By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
Photo Credit: Suresh Rajcoomar// Fullview.
The Vodacom Bulls convincingly defeated Munster 45-14 at Loftus Versfeld stadium on Saturday to set up a United Rugby Championship (URC) semi-final showdown with the Glasgow Warriors at Murrayfield.
Johan Ackerman’s side last played Warriors in the Investec Champions Cup quarter-finals, suffering a 25-21 defeat at Scotstoun. Warriors defeated Connacht 33-21 at Scotstoun Stadium on Friday evening.
The Bulls suffered a blow before kick-off of their quarter-final when Bok tighthead prop Wilco Louw was ruled out due to bronchitis, with Francois Klopper starting and Mornay Smith coming on to the bench. Munster, meanwhile, were without a host of injured frontline players, including flyhalf Jack Crowley.
The home side applied pressure and crossed twice in the opening 10 minutes through Embrose Papier and Kurt-Lee Arendse, the latter coming after some fine work from Willie le Roux.
Munster lost Tom Ahern to a head injury assessment (HIA), but responded well to a difficult start when Jack O’Donoghue struck after a period of sustained pressure.
After a Handre Pollard penalty stretched the Bulls’ lead, the impressive Alex Nankivell breathed new life into Munster’s challenge with a well-taken try.
However, the clinical Bulls responded emphatically and scored two tries in quick succession through Johan Grobbelaar and Cameron Hanekom to take a commanding 31-14 lead at the break.
The second half was more of an arm wrestle, but the Bulls twice turned Munster attacks into points. The first was when Papier intercepted in his own 22 and ran the length of the field for his second and the second was through Ruan Nortje – celebrating his 150th game with a fine performance – who launched an attack that eventually found Stravino Jacobs on the wing. He bulleted straight towards the line with Munster not coming close to stopping him.
That proved the final score with 20 minutes left as the Bulls cruised into the semi-finals for the fifth successive season with a powerful display.
Bulls – Tries: Embrose Papier (2), Kurt-Lee Arendse, Johan Grobbelaar, Cameron Hanekom, Stravino Jacobs. Conversions: Handré Pollard (6). Penalty: Pollard.
Munster – Tries: Jack O’Donoghue, Alex Nankivell. Conversions: JJ Hanrahan (2).
Meanwhile the DHL Stormers booked their spot in the URC last-four with a hard-fought 44-21 win over Welsh outfit Cardiff in the quarter-finals in Cape Town.