Bulls charge to bonus-point win over Ospreys

Ospreys (5) 19

Tries: Lake, Conbeer, Morgan-Williams Cons: Edwards, Walsh

Bulls (26) 29

Tries: Louw, Arendse 2, Papier Cons: Chamberlain 3 Pen: Chamberlain

Bulls continued their unbeaten start to United Rugby Championship with a bonus-point win over Ospreys.

It looked like it was going to be a long night for the hosts, with Kurt-Lee Arendse, Elrigh Louw and Embrose Papier crossing for four tries in a 20 minute onslaught.

Dewi Lake pulled one back for Ospreys before half-time.

Bulls then went down to 14 players and were dealt two yellow cards in a dramatic turn of events, and despite tries from Ryan Conbeer and Morgan Morris, Ospreys finished empty handed.

They have now only claimed one win in four games this season, while Bulls have won three from three.

Ospreys had a decent record against South African teams in the competition, winning four of the last five fixtures, but they have never beaten Bulls in three attempts.

It took Bulls just two minutes to get on the scoresheet, with Sebastien de Klerk the quickest to pounce on a loose ball.

He fed inside to Canan Moodie who Owen Watkin did well to initially bring down, but the ball was recycled quickly and fed outside for Louw to cross.

Moodie was at the heart of the second score, he ran a beautiful line which carved up the defence before passing out wide to Arendse.

A spectacular solo effort followed, with scrum-half Papier spotting a gap off lineout ball and he rightfully backed his pace and he beat several defenders in a weaving run to the line.

A Springbok combination set up the fourth try, Willie le Roux put in a perfectly weighted chip into space for de Arendse to bag his second of the evening.

Shell-shocked Ospreys were then dealt further blows with Keiran Williams and Tom Botha forced off to leave the field early with injuries.

But they hit back on their first threatening visit to Bulls’ 22.

Lineout ball set up a driving maul which guided Lake over the line and gave Ospreys some much needed points on the board.

Bulls almost added a fifth on the stroke of half time, Johan Grobbelaar broke the line before Marcell Coetzee looked to have crossed from close range.

But to Ospreys’ relief, the replays showed he had lost control of the ball before grounding.

Bulls continued to dominate early in the second half, particularly at scrum-time, but they were reduced to 14 players with David Kriel getting his marching orders.

Kriel had led with the forearm as he charged into with Dan Edwards, making contact with his neck.

Bulls then went down to 13, with Louw shown a yellow card for a deliberate knock-on as Ospreys looked to attack.

Ospreys had 10 minutes with a two player advantage, but poor execution saw early try-scoring chances go begging.

They did finally make the numbers count, as Jac Morgan shrugged off several defenders in a charge down the wing before passing inside to Morgan-Williams who fed Conbeer to score.

Ospreys then changed their half-backs, with Wales scrum-half Keiran Hardy making his Ospreys debut, but Bulls managed the game well, preventing any momentum as the clock ran down.

Ospreys were given another chance to face 13 players when Alulutho Tshakweni was sent to the sin bin for a high tackle on Garyn Phillips, but again, they could not make numbers count.

Chamberlain kicked a late penalty, before Ospreys had the final say and it was fitting that Morris scored on his 100th Ospreys appearance.

It was a huge personal milestone for the number eight, but disappointment for Ospreys.

Ospreys: Max Nagy; Luke Morgan, Owen Watkin, Keiran Williams, Ryan Conbeer; Dan Edwards, Reuben Morgan-Williams; Gareth Thomas, Dewi Lake, Tom Botha, James Ratti, Adam Beard, Jac Morgan (capt), Justin Tipuric, Morgan Morris.

Replacements: Sam Parry, Garyn Phillips, Ben Warren, Lewis Jones, Will Greatbanks, Kieran Hardy, Luke Scully, Jack Walsh.

Bulls: Willie le Roux; Sebastian de Klerk, Canan Moodie, David Kriel, Kurt-Lee Arendse; Boeta Chamberlain, Embrose Papier; Gerhard Steenekamp, Johan Grobbelaar, Wilco Louw, Ruan Vermaak, Ruan Nortje (capt), Marcell Coetzee, Reinhardt Ludwig, Elrigh Louw.

Replacements: Akker van der Merwe, Alulutho Tshakweni, Francois Klopper, Cobus Wiese, Cameron Hanekom, Keagan Johannes, Stedman Gans, Aphiwe Dyantyi

Referee: Eoghan Cross (IRFU)

Assistant referees: Ben Breakspear & Ben Connor (WRU)

TMO: Colin Stanley (IRFU)