[ad_1]
Cornal Hendricks of the Bulls during the Super Rugby Unlocked match between Vodacom Bulls and Tafel Lager Griquas at Loftus Versfeld on October 10, 2020 in Pretoria, South Africa. (Photo by Lee Warren / Gallo Images)
The official start of Jake White’s revolution at Loftus stalled on the launch pad before it finally came to life when the Bulls achieved a nervous 30-23 victory Griquas in his first Super Rugby Unlocked match on Saturday night.
It was a whimsical demonstration of the charges of the former World Cup-winning mentor, who were certainly enterprising and varied for much of the game, but lacked the cutting edge they displayed in an impressive Super Fan Saturday preseason outing a fortnight ago. .
On a broader level, this start-and-stop affair was notable for the discipline problems of both teams, particularly in the collapse.
With referee Marius van der Westhuizen adopting a zero-tolerance policy in terms of speeding up recycled possession, the Bulls, as the front-foot team, took years to get the timing right in terms of throwing the ball, leading to at least three promising attacks. opportunities are fading.
They were also plagued by indifferent handling and a lack of precision in their attack formations.
That fitted in perfectly with the brave Griquas, who did not enter the game with high hopes as he simply soaked up the pressure and generally took advantage of every point that was offered to him for the opposition’s mistakes.
His biggest reward in the first half was a well-worked try from former Western Force winger James Verity-Amm, which was complemented by a penalty from high-half and skipper George Whitehead.
However, the Bulls seemed to have turned a corner when, with the siren that had already sounded during halftime, they found enough continuity in attack for Ruan Nortje’s block to come off after a sublime portion of distribution from his second-mate. rower Jason Jenkins. he had an excellent game.
That locked the scores to 10 on the course change, with a boost clearly from the hosts’ side.
Instead, the Bulls were hampered by a yellow card for eighth Tim Agaba for a cynical infraction, and his absence paid off for the Peacock Blues, who scored eight points in that ten-minute span, including an opportunistic try for the fullback. Anthony Volmink in an intercept.
Scared, the Bulls tensed up and delivered a crucial psychological blow when their powerful scrum led to a penalty try, one compounded by Whitehead’s bad luck for not shooting.
When local captain Arno Botha scored his team’s third try, the matter was settled as they played the remainder of the match with a territorial game.
However, there was a final scare when Verity-Amm lunged on a chip forward to go off in the left corner, but the indiscipline of his team meant that the damper was too substantial.
Scorers:
Bulls 30 (10)
Attempts: Ruan Nortje, penalty try, Arno Botha
Conversions: Morne Steyn (2)
Penalties: Steyn (3)
Griquas 23 (10)
Attempts: James Verity-Amm (2), Anthony Volmink
Conversion: George Whithead
Penalties: Whitehead (2)
