The Reds fought back from 14-3 down to beat the Bulls 20-14 in Brisbane on Saturday. JON CARDINELLI reports.
The quality of the Bulls’ scrumming, defence, and discipline at the Suncorp Stadium left a lot to be desired. In the end, the visitors were somewhat fortunate to come away from this contest with a bonus point for finishing within seven of the Reds.
The Bulls showed some encouraging signs in the first 30 minutes of the contest. Handré Pollard, Jesse Kriel, and Warrick Gelant combined well in the lead-up to the fullback’s try. In the 24th minute, Travis Ismaiel sparked a counter-attack from deep within his own half, and André Warner supported well to collect the final pass and score.
At 14-3, the Bulls looked to be on course for their first win at Suncorp Stadium. The visitors were battling at the scrums, though. They were slipping tackles (18 in the first half) and conceding penalties (eight in that period) at an alarming rate.
Reds No 8 Caleb Timu took advantage of some poor marking to round the defence and score on the stroke of half-time. A successful conversion reduced the Bulls’ lead to four points (14-10) at the break.
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The momentum was with the Reds, and they made it count early in the second half. Aidan Toua ran through the Bulls defence in the 45th minute, and James Tuttle kicked his second conversion. For the first time in the game, the hosts were in the lead.
The Reds continued to apply the pressure at scrum-time. The Bulls scrambled well to avoid conceding further tries, but could not maintain possession long enough to launch a meaningful attack.
A mistake in the 75th miunte gifted the Reds an opportunity to extend their lead. Jono Lance slotted the penalty goal, leaving the Bulls with it all to do in the closing stages.
The Bulls won a penalty after the final hooter and proceeded to set up a lineout deep in Reds territory. After taking the ball through a number of phases, the visitors lost possession when Lood de Jager was hammered in a tackle.
The Bulls come away from this fixture with a losing bonus point. On the back of this performance, one cannot see them troubling the Chiefs and Crusaders in the coming weeks.
Reds – Tries: Caleb Timu, Aidan Toua. Conversions: James Tuttle (2). Penalties: Tuttle, Jono Lance.
Bulls – Tries: Warrick Gelant, André Warner. Conversions: Handré Pollard (2).
Reds – 15 Aidan Toua, 14 Filipo Daugunu , 13 Chris Feauai-Sautia, 12 Samu Kerevi, 11 Eto Nabuli, 10 Jono Lance, 9 James Tuttle, 8 Caleb Timu, 7 Liam Wright, 6 Adam Korczyk, 5 Kane Douglas, 4 Izack Rodda, 3 Taniela Tupou, 2 Brandon Paenga-Amosa, 1 James Slipper (c).
Subs: 16 Alex Mafi, 17 JP Smith, 18 Sef Fa’agase, 19 Harry Hockings, 20 Angus Scott-Young, 21 Tate McDermott, 22 Hamish Stewart, 23 Duncan Paia’aua
Bulls – 15 Warrick Gelant, 14 Travis Ismaiel, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 Johnny Kotze, 11 Duncan Matthews, 10 Handré Pollard (c), 9 André Warner, 8 Nic de Jager, 7 Hanro Liebenberg, 6 Roelof Smit, 5 Lood de Jager, 4 RG Snyman, 3 Frans van Wyk, 2 Jaco Visagie, 1 Pierre Schoeman
Subs: 16 Adriaan Strauss, 17 Lizo Gqoboka, 18 Trevor Nyakane, 19 Jason Jenkins, 20 Marco van Staden, 21 Embrose Papier, 22 Marnitz Boshoff, 23 Divan Rossouw.
Photo: Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images
