Bulls punish Zebre to keep play-off hopes alive

URC REPORT: The Bulls kept their United Rugby Championship play-off hopes alive with a comfortable 78-12 bonus-point win over Zebre at Ellis Park on Saturday.

With the Sharks having recorded a bonus-point win over Benetton on Friday there were loads of pressure on the Bulls.

The side headed into the fixture in a must-win situation.

And the men from Pretoria delivered.

*To recap all the action CLICK HERE!!!

The Bulls scored 11 tries. Springbok Canan Moodie scored a hat-trick of tries, Embrose Papier and Ruan Vermaak each got a brace, while Gerhard Steenekamp, Marco van Staden, Bismark Du Plessis and Chris Smith were the other scorers.

Johan Goosen, who returned to the starting XV after a lengthy injury lay-off, added 23 points with the boot - 10 conversions and a penalty.

The result means the Bulls moved level on points with Munster, who still have to take on the Stormers on Saturday.

For Zebre, it's another outing without a result. The Italians found themselves at the bottom of the table with 10 points.

The game between the men from Pretoria and the Italian club was staged at Ellis Park, as part of a historic double-header involving South Africa’s two Gauteng-based franchises.

The Bulls got off to an incredible start. In just two minutes a perfectly-timed grubber by Kurt-Lee Arendse was neatly collected by Canan Moodie, who dived over for the first try of the match.

Minutes later Arendse was again involved in setting up a try. He pulled in two defenders before Embrose Papier score a five-pointer. Johan Goosen added the conversion for the 12-0 lead.

Zebre finally responded in the 11th, Alessandro Fusco’s loop pass found the former Bulls back Richard Kriel, who stretched over in the corner for the score.

Unfortunately for the Italians, Jacques Du Toit was forced to leave the field after he collided with a teammate. It was a big loss as their line-outs and scrums could not recover.

A well-aimed kick by wing David Kriel - Richard's brother - culminated in a second try for Papier, who showed good pace and determination to beat the cover defence to the bouncing ball. The Bulls secured the bonus point for the fourth try when Moodie took a short pass from Johan Goosen and crossed the line in the 30th minute.

A further try by lock Ruan Vermaak as well as a couple of accurate goal-kicks by Goosen ensured that men from Pretoria went to the break with a commanding 36-5 lead.

The hosts lifted the tempo after half-time, with the forwards as well as backs showing plenty of intent to keep the ball alive. Loosehead prop Gerhard Steenekamp scored a memorable try after taking a pass from front-row teammate Johan Grobbelaar.

Zebre were reduced to 14 men thereafter but scored next through replacement Chris Cook. The Bulls regained control almost immediately, with Vermaak crashing over for his second try of the afternoon.

Moodie completed his hat-trick when he beat the defence in the 64th minute. Additional scores by Marco van Staden, Bismarck du Plessis and Chris Smith boosted the remarkable try-tally to 11.

Having secured five log points from the fixture, the Bulls have boosted their play-off hopes, and strengthened their bid for a place in next season’s Champions Cup. They have also ended their four-match losing streak in the URC.

Man of the match: It was a very great performance from the Bulls, and Jake White would be proud. Johan Grobberlaar deserves mention, while Gerhard Steenekamp was just as ruthless with his powerful carries. Johan Goosen along with Embrose Papier was impressive as the halfback pairing. Canan Moodie's hat-trick was another incredible feat. However, our nod goes to Bulls star Kurt-Lee Arendse. Playing at fullback the Bok read the game well. He was amazing under the high ball and set up several of his team's tries.

The scorers:

For Bulls:

Tries: Moodie 3, Papier 2, Vermaak 2, Steenekamp, Van Staden, Du Plessis, Smith

Cons: Goosen 10

Pens: Goosen

For Zebre:

Tries: Kriel, Cook

Cons: Eden

Teams:

Bulls: 15 Kurt-Lee Arendse, 14 Canan Moodie, 13 Stedman Gans, 12 Harold Vorster, 11 David Kriel, 10 Johan Goosen 9 Embrose Papier, 8 Elrigh Louw, 7 Cyle Brink, 6 Marco van Staden, 5 Ruan Nortje (captain), 4 Ruan Vermaak, 3 Mornay Smith, 2 Johan Grobbelaar, 1 Gerhard Steenekamp.

Replacements: 16 Bismarck du Plessis, 17 Dylan Smith, 18 Francois Klopper, 19 Janko Swanepoel, 20 WJ Steenkamp, 21 Keagan Johannes, 22 Chris Smith, 23 Cornal Hendricks.

Zebre: 15 Richard Kriel, 14 Kobus van Wyk, 13 Erich Cronjé, 12 Enrico Lucchin, 11 Simone Gesi, 10 Geronimo Prisciantelli, 9 Alessandro Fusco, 8 Davide Ruggeri, 7 Iacopo Bianchi, 6 Guido Volpi, 5 Leonard Krumov, 4 David Sisi (captain), 3 Matteo Nocera, 2 Jacques Du Toit, 1 Paolo Buonfiglio

Replacements: 16 Luca Bigi, 17 Alessio Sanavia, 18 Muhamed Hasa, 19 Andrea Zambonin, 20 Giacomo Ferrari, 21 Chris Cook, 22 Tiff Eden, 23 Jacopo Trulla

Referee: Hollie Davidson (Scotland)

Assistant referees: Cwengile Jadezweni (South Africa), Aimee Barrett-Theron (South Africa)

TMO: David Sutherland (Scotland)

*Additional reporting: SA Rugby