Oracle of Delphi
KC Hill
Paladin
Craig HillSuper 14 Bulls Defeat Reds
February 15th 2009 09:41
A strong second half has allowed the Bulls to overpower the Queensland Reds 33-20 at Loftus Versfeld.
The home side ran away with the game at the back end of the second period, out-scoring their visitors by 23-14 in the half to take maximum points out of the contest.
The outcome leaves the Bulls at the top of the table after the first round of the Investec Super 14.
The Reds were not helped by the second half sin-binning of lock Adam Byrnes for 10 minutes as a result of a dangerous charge at a ruck.
Queensland had closed to within five points, at 13-18, after a brilliant solo try from Qantas Wallabies winger Digby Ioane before Byrne’s indiscretion, which left his side short-staffed for a critical period of play.
It took the full 10 minutes for the Bulls to make their numerical advantage count, but the try on debut by Burton Francis just as Byrnes was returning to the field, proved the game-breaker.
Having been forced to operate without possession for most of the time that they were down to 14 men, the Reds simply ran out of gas, yielding a penalty goal and another try to the Bulls before a late consolation try by Peter Hynes rounded out the scoring.
While the Bulls took the spoils, the performance should still offer the Reds encouragement, in terms of the manner in which they competed, and how they stuck to the task in adversity.
It was certainly a far cry from the 13-try rout of their previous visit two years ago, where the Reds had been humiliated by a competition record 89-point margin.
The Bulls bullied the Reds that night, and they attempted to repeat the act from kick off tonight, dominating the opening moments to such an extent that, after 15 minutes, they had only been called on to make two tackles.
Even so, such was the resilience of the Reds defence, the Bulls only led 3-0 at this stage.
Bulls flyhalf Morne Steyn opened the scoring with a sixth minute penalty goal, but this was cancelled out when Reds halfback Ben Lucas replied 11 minutes later.
Queensland then took the lead when skipper Berrick Barnes steered over a dropped goal as the Reds made the most of their rare forays into Bulls’ territory.
They could have gone even further ahead had Lucas been on target with a second penalty goal attempt, and this failure was punished just before halftime when the Bulls claimed the opening try of the game.
It came after a defensive Reds scrum was placed under extreme pressure and went backwards, which allowed Bulls halfback Fourie du Preez to get around and impede Lucas’s attempt to clear the ball.
Not only did du Preez managed to knock the ball away, he was also the quickest to react, pouncing to score a try which gave the Bulls a flattering 10-6 halftime lead.
Earlier, the Sharks opened with a win, coming from 0-10 at halftime to beat the Stormers 20-15 in an exciting match in Cape Town.
For the Bulls: Tries by Fourie du Preez, Wynand Olivier, Burton Francis and Pierre Spies; 2 conversions and 3 penalty goals by Morne Steyn.
For the Queensland Reds: Tries by Digby Ioane and Peter Hynes; conversions by Berrick Barnes and Quade Cooper, penalty goal by Ben Lucas, dropped goal by Berrick Barnes.
Halftime: Bulls 10, Queensland Reds 6
Referee: Marius Jonker
ARU
The home side ran away with the game at the back end of the second period, out-scoring their visitors by 23-14 in the half to take maximum points out of the contest.
The outcome leaves the Bulls at the top of the table after the first round of the Investec Super 14.
The Reds were not helped by the second half sin-binning of lock Adam Byrnes for 10 minutes as a result of a dangerous charge at a ruck.
Queensland had closed to within five points, at 13-18, after a brilliant solo try from Qantas Wallabies winger Digby Ioane before Byrne’s indiscretion, which left his side short-staffed for a critical period of play.
It took the full 10 minutes for the Bulls to make their numerical advantage count, but the try on debut by Burton Francis just as Byrnes was returning to the field, proved the game-breaker.
Digby Ioane Reds
Having been forced to operate without possession for most of the time that they were down to 14 men, the Reds simply ran out of gas, yielding a penalty goal and another try to the Bulls before a late consolation try by Peter Hynes rounded out the scoring.
While the Bulls took the spoils, the performance should still offer the Reds encouragement, in terms of the manner in which they competed, and how they stuck to the task in adversity.
It was certainly a far cry from the 13-try rout of their previous visit two years ago, where the Reds had been humiliated by a competition record 89-point margin.
The Bulls bullied the Reds that night, and they attempted to repeat the act from kick off tonight, dominating the opening moments to such an extent that, after 15 minutes, they had only been called on to make two tackles.
Even so, such was the resilience of the Reds defence, the Bulls only led 3-0 at this stage.
Bulls flyhalf Morne Steyn opened the scoring with a sixth minute penalty goal, but this was cancelled out when Reds halfback Ben Lucas replied 11 minutes later.
Queensland then took the lead when skipper Berrick Barnes steered over a dropped goal as the Reds made the most of their rare forays into Bulls’ territory.
They could have gone even further ahead had Lucas been on target with a second penalty goal attempt, and this failure was punished just before halftime when the Bulls claimed the opening try of the game.
It came after a defensive Reds scrum was placed under extreme pressure and went backwards, which allowed Bulls halfback Fourie du Preez to get around and impede Lucas’s attempt to clear the ball.
Not only did du Preez managed to knock the ball away, he was also the quickest to react, pouncing to score a try which gave the Bulls a flattering 10-6 halftime lead.
Earlier, the Sharks opened with a win, coming from 0-10 at halftime to beat the Stormers 20-15 in an exciting match in Cape Town.
For the Bulls: Tries by Fourie du Preez, Wynand Olivier, Burton Francis and Pierre Spies; 2 conversions and 3 penalty goals by Morne Steyn.
For the Queensland Reds: Tries by Digby Ioane and Peter Hynes; conversions by Berrick Barnes and Quade Cooper, penalty goal by Ben Lucas, dropped goal by Berrick Barnes.
Halftime: Bulls 10, Queensland Reds 6
Referee: Marius Jonker
ARU
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