Half an hour in, Pretoria was already thinking about the braai. Twenty-one points up, the scrum winning every argument, the captain over twice. Then Ulster remembered how far they had travelled, and the rest of the afternoon became a proper test of Highveld nerves.
The Bulls v Ulster result was a 34-26 win for the home side in round four of the United Rugby Championship on Saturday, with four tries each and the Bulls 21-7 ahead at the break. The Citizen and SA Rugby magazine carried that score in their full-time reports, and Ulster’s own match page lists the same full-time and half-time scores.
| Detail | |
|---|---|
| Result | Bulls 34-26 Ulster |
| Half-time | Bulls 21-7 Ulster |
| Bulls tries | Marcell Coetzee (2), Elrigh Louw, Johan Grobbelaar |
| Bulls kicks | Handre Pollard 4 conversions and 1 penalty; Curwin Bosch 1 penalty |
| Ulster tries | Chay Mullins (2), David McCann, Stuart McCloskey |
| Ulster kicks | Jack Murphy 3 conversions |
| Yellow card | Marcell Coetzee (Bulls) |
| Venue | Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria |
| Competition | United Rugby Championship, round four |
The forwards do the early talking
Coetzee, back in the starting side and wearing the armband, scored inside the first two minutes, at the end of a driving maul. Pollard converted, and before the 20-minute mark a pod of forwards had shoved Louw over for the second. Just after the half-hour the captain dived over at a ruck for his second try, and it was 21-0.
This was the afternoon the Bulls’ pack had been picked for. The scrum and the maul had Ulster going backwards, and SA Rugby magazine counted 11 first-half entries into the Ulster 22. Not all of them ended in points, and that would matter later.
Ulster found a way back before the break. Wing Chay Mullins made a long break and finished in the corner, Jack Murphy converted, and the gap at half-time was 14.
How the Bulls v Ulster result nearly slipped away
The second half opened badly for the hosts. Coetzee was sent to the sin bin for head contact while defending, and in the passage that followed flank David McCann forced his way over from a ruck. Murphy’s conversion made it 21-14, and the lead was down to a converted try.
Pollard steadied things with a penalty on 50 minutes. It did not settle the afternoon. On 63 minutes Ulster attacked off a lineout and Mullins had his second in the corner, cutting the gap to a single score.
The Bulls struck back almost at once, scoring off the restart through hooker Johan Grobbelaar, and Pollard’s conversion restored a two-score lead. Still Ulster kept coming. Ulster tapped a penalty close to the line, centre Stuart McCloskey went over, Murphy missed the conversion, and it was 31-26.
Bosch, on from the bench, missed a penalty on 74 minutes. He did not miss the last one. On the full-time hooter he kicked the Bulls eight points clear, and those three points were worth more than they looked: they took away the losing bonus point Ulster would have had for finishing within seven.
Why it matters for the Bulls
Four tries bring the full five log points, which takes the Bulls to 16 points, with three wins from four. That run reads: a 47-13 win over Zebre in Parma, a 26-22 defeat to Munster in Limerick, the 57-15 derby win over the Lions and now this. Where 16 points leaves them depends on the rest of the round, after the Sharks took five points in Cardiff on Friday and Edinburgh did the same against the Lions.
There is a lesson in it too. On another day, a 21-0 lead against a side still chasing its first URC win of the season would have been the end of the story. Instead Ulster scored four tries, and only a kick on the hooter held them to a single log point.
Ulster, who arrived with a defeat and two draws from their first three games, are now four rounds without a URC win. They leave Pretoria with one point for their four tries.
For Friday’s other results, read how the Sharks won in Cardiff and how the Lions fared in Edinburgh.
What comes next
Scarlets are the next visitors to Loftus, on Saturday 31 October at 16:00. They play the Stormers in Cape Town at 16:00 today, a week before they reach Pretoria. Follow the season on our Bulls page and our Stormers page, and every kick-off this weekend is in our weekend fixture guide.