Specmagic gets Bulls on winning track
Rosko Specman set Loftus Versfeld alight with a hat-trick of tries in the second half as the Bulls rose from the dead to beat the Highlanders 38-13 on Saturday night to grab their first win in the Vodacom Super Rugby tournament this year.
Trailing 10-5 at the break, the Bulls changed tactics in the second half to storm back and demolish the New Zealanders to give themselves a morale-boosting victory ahead of the four-week tour to the Antipodes.
And it was Specman that sparked the change.
The Blitzbok star is an exceptional attacker and finally got the ball in space, and when he did, he didn't let the chance go by to finally give the Loftus faithfuls of just over 8 000 something to cheer about.
The team's accountability meeting and the changes to the starting line-up paid dividends as the Bulls looked a lot more composed and forthright in their play.
But after starting with jerseys that any well-seeing fan couldn't tell apart, the Bulls emerged a different unit in the second half to power their way to the win.
Flanker Josh Strauss played an exceptional game and his pack responded. Youngsters Muller Uys and Ruan Nortje looked like settled veterans who enjoyed the outing as they responded to the challenge to get the Bulls back on track.
But in the first half the Bulls faltered, and they stumbled, mostly thanks to an excellent tactical kicking game from the Highlanders that saw them pinned back in their own half.
They started badly as well, with Josh Ioane finishing off a move where the Bulls were stretched to the limit on defence, jogging in for the try.
The Bulls responded when Jaco Visagie rumbled over at the back of a rolling maul, but Ioane added a penalty to give them the five-point advantage at halftime.
As they emerged in yellow and white instead of the blue jerseys that clashed in the first half, there was a very different feel to the Bulls. Their halftime talk appeared to have worked, and the discipline and focus returned and they finally exploited some of the chances they had been creating. It was fullback Warrick Gelant who started it as the Bulls replicated the Highlanders first try by stretching their defence to claw back the scoreline.
And then Specman took over.
His first was fairly mundane in terms of Specmagic, as he supported his teammates and Strauss' two big runs to find an opening and worm his way through.
The second and third though were classic Specmagic specimens. Gelant made the metres, drew the man and passed to Divan Rossouw, who put Specman away with two defenders to beat and the magic made sure of the try.
The hat-trick came in the last 10 minutes as Morne Steyn's bullet pass found its target and Specman ran in for the celebrations to begin.
Cornal Hendricks added a late try to make sure his wing partner wasn't the only flyer on the scoresheet.
The win was sorely needed and will do wonders for the Bulls ahead of the tour. But they are not out of the woods yet.
And their follow-up response on tour will be a major factor for the rest of their season.
But on a night at Loftus when Specmagic ruled supreme, it didn't matter. And the win was sweeter for it.
Scorers
Vodacom Bulls: Tries – Rosko Specman (3), Cornal Hendricks, Jaco Visagie, Warrick Gelant. Conversions -Manie Libbok (4), Morne Steyn (1).
Highlanders: Tries – Josh Ioane.
Conversion: Ioane. Penalties: Ioane (2). - SuperSport
Trailing 10-5 at the break, the Bulls changed tactics in the second half to storm back and demolish the New Zealanders to give themselves a morale-boosting victory ahead of the four-week tour to the Antipodes.
And it was Specman that sparked the change.
The Blitzbok star is an exceptional attacker and finally got the ball in space, and when he did, he didn't let the chance go by to finally give the Loftus faithfuls of just over 8 000 something to cheer about.
The team's accountability meeting and the changes to the starting line-up paid dividends as the Bulls looked a lot more composed and forthright in their play.
But after starting with jerseys that any well-seeing fan couldn't tell apart, the Bulls emerged a different unit in the second half to power their way to the win.
Flanker Josh Strauss played an exceptional game and his pack responded. Youngsters Muller Uys and Ruan Nortje looked like settled veterans who enjoyed the outing as they responded to the challenge to get the Bulls back on track.
But in the first half the Bulls faltered, and they stumbled, mostly thanks to an excellent tactical kicking game from the Highlanders that saw them pinned back in their own half.
They started badly as well, with Josh Ioane finishing off a move where the Bulls were stretched to the limit on defence, jogging in for the try.
The Bulls responded when Jaco Visagie rumbled over at the back of a rolling maul, but Ioane added a penalty to give them the five-point advantage at halftime.
As they emerged in yellow and white instead of the blue jerseys that clashed in the first half, there was a very different feel to the Bulls. Their halftime talk appeared to have worked, and the discipline and focus returned and they finally exploited some of the chances they had been creating. It was fullback Warrick Gelant who started it as the Bulls replicated the Highlanders first try by stretching their defence to claw back the scoreline.
And then Specman took over.
His first was fairly mundane in terms of Specmagic, as he supported his teammates and Strauss' two big runs to find an opening and worm his way through.
The second and third though were classic Specmagic specimens. Gelant made the metres, drew the man and passed to Divan Rossouw, who put Specman away with two defenders to beat and the magic made sure of the try.
The hat-trick came in the last 10 minutes as Morne Steyn's bullet pass found its target and Specman ran in for the celebrations to begin.
Cornal Hendricks added a late try to make sure his wing partner wasn't the only flyer on the scoresheet.
The win was sorely needed and will do wonders for the Bulls ahead of the tour. But they are not out of the woods yet.
And their follow-up response on tour will be a major factor for the rest of their season.
But on a night at Loftus when Specmagic ruled supreme, it didn't matter. And the win was sweeter for it.
Scorers
Vodacom Bulls: Tries – Rosko Specman (3), Cornal Hendricks, Jaco Visagie, Warrick Gelant. Conversions -Manie Libbok (4), Morne Steyn (1).
Highlanders: Tries – Josh Ioane.
Conversion: Ioane. Penalties: Ioane (2). - SuperSport
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