Bulls fend off late rally by the Force

The Northern Bulls have kicked off their away tour with a courageous 30-21 victory over the winless Western Force at Subiaco Oval in Perth tonight.

Victory for the Bulls, who entered the match as firm favourites, was their fourth from six starts, and ensured their four-week Australian-New Zealand tour began on a high note, despite the closeness of the final result the game appeared to be a walk-over with 15 minutes remaining.

For the Western Force, the match signals the continuation of a losing streak, which has now reached six in the revamped Super 14 tournament. Throw in the pre-season matches and that sequence is out to nine matches without a win.

The Bulls, from the South African mainland city of Pretoria, herald a notable forward pack, with Victor Matfield and Bakkies Botha amongst the best in the Super 14 tournament. Their backline boasts the likes of Springbok wingers Bryan Habana and Akona Ndungane, both renowned for their electrifying speed.

Western Force welcomed back from Commonwealth Games duty Cameron Shepherd, who played at fullback, while regular Number 8 Scott Fava was given the night off to recuperate from concussion he suffered during the Bronze medal play-off at the Rugby Sevens.

With fly-half Scott Daruda another player on the injury list, the Force were pleased to welcome back captain Nathan Sharpe, who was raring to go after a fortnight on the sidelines with a viral infection.

Coach John Mitchell reshuffled his line-up to cater for the players missing and those who were returning. Regular fullback James Hilgendorf revelled in the move to the flyhalf position and claimed man of the match honours.

The reshuffled line=up appeared to work wonders for the new franchise, aside from Hilgendorf, Shepherd was another who enjoyed his new role. The Bulls spent a lot of time early inside the Force 22 metre zone, however resolute defence denied them breaking through until a lapse by Matt Henjak, in the 30th minute, while passing saw Fourie du Preez intercept and then sprint 60 metres to the try line.

If the Force were pleased with the fight shown in the first 30 minutes, surely the last 10 before half-time would have had them tearing their hair out, that is if several of the players had not participated in a charity event during this week. A second try followed five minutes later after Pedrie Wannenburg crashed over with the rolling maul.

Down 14-0 at the break, worse was to come before the fight back mission was kicked started. Derick Hougaard, in the 47th minute, added the first of his three penalty goals, and with the next possession, the Bulls notched try number three when an overlap caught the Force short a man on their left wing, and allowed Akona Ndungane to cross the line untouched.

Despite the mounting scoreboard, the Force still had time to build a recovery. With the Bulls relaxing slightly, a run of three straight tries came for the home side, which turned a 20-point deficit into a narrow six-point margin with a few minutes to play.

And it was crowd favourites Hilgendorf and Scott Staniforth who crossed for five-pointers. Staniforth posted a double with the crowd on the edge of their seat as the Force drew to within a converted try.

However it was not to be as Hougaard closed out the match with a 79th minute penalty goal that saw the home side miss out on their first ever match points.

Force coach John Mitchell, after the match said, “I was very disappointed by our performance. This group will have a crack it’s just the little things that let us down.”

Mitchell harbours a lot of patience for his group and strongly believes a win is on the way, after tonight’s performance Force supporters may not have much longer to wait.

Bulls coach Heyneke Meyer, when asked about the game said, “I take my hat off to the Force, and I thought we had the game wrapped up at one stage.“

“I don’t think we forced enough in our backs tonight, I thought our forwards played well at times but we are not actually a team that travel that well away from home.”

“They (the Force) are actually playing good rugby, it’s just now and then they make a fatal mistake which is costing them games. They will get better as the season goes, and will be a Force to be reckoned with.”

Next week, the Bulls road trip leads them to Auckland and a showdown with the Blues, while the Force host another South African team in the Stormers at Subiaco Oval. Both matches are scheduled for Friday evening.

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