Bulls get Revenge against Exeter Chiefs

Elrigh Louw of the Bulls crosses to score a try during a Heineken Champions Cup match against Exeter Chiefs at Loftus Versfeld on January 14, 2023, in Pretoria, South Africa.

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. At the same time, 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.

Sharks make light work of Bordeaux-Begles in Champions Cup clash in Durban
This was far from a blockbuster but the Sharks got the job done winning 32-3 against an ill-disciplined Bordeaux-Begles in their Heineken Champions …
SPORT1 day ago
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. The visitors drew level when Josh Hodge exploited poor defense by the Bulls with a 30-meter run to score a try that Joe Simmonds easily converted.

The Bulls increased their lead with a penalty by Smith and a great 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.

Score

Bulls (20) 39

Exeter Chiefs (14) 28

Scorers