Edinburgh: 17 (17)
Tries: Van Der Merwe, Schoeman, Rae, Conversions: Thompson
Vodacom Bulls: 19 (5)
Tries: Coetzee, Grobbelaar, Marco van Staden, Conversions: Pollard x2
The URC returned as the Vodacom Bulls brought Edinburgh’s Hive winning streak to an end, following a second half comeback that overpowered the strong start of Sean Everitt’s Scottish capital side.
Changes to the Edinburgh side included Duhan Van Der Merwe, Grant Gilchrist and D’Arcy Rae returning to the squad after recovering from injuries. Furthermore, a late withdrawal from Ewan Ashman, due to a small neck injury, meant Harri Morris was promoted to the starting hooker position.
Last season, Edinburgh beat Bulls at home but lost when visiting Pretoria. Ahead of the game, Edinburgh sat ahead of the South African side in the URC standings. The match was anticipated to be close.
First Half
After a strong arial battle in the first 5 minutes, Edinburgh were the first to cross the try line as winger van der Merwe dotted the ball down having received the offload from Harry Patterson and beating 3 men to the ground.
More excitement came for Edinburgh as Patterson set Van Der Merwe up again, but the Bulls were quick to diffuse the threat, winning a scrum and a further penalty.
The Bulls used their momentum to drive a rolling maul across the try line, with captain Marcell Coetzee scoring the points.
Edinburgh were quick to respond, winning multiple penalties in the visitors’ 22. After a period of physical carries from the Edinburgh pack, it was prop Pierre Schoeman that scored in the corner, putting his team back in the lead.
Excitement grew within Hive Stadium as winger Darcy Graham identified a gap in the Bulls defence. He ran half the length of the pitch before he was brought down 10m from the try line by Kurt-Lee Arendse. Edinburgh were unable to capitalize on the advantage as Bulls soon regained possession of the ball.
A chip and chase from Ben Vellacott saw Edinburgh return to the Bulls try line and D’Arcy Rae drove over to score. Sadly, a supporter’s pint was sacrificed during the following kick off.
Bulls worked their way up the field but were turned over 15m from the try line.
Half Time Score: Edinburgh 17 – 5 Vodacom Bulls
Second Half
Bulls were quick to show Edinburgh their teeth as they won a monster scrum penalty. Handre Pollard kicked to touch, and a strong rolling maul made way for Johan Grobbelaar to score the opening points of the second half.
The South African side were able to maintain their momentum, launching multiple attacks in the Edinburgh half. However, the Edinburgh defence held strong in both open play and during the scrum, ultimately gaining back their lost territory.
There was a long stoppage of play as medics attended to a serious injury wherein Sebastian De Klerk was wheeled off the pitch.
The second half was much more evenly matched with both teams matching each other’s physicality and threat as the ball bounced between each end of the pitch.
Bulls drove over the Edinburgh try line once again in an attempt to close the gap in the score, but it appeared that ball was held up. After a TMO check, the try was awarded to Marco van Staden and with Pollard’s conversion, Bulls took a narrow lead for the first time in the game.
With wingers Van Der Merwe and Graham both getting their hands on the ball and looking to claw back to the lead, the 6648 fans in the Hive grew more animated. However, Bulls won back possession and kicked the ball out to confirm their win, bringing the home winning streak of Edinburgh to a close.
Final Score: Edinburgh 17 – 19 Vodacom Bulls
Bulls hooker Johan Grobbelaar was named player-of-the-match.
Post Match
Edinburgh head coach Sean Everitt expressed his disappointment in the team’s second half as they allowed Bulls to take the ultimate win.
He said: “Things seemed to be going our way. Second half was a different story. Yeah it’s very frustrating”
Everitt also spoke about the errors that began to creep into play.
He said: “We pride ourselves on our counterattack and our transition attack. Pressure does strange things to people”
Ultimately the head coach said Edinburgh must be better.
He expressed: “It’s tough putting ourselves in the same position as we were last year. We’ve got a big game and a big assignment next week against Leinster away and it’s about us picking ourselves up as quickly as possible.”
Edinburgh travel to Dublin next Saturday to take on last season’s URC champions.
