Bulls get revenge against Chiefs to keep Champions Cup round of 16 hopes alive

The Bulls got sweet revenge by beating the Exeter Chiefs 39-28 during their action-packed Heineken Champions Cup clash at Loftus on Saturday night in the absence of coach Jake White who is recovering at home after emergency surgery.

With this bonus-point victory, which saw a red card shown to Henry Slade, referee Mathieu Raynal substituted and two streakers on the field, the Bulls have significantly boosted their hopes of making it into the round of 16.

The Bulls avenged the 44-14 defeat they suffered at the hands of Chiefs at Sandy Park a few weeks ago with a polished performance, outscoring their visitors by six tries to four.

The Bulls’ tries were a brace by Wandisile Simelane, Elrigh Louw, David Kriel, Ruan Vermaak and Johann Grobbelaar while Josh Hodge, Solomone Kata, Jannes Skinner and Dafydd Jenkins touched down for the Chiefs who earned a crucial losing bonus-point.

This victory will serve as a huge morale booster for the Bulls who have a daunting trip to Lyon in France on Friday where they will be hoping to continue with their winning momentum.

After a threatening spell where the Chiefs camped in the Bulls 22 area, the home side responded by opening the score after 16 minutes through Elrigh Louw after a few phases on the attack.

The Bulls suffered a blow when hooker Johann Grobbelaar had to leave the field to get a medical check-up but he was declared fit and allowed to return to the game. he visitors drew level when Josh Hodge exploited poor defence by the Bulls with a 30-metre run to score a try that was easily converted by Joe Simmonds.

The Bulls increased their lead with a penalty by Smith and a fabulous try that was started by a brilliant turnover by Bismarck du Plessis and led to Kurt-Lee Arendse releasing David Kriel to score an unconverted try.

The Chiefs came to within one point of the Bulls after Solomone Kata powered home after a line-out maul but the Bulls pulled away again as Ruan Vermaak scored the third try for the home side just before the halftime hooter.

The Bulls started the second half on a good note when Wandisile Simelane produced a moment of magic to score their bonus-point try and he was followed closely by Grobbelaar with a fifth try.

There was drama in the 50th minute when French referee Raynal left the field with a suspected hamstring injury and was replaced by countryman Thomas Charabas.

The Chiefs brought respectability to the score when Jannes Skinner scored their third try but Simelane grabbed his second of the match a few minutes later and Dafydd Jenkins registered their fourth at the death.

Scores

Bulls                            (20)     39

Exeter Chiefs            (14)     28

Scorers

Bulls

Tries: Elrigh Louw, David Kriel, Ruan Vermaak, Wandisile Simelane (2), Johann Grobbelaar,

Conversions: Chris Smith (2), Johan Goosen (1)

Penalties: Chris Smith (1)

Exeter Chiefs

Tries: Josh Hodge, Solomone Kata, Jannes Kirsten, Dafydd Jenkins

Conversions: Joe Simmonds (2), Harvey Skinner (2)

Red Card: Henry Slade