What epitomised the Bulls’ committed performance in trouncing Stade Francais 48-7 in the Champions Cup at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday afternoon was the manner in which Cameron Hanekom scored his try.
The Pretoria side had virtually clinched their Challenge Cup qualification by that point, having secured a four-try bonus point in the first half already.
And there was little chance of Paris giants Stade mounting a late rally to keep their playoff hopes alive in both the Champions Cup and Challenge Cup – having already resorted to umbrellas during a first-half water break for some respite on a hot Pretoria afternoon.
But Hanekom, having already done the hard yards at close range all day long in getting the better of star Stade loose forward Sekou Macalou, kept up with the play as the Bulls made their way into the opposition 22.
Harold Vorster’s outstanding breakdown turnover a few metres from the tryline saw the centre popping the ball up to No 8 Hanekom, who barraged his through two tacklers to dot down in the right-hand corner.
It was a fitting reward for a busy display from the Springbok loose forward, who was named as the Player of the Match as the Pretoria side finally ended a four-match losing run to advance to the Challenge Cup round of 16, which will take place in April.
The 22-year-old from Ceres in the Western Cape admitted that the Bulls had been feeling the pressure heading into the game after defeats to Saracens, Northampton, Sharks and Castres.
But they were now determined to rectify things in the rest of the season, and generate bigger crowds than the 10 369 die-hards present at Loftus on Saturday.
“This week, we took a lot of strain. Obviously coming off four losses, we were a bit in a negative mind-space,” Hanekom told SuperSport TV in a post-match interview.
“But we knew if we stand together as a collective group, we can get over the line.
“At the end of the day, we want to fill up Loftus again, and bring the fans back to the stadium and make it alive again.
“This is a good way to get back onto a winning streak, so hopefully we can just build up from here.
“A lot of work-ons, but we just keep on moving forward. We knew that if we win by 22 points or more, we stand a chance to win another trophy.
“But at the end of the day, we just focused on the basics – everybody stuck to the basics, did their skill-sets to the best of their ability, gave 140 percent... Then it was going to come on its own, and that’s what happened today.”
The dominant pack, led by the all-Springbok front row of Gerhard Steenekamp, Johan Grobbelaar and Wilco Louw in the scrums – who almost walked forward at times in the set-piece – set the ideal platform for the hosts to run riot, and they clinched the four-try bonus point with Ruan Vermaak’s five-pointer in the 27th minute.
But one of the worries for the Bulls was flyhalf Johan Goosen limping off around the half-hour mark with a left knee injury, and he is likely to be in doubt for next Saturday’s URC clash with the Lions at Ellis Park.
“I just asked the doc, and he said that it’s one of those, at the moment, it’s very difficult to (determine the extent) because it’s swollen. So, he will go for a scan on Monday and see,” Bulls coach Jake White said about Goosen’s knee injury in the post-match press conference.
“But he’s got knees like crystal – he’s had lots and lots of knee injuries. So, I’m hoping that it’s the least (severity) of (knee injuries), like the meniscus or cartilage as opposed to a ligament.
“But I can’t speculate now until I get the scan.” | Independent Media Sport
Points-Scorers
Bulls 48 – Tries: Penalty Try, Devon Williams, Embrose Papier, Ruan Vermaak, Elrigh Louw, Boeta Chamberlain, Cameron Hanekom. Conversions: Johan Goosen (2), Chamberlain (2). Penalty: Chamberlain (1).
Stade Francais 7 – Try: Sekou Macalou. Conversion: Louis Carbonel (1).