Ospreys 19 – 29 Bulls: Bonus point Bulls triumph with Kurt-Lee Arendse brace
10/13/2024 12:30 PM
By Etienne Turpin
The Bulls got off to a flying start in Swansea as they crossed four times in the opening quarter to get their European tour to a winning start. Star Kurt-Lee Arendse who will be going to Japanese side Sagamihara Dynaboars got two tries.
Louw and Papier also crossed over for the visitors. The Ospreys hit back with three tries of their own but were unable to capitalise on the extra men.
The Bulls got the first try of the game when De Klerk picked a loose pass before feeding the ball to Canan Moodie. He was stopped by a brilliant tackle by Watkin but the captain Elrigh Louw got away from Gareth Thomas' attempted tackle to get the early try.
They soon got their second try through winger Kurt-Lee Arendse after Moodie hit a fantastic line from a le Roux to break through the Ospreys defence and played the two on one brilliantly to give Arendse his second try of the season. The Springboks combining to set up a lovely try.
And the third try soon followed when Embrose Papier showed his pace to slice past the Ospreys defence after a lineout. A blistering start from the side from Pretoria who opened up a 19-point lead when Chamberlain nailed the sideline conversion. A fourth try almost came for the Bulls but Moodie's pass to de Klerk went behind the winger and into touch.
The Bulls were relentless in the opening quarter and came close to scoring again when they powered forwards however, strong defending from the Ospreys saw David Kriel get held up over the line.
But the bonus point try eventually came and Arendse got his second of the game after a beautiful chip from le Roux sat up perfectly for the winger. It was not an ideal start for the Ospreys who also lost Tom Botha and Kieran Williams to injury.
The Ospreys eventually got their first score of the game through a driving maul after the Bulls gave away two penalties in quick succession with Dewi Lake crashing over. Edwards' conversion went wide keeping it a 21-point lead.
On the stroke of half time the Bulls managed to get over the line for the fifth time. However, TMO assistance was required, and a Bulls knock on was spotted resulting in a five-metre scrum for the Ospreys.
It was a sloppy start to the second half with both teams coming up with a couple of errors and there was another TMO check to review David Kriel's fend on Dan Edwards. Replay showed that he made contact with Edward's neck resulting in a red card for the centre.
The Bulls found themselves in more trouble instants later as they went down to 13 men when Elrigh Louw intentionally knocked the ball on when the Ospreys had numbers out wide. But having just come on, Alulutho Tshakweni won a crucial penalty for the Bulls to relieve some pressure.
But the Ospreys hit back with a great try through winger Ryan Conbeer. With spaces appearing, the Ospreys moved the ball out wide where Jac Morgan made a great break before linking up with Morgan-Williams who popped a pass over to his winger.
Despite being a man down in the pack, the Bulls continued their scrum domination and won an important penalty which helped ease the pressure. Boeta Chamberlain opted for the posts to reduce the sin bin period however, his attempt drifted well wide.
Alulutho Tshakweni was sent to the sin bin with less than 10 minutes to go for a head clash. The Bulls would finish the game with 13 men, but another Ospreys error reduced their chances of making a late comeback.
And it was the Bulls who would score next when Chamberlain slotted a penalty to seal the win for the Bulls as they extended their lead to 17 points with minutes remaining. The game ended with uncontested scrums as a result of the yellow card to Tshakweni. The Bulls would then end the game with 12 men but it was too late for an Ospreys comeback.
With 12 men, the Bulls showed heroic defence to prevent a third Ospreys try but they eventually got over through centurion Morgan Morris as they looked to get a losing bonus point. The Ospreys were desperate to get a fourth but a Hanekom turnover sealed the win for the Bulls.
Ospreys: 19
TRIES: 2 (Lake 28', Conbeer 56', Morris 80')
CONVERSIONS: 1 (Edwards 57', 80' Jack Walsh)
PENALTIES:
DROP GOALS: 0
YELLOW CARDS:
RED CARDS: 0
15. Max Nagy 14. Luke Morgan, 13. Owen Watkin, 12. Keiran Williams, 11. Ryan Conbeer, 10. Dan Edwards, 9. Reuben Morgan-Williams, 1. Gareth Thomas, 2. Dewi Lake, 3. Tom Botha, 4. James Ratti, 5. Adam Beard, 6. Jac Morgan, 7. Justin Tipuric, 8. Morgan Morris.
16. Sam Parry, 17. Garyn Phillips, 18. Ben Warren, 19. Lewis Jones, 20. Will Greatbanks, 21. Kieran Hardy, 22. Luke Scully, 23. Jack Walsh.
Bulls: 29
TRIES: 4 (Louw 3', Arendse 10', 24' Papier 13')
CONVERSIONS: 2 (Chamberlain 4', 14', 25')
PENALTIES: 1 (Chamberlain 77')
DROP GOALS: 0
YELLOW CARDS: 2 (Louw 54', Tshakweni 72')
RED CARDS: 1 (Kriel 52')
15. Willie le Roux, 14. Sebastian de Klerk, 13. Canan Moodie, 12. David Kriel, 11. Kurt-Lee Arendse, 10. Boeta Chamberlain, 9. Embrose Papier, 1. Gerhard Steenkamp, 2. Johan Grobbelaar, 3. Wilco Louw, 4. Ruan Vermaak, 5. Ruan Nortje, 6. Marcell Coetzee, 7. Reinhardt Ludwig, 8. Elrigh Louw.
16. Akker Van Der Merwe, 17. Alulutho Tshakweni, 18. Francois Klopper. 19. Cobus Wiese, 20. Cameron Hanekom, 21. Keagan Johannes, 22. Stedman Gans, 23. Aphiwe Dyantyi.
Five Talking Points: Ospreys 19 – 29 Bulls
- Bulls blistering start steers them to victory.
Four tries in the opening 24 minutes helped the Bulls to a bonus point victory as they started their European tour on a high.
2. Kieran Hardy makes Ospreys debut.
The Welsh international scrum half made his Ospreys debut following his signing from the Scarlets.
3. Bulls poor discipline
Despite their brilliance in attack, the Bulls were let down by their sloppy discipline. A red card to David Kriel for a dangerous fend followed by a yellow card to captain Elrigh Louw for an intentional knock on. They finished the game with 12 men as Alulutho Tshakweni was also sin binned for making head contact which resulted in uncontested scrums.
4. Morgan Morris celebrates 100th Ospreys cap.
The powerful eight made his 100th appearance for the region after making his debut back in 2017 in the Anglo Welsh cup against the Wasps.
5. Springboks dazzle in Bulls win
Kurt-Lee Arendse went over for two tries in the first half to take his season tally up to three tries in only his second appearance. Willie le Roux was as reliable as ever and Ruan Nortje put on a dominant display.
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