Pumas scrumhalf Ross Braude dominated proceedings on the attack as his side scored six tries to complete a comprehensive victory over the Bulls in Pretoria.
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After dominant victories in their first two Currie Cup matches, the Bulls were brought back down to earth by the experienced Pumas in their clash at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday afternoon.
The visitors bullied their hosts in contact, dominated the scrums, and showed superiority with their driving mauls and counter-mauls to claim a bonus-point 41-7 win in Pretoria.
With the six-try victory, the Jimmy Stonehouse-coached outfit leapfrogged the Lions and Bulls into the lead on the official log, with the Johannesburg side still to play against the Boland Cavaliers on Sunday afternoon.
The Pumas showed why they are one of the favourites in the competition, despite a hiccup last weekend, and their experience paved the way for the victory. Stonehouse will be happy with how his side responded, especially away from home, following the loss to the Cheetahs.
While the first half was a grinding affair as both sides looked to get on top, they would’ve been frustrated with the errors that crept in and saw them changing sides with the score only at 10-7 in favour of the eventual winners.
The Bulls were first to score a try after an opening penalty from the visitors. That converted try remained the sole points for the home side. They coughed up plenty of opportunities after good plays, and it looked as if they were going to put up a strong fight. The hosts had the visitors under pressure with their ball-in-hand play for a good part of the first half.
However, the experience of the Pumas enabled them to weather the initial storm to claim the upper hand in almost all facets of the game in the final 10 minutes before halftime.
The pack laid the foundation with physicality in their defensive work rate during the first half and their ball-carrying, scrummaging, and mauling in the second half. Led by the forward-going big men, scrumhalf Ross Braude pulled the strings on the attack as he scored a brilliant try and was the origin of a few others.
His darting runs around the ruck and breakdown, coupled with his quick service to the backline, allowed the Pumas to break free in the second half. They scored five tries after the halftime whistle to blow the Bulls off the field.
There were some brilliant interplays between the backs and the forwards with the ball in hand, and the defence of the home side had no answer for it, especially in the final 10 minutes. A disallowed try in that space for the Bulls would’ve given them hope of a fightback, but an error at a breakdown, as well as strong Pumas defence kept them at bay and scoreless in the second half.
Points scorers: Bulls 7 (7): Try: Riyaad Bam. Conversion: Boeta Chamberlain. Pumas 41 (10): Tries: Eduan Swart, Willie Engelbrecht, Tiaan de Klerk, Ross Braude, Hanno Theunissen, Andre Fouche. Conversions: Danrich Visagie (4). Penalty: Visagie.
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