Sloppy Bulls suffer bonus-point defeat at Munster

Cape Town – A lack of physicality from the forwards, an injury to Johan Goosen, a yellow card to Mornay Smith and a sloppy line-out all contributed to another disjointed effort from the Bulls as they copped a second United Rugby Championship loss in a row against Munster in Limerick on Saturday night.

The 31-17 final scoreline could have been so much worse for the men from Pretoria as the slippery conditions cost Munster a few points as well.

Bulls coach Jake White said on Friday that it was a “million-dollar question” as to whether his pack could show some fire at Thomond Park after coming off second best against Glasgow last week, and sadly for him, it was not to be.

The problems upfront started in the lineouts, where young hooker Jan-Hendrik Wessels again battled to find his jumpers in difficult conditions, with Munster locks Jean Kleyn and Edwin Edogbo, as well as blindside flank Tadhg Beirne contesting strongly in the air.

The Irish outfit also made good ground with pick-and-go carries around the fringes as the Bulls defence was too passive throughout, and their direct approach eventually paid off in the second quarter with a brace of tries by No 8 Gavin Coombes.

But before that, the Bulls made a number of unforced errors on attack, as their handling let them down, while their maul was also stopped in its tracks as well by an abrasive Munster unit, with the powerful Edogbo prominent.

The visitors struggled to find their rhythm with ball-in-hand among the backs as well, with flyhalf Goosen standing a bit deep at times. Star fullback Kurt-Lee Arendse hardly received any passes either, and the Munster defence stood firm whenever they had to make their tackles too.

Goosen slotted an 11th-minute penalty, but that was the only points for the Bulls in the first half.

After a series of attacks weren’t converted into points, Munster grabbed two tries in seven minutes via Coombes – with both touchdowns coming from short carries at close quarters.

It was a long way back at 17-3 behind at halftime, and there was more bad news for the Bulls at the start of the second half as Goosen stayed off the pitch for a head injury assessment, and he was replaced by Chris Smith for the rest of the match.

David Kriel came on for Cornal Hendricks as well, but disaster struck within three minutes for Marcell Coetzee’s team.

In a moment that encapsulated their dismal night, Smith went back to retrieve a bouncing ball inside his 22, but slipped as he went down to pick it up, and Munster loosehead prop Jeremy Loughman pounced to score.

Prop turned Fly-Half 🎯#BKTURC #URC | #MUNvBUL @MunsterRugby pic.twitter.com/MAiZRu6bwO

— BKT United Rugby Championship (URC) (@URCOfficial) October 15, 2022

It went from bad to worse for the Bulls as tighthead prop Mornay Smith was yellow-carded for a late, no-arms tackle on Munster replacement back Jack Crowley.

Even though flank WJ Steenkamp actually finished off a good piece of work by Kriel to score the Bulls’ opening try, Munster weren’t going to allow them back into the game.

Blindside flank Beirne barged his way over to secure the four-try bonus point just after the hour mark, and even though Kriel grabbed a consolation try with 15 minutes to go, the Bulls weren’t able to add to their tally as they wasted a few opportunities in the closing stages.

Points-Scorers

Munster 31 – Tries: Gavin Coombes (2), Jeremy Loughman, Tadhg Beirne. Conversions: Joey Carbery (4). Penalty: Carbery (1).

Bulls 17 – Tries: WJ Steenkamp, David Kriel. Conversions: Chris Smith (2). Penalty: Johan Goosen (1).

@ashfakmohamed