By Brenden Nel.
Wandisile Simelane scored a brace as the Vodacom Bulls exacted sweet revenge for their earlier defeat at the hands of Exeter Chiefs, beating the English side 39-26 in a pulsating game at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday night.
In a game that seemed to have everything, including a red card for England international Henry Slade and a change of referees as Mathieu Raynal pulled a hamstring on the 50th-minute mark, the Bulls outscored Exeter six tries to four to rack up a solid victory and take revenge for their earlier loss at Sandy Park last month.
But the bonus point that Exeter picked up late in the game will be valuable for them as they moved above the Bulls on the current log in pool A, with the Bulls sitting fourth now and taking a massive step towards qualifying for the playoffs with the victory.
The Bulls used their power pack and the altitude to mix up their game and run up the big win against the Chiefs, who gave as good as they got, but were ultimately just not good enough to break the Fortress Loftus hoodoo.
Given the week the Bulls have had with their Director of Rugby Jake White being rushed to hospital, the resilience they showed was exceptional and they had to make a massive amount of tackles to get to the win.
The stats will show the home side made 152 tackles to Exeter’s 89, showing the fire they needed to get to the win, but also underlining how hard they had to work on the night.
The good stat was they had 11 turnovers, a key difference between the sides as the Bulls were able to not only disrupt Exeter’s ball, but also get turnovers at key times.
Led by their captain Ruan Nortje, who put in an exceptional performance that easily would have warranted the man of the match award, the Bulls never stood back and when they had the chance they pounced.
Nortje made an exceptional 19 tackles on the evening and won two turnovers, but his performance was underlined more by the way he led his side, sending a clear message to his critics.
It was the Bulls who opened the scoring as they crashed over from a pick-and-go penalty, taking the ball over the line for Elrigh Louw to score from the second phase.
But Exeter hit back almost immediately when Henry Slade floated a beautiful pass to Josh Hodge, who beat David Kriel’s mistimed shot out of the defensive line to ghost in and score.
Chris Smith added a penalty before a stunning turnover by replacement hooker Bismarck du Plessis was spread wide and Kurt-Lee Arendse put in a trademark sprint, offloading to Simelane who in turn sent the ball inside for the last pass for Kriel to score.
Arendse seemed to relish the occasion and was involved in several other forays, giving the Exeter defence nightmares on the balmy summer evening.
The Chiefs cut the lead again when Solomone Kata went over from the back of a rolling maul, but the Bulls pulled back their advantage before halftime when Ruan Vermaak crashed over from close range, a try which started from a tap penalty.
The Bulls got a great bit of luck go their way early in the second half as another turnover was sent wide, only for Johan Grobbelaar to sling a pass backwards and Simelane to toe the ball over the defence and collect to score.
Fans were then treated to the rare sight of a referee change as Raynal pulled up with a hamstring and assistant referee Thomas Charabas took over for the final half hour.
Grobbelaar then extended the lead as the Bulls grabbed their bonus point try when the hooker went over at the back of a rolling maul.
Exeter’s troubles became worse when Henry Slade was red-carded for a reckless tackle after the whistle on Arendse, grabbing him by the shoulder and slipping up over the neck and Arendse tried to lunge forward.
While it seemed as if it was no worse than a yellow card, Charabas decided it was red and Slade was handed his marching orders.
After the loss of Slade, the Chiefs actually played a lot better, with Jannes Kirsten grabbing a try from close range against his former club.
But their hopes of a comeback faded fast as a bobbled ball landed in Simelane’s clutches and the midfielder didn’t need reminding where the tryline was.
Still, the Chiefs soldiered on and Jack Innard’s late try gave them some solace, even if it was against the backdrop of how difficult it is for opposition teams to win at Loftus Versfeld.
Scorers
Vodacom Bulls 39 – Tries: Wandisile Simelane (2), Elrigh Louw, David Kriel, Ruan Vermaak, Johan Grobbelaar. Conversions: Chris Smith (2), Johan Goosen. Penalty: Smith.
Exeter Chiefs 26- Tries: Josh Hodge, Solomone Kata, Jannes Kirsten, Jack Innard. Conversions: Joe Simmonds (2), Harvey Skinner (2).