However. a turnover by former Bulls prop Pierre Schoeman with the visitors hot on the attack saw the South Africans being knocked out of the competition.

It was a six-point game with three minutes to play after the Vodacom Bulls scored two second-half tries to add to a penalty try, to only one by the hosts to add their second penalty goal, but Edinburgh’s defence held strong as they shut out the visitors, who were unable to capitalise on at least three try-scoring opportunities in the second stanza.

Edinburgh ran out fired up and scored their first try three minutes into the match before Zak Burger received a yellow card for a deliberate knock-down in the seventh minute, and the hosts took full advantage of this with their second try six minutes later to inflate their lead to 14-0.

The Vodacom Bulls fought back with a fine try by David Kriel who had to fight off a defender to stretch over the whitewash in the 16th minute, but the home team cancelled this out with their third try in the 24th minute and a subsequent penalty goal three minutes before halftime to secure a handy 24-7 lead going into the sheds.

The Vodacom Bulls started the second half on the backfoot after Jannes Kirsten received a yellow card for a high tackle shortly after play resumed, and Edinburgh capitalised on this with their fourth try to go 31-7 up.

The momentum of the match swayed in the visitors’ favour soon after as the Vodacom Bulls earned a penalty try for a maul infringement by Edinburgh close to the tryline, which cost them a yellow card, and this paved the way for Springbok No 8 Cameron Hanekom to score a try, reducing their deficit to 10 points.

A penalty goal by Edinburgh in the 59th minute gave them some breathing space, as the men in blue kept fighting bravely, but their inability to capitalise on three realistic try-scoring chances cost them.

Kriel gave them some hope as he scored his second try of the match in the 75th minute, and the successful conversion made it a six-point game.

This lit a fire in the Vodacom Bulls’ belly, and they marched on to tryline in the final minute, only to concede a crucial turnover, which saw them settle for a heart-breaking 34-28 defeat.

With the European competitions now history for the South African franchises, they will channel all their energy back into the Vodacom United Rugby Championship, which resumes next weekend.

Scorers:

Edinburgh 34 (24) – Tries: James Lang (2), Magnus Bradbury, Grant Gilchrist. Conversions: Ross Thompson (4). Penalty Goals: Thompson (2).

Vodacom Bulls 28 (7) – Tries: David Kriel (2), Penalty Try, Cameron Hanekom. Conversions: Keagan Johannes, Johan Goosen (2).