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New Zealand completed a clean sweep of their three-match tour of South Africa with a 50-19 win over the Vodacom Bulls at Loftus Versfeld, and for long spells this was as one-sided as the scoreboard suggests. The tourists led 24-0 at the break and had the game beyond doubt before the Bulls found any real rhythm.
R. Vermaak (41'), S. Jacobs (53'), M. Coetzee (72')
Tries
J. Moorby (13', 18'), C. Taylor (31', 40'), L. Carter (43', 65'), R. Ioane (48'), W. Sititi (76')
C. Bosch (42', 73')
Conversions
B. Barrett (19'), J. Jacomb (40+1', 49', 66', 77')
This was the third leg of the Rugby's Greatest Rivalry series, following wins over the Stormers and Sharks. On this evidence, New Zealand arrived in Pretoria in good order and simply had too much pace and accuracy for a Bulls side that could not live with them in the wide channels.
The Bulls could not exit their own half cleanly in the opening quarter, and New Zealand punished them. Josh Moorby struck twice inside the first 18 minutes, and once Beauden Barrett added the extras it was 12-0 before the hosts had settled.
It got worse from there. Francois Klopper was sent to the bin on 28 minutes, and with a man down the Bulls conceded again. Codie Taylor crossed on 31 minutes and repeated the trick right on half-time, the second converted by Josh Jacomb, to make it 24-0 at the interval. Two tries for a hooker told its own story about how comfortably the visitors were getting through the middle.
Ruan Vermaak gave the home crowd something to cheer within a minute of the restart, and Curwin Bosch's conversion made it 7-24. But New Zealand's response was immediate and telling. Leroy Carter scored almost straight from the restart, and Rieko Ioane followed on 48 minutes. In the space of a few minutes the tourists had answered any hope of a comeback.
The Bulls kept working. Stravino Jacobs finished well on 53 minutes and Marcell Coetzee added a third late on, both converted by Bosch. But every time the hosts scored, New Zealand had a reply. Carter grabbed his second on 65 minutes and replacement Wallace Sititi rounded things off with four minutes left. Jacomb finished with four conversions and an assured all-round game.
The numbers point to a clear pattern. New Zealand made 12 clean breaks to the Bulls' one, and beat 42 defenders to 12. That is the difference between a side that kept finding space and one that kept getting caught behind the gainline. The Bulls made 159 tackles to 127, but missed 42 of them - a sign of a defence stretched all evening rather than one dictating terms.
CARRIES
CLEAN BREAK
DEFENDER BEATEN
TACKLE
MISSED TACKLE
TURNOVER WON
TURNOVERS CONCEDED
PENALTY CONCEDED
YELLOW CARD
POSSESSION
SCRUMS
LINEOUTS
Individually, Rieko Ioane was the standout, carrying 15 times for 92 metres with four offloads and a try. Leroy Carter was a constant threat on the wing with five clean breaks and two tries, while Josh Moorby beat seven defenders and made 56 metres. Anton Segner did plenty of the unseen work with 12 carries and 13 tackles. The Bulls simply had no answer to that spread of attacking threats.
Forwards
Backs
Replacements
Forwards
Backs
Replacements
There were bright spots for the hosts, even if they came against the run of play. Marcell Coetzee was excellent, topping the home carrying charts with 74 metres from 13 carries, beating four defenders and adding 16 tackles. He led by example throughout. Jeandre Rudolph and JF van Heerden both worked hard in the pack, and Curwin Bosch looked lively with 43 metres from fly-half.
The concern is that this was a Bulls side that reached the URC final in June, and here they were outrun and outscored by eight tries to three. The yellow card and the missed tackles hurt, but the bigger issue was an inability to slow New Zealand down once the tourists got moving. That is worth pondering for a side used to controlling matches at Loftus.
For New Zealand, three from three on tour is a strong return, and they leave South Africa having scored freely in every game. The Bulls, meanwhile, have plenty to work on before their next competitive assignment.
