Cape Town – Almost everything that could have gone wrong for the Bulls went against them as the Glasgow Warriors blew away the Pretoria side in the first half of their 35-21 United Rugby Championship victory at Scotstoun Stadium on Saturday night.
Glasgow claimed their fourth bonus-point try in the 36th minute through outstanding scrumhalf George Horne, who showed why he was given a start ahead of British and Irish Lions No 9 Ali Price with a superb outing.
Jake White’s bumbling Bulls were just a yard off the pace throughout, and were their own worst enemies as they missed a number of one-on-one tackles and battled with their execution and decision-making on attack in a disjointed display to suffer their first defeat of the season in their fourth encounter.
The 4G pitch, a heavy downpour in the middle stages and Irish referee Andrew Brace’s calls didn’t help the visitors’ cause, and they were on the wrong side of the whistle at the breakdowns in particular.
But Marcell Coetzee’s team can’t blame the match officials for their error-ridden performance.
Glasgow were allowed to get over the advantage line too easily from the opening stages due to a passive Bulls defence, which later translated into individual players shooting out of line and slipping tackles as they tried to close down space.
The Bulls forwards also battled to impose themselves physically on the Warriors, and it was the home side’s pack who laid down a marker in the seventh minute with a series of pick-and-go carries around several rucks, which led to No 8 Matt Fagerson forcing his way over.
With Horne adding energy and speed around the fringes with his quick service and decisive darts, Glasgow found gaps in the Bulls defence at close-range and out wide.
Within four minutes, Argentinian wing Sebastian Cancelliere finished off a flowing move, following lovely hands from captain and centre Sione Tuipulotu, lock Richie Gray and hooker Fraser Brown.
The hands from @GlasgowWarriors here 🤩#BKTURC #URC | #GLAvBUL pic.twitter.com/JYVBgPU9g0
There was a hint of a comeback from the South African side at the end of the first quarter when No 8 Elrigh Louw managed to knock the ball loose from Horne, which saw Cornal Hendricks pick it up and put fullback Kurt-Lee Arendse away down the right.
Kurt-Lee Arendse has GAS in abundance ⛽️ 💨 @Vocadom #URC | #GLAvBUL pic.twitter.com/Sk8yLjPDq0
But the turnaround was short-lived, with lock Scott Cummings crossing the tryline soon after following further pick-and-go carries from the forwards.
The Bulls scrum was at least dominant, with tighthead prop Francois Klopper getting the edge on Glasgow loosehead Jamie Bhatti, but almost every time they reached the 22, the visitors coughed up possession, conceded a breakdown penalty or had their maul stopped in its tracks.
And when Horne produced a stunning solo effort to secure the four-try bonus point before halftime, the match was over as a contest as the Bulls trailed 28-7.
A piece of individual brilliance from George Horne 👏 #BKTURC #URC | #GLAvBUL pic.twitter.com/IyRENiJnf8
— BKT United Rugby Championship (URC) (@URCOfficial) October 8, 2022
Glasgow weren’t done yet, and scored arguably their best try of the night by fullback Josh McKay, who punched the air as he went over after being the recipient of a deft one-handed offload from the lively Cancelliere.
Replacement hooker Bismarck du Plessis got a consolation touchdown with about 20 minutes to go, and lock Janko Swanepoel got a late five-pointer, but the Bulls were never going to launch a dramatic fightback as a slick Glasgow closed things out for a well-deserved victory.
Points-Scorers
Glasgow 35 – Tries: Matt Fagerson, Sebastian Cancelliere, Scott Cummings, George Horne, Josh McKay. Conversions: Horne (5).
Bulls 21 – Tries: Kurt-Lee Arendse, Bismarck du Plessis, Janko Swanepoel. Conversions: Chris Smith (2), Morné Steyn (1).