As it happened: Bulls v Brumbies

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Commentary by Sport24's Herman Mostert

Follow on@herman_mostert or send suggestions to: herman.mostert@sa.24.com

KEY STATS

Metres run: Bulls 360-292 Brumbies
Carries: Bulls 62-109 Brumbies
Defenders beaten: Bulls 11-8 Brumbies
Clean breaks: Bulls 4-3 Brumbies
Tackles made: Bulls 106-52 Brumbies
Tackles missed: Bulls 8-11 Brumbies
Turnovers won: Bulls 8-2 Brumbies
Kicks in play: Bulls 37-26 Brumbies
Rucks won: Bulls 38-79 Brumbies
Rucks lost: Bulls 2-4 Brumbies
Mauls won: Bulls 6-1 Brumbies
Lineouts won: Bulls 9-10 Brumbies
Linouts lost: Bulls 2-4 Brumbies
Scrums won: Bulls 7-3 Brumbies
Scrums lost: Bulls 1-1 Brumbies
Penalties conceded: Bulls 10-13 Brumbies

MAN-OF-THE-MATCH

Bulls centre Jan Serfontein received the best player award.

Thanks for tuning in!

An utterly dominating win for the Bulls who keep their playoff hopes alive by moving into 6th spot. The Brumbies will leave South Africa with two losses and have slumped to No 4 on the overall Super Rugby log.

In next weekend's Round 16 action, the Bulls tackle the Lions at Ellis Park, while the Brumbies host the Melbourne Rebels.

TWEET

Soundly beaten by a dominant Bulls side tonight. Tough night for the Brums. Back to Canberra for next weekend... - David Pocock

FULL-TIME: Bulls 44-23 Brumbies

80'- Time has run out for the men from Canberra though. No bonus point for them.

79' -  The Brumbies are chasing a bonus point try now...

79' - The Brumbies try a drop for a conversion but it misses.

Bulls 44-23 Brumbies

78'- TRY to the Brumbies. Centre Tevita Kuridrani pounces after Hougaard loses possession in front of his own line. It came after the Brumbies had kicked far up-field with the Bulls on the attack...

76'- Oh dear, Brumbies fullback Jesse Mogg breaks through but knocks on with the tryline begging! Not the Brumbies night. They have now knocked on 15 times!

75'- Ross is now off for the Bulls though. He looks a bit groggy. Maybe concussion.

75'- POLLARD converts from close to the touchline.

Bulls 44-18 Brumbies

74'- BONUS POINT TRY FOR THE BULLS!

Jono Ross barges over for his second try after a dominant lineout maul by the hosts.

73'- YELLOW CARD

Yellow card for Brumbies reserve hooker Josh Mann-Rea, who conceded a cynical penalty in front of his own tryline.

72'- A clever chip over the top from Serfontein puts Engelbrecht away. He sprints to the corner flag before chipping ahead, with the touchline unfortunately winning...

71'- Former WP and Sharks scrumhalf Conrad Hoffmann is now on for the Brumbies...

70'- It's all Brumbies now. Maybe all the Bulls substitutions were not so smart?!

69'- A missed conversion leaves the score at 37-18 in favour of the Bulls.

67'- TRY!  Ben Mowen scores in the corner for the Brumbies.

He followed up after Pat McCabe brilliantly flicked the ball in-field just before he was tackled out.

The TMO was called upon and correctly gave the try!

Victor Matfield running like a centre... (Gallo Images)

64'- Bongi Bbonambi on at hooker for Callie Visagie, Morne Mellett on for prop Dean Greyling and Handre Pollard also on for Potgieter at flyhalf.

61'- PENALTY slotted by Potgieter.

Bulls 37-13 Brumbies.

OK, surely the game is won now. No more kicking for posts, Victor!

60' - A minute later they get another penalty and Potgieter will again line up, about 20m in from touch, 25m out.

59'- Potgieter is short with his penalty attempt... sigh...

58'- Matfield says they must kick for goal. Wrong call in my book.

Go for the fourth try! The game should be won when you're 34-13 up!

58'- A concerted period of attack by the Brumbies leads to nothing when they are caught on the halfway line holding on too long.

PICTURE

Jermaine Rhoda, a happy Bulls fan (via e-mail)

54'- Bulls captain Flip van der Merwe is off, replaced by Paul Willemse. Matfield to take over as captain.

Piet van Zyl also on at scrumhalf. Ndungane off, and Hougaard to wing.

51'- Potgieter stretches the Bulls lead with a PENALTY under the posts.

It was set up by a dominant Bulls scrum.

Bulls 34-13 Brumbies

48'- CONVERSION by Lealiifano.

Bulls 31-13 Brumbies

47'- TRY! From the ensuing scrum, big Brumbies wing Henry Speight barges over under the posts.

46'- Jesse Mogg nearly scores after running after his chip-kick in behind the Bulls. However, a Bulls player (Serfontein) gets there first but the Brumbies will get a five metre scrum as Serfontein took it over the dead-ball line.

45'- The Bulls can now afford to hunt the bonus point try. No more kicks at posts!

44'- Potgieter misses the conversion to the right.

Bulls 31-6 Brumbies

43'- TRY!

Bulls wing Bjorn Basson, like a thief in the night, intercepts a pass and runs 65m to score! No catching probably the fastest rugby player in South Africa.

42'- POTGIETER slots the easy penalty.

Bulls 26-6 Brumbies

41'- YELLOW CARD for Toomua.

Craig Joubert is harsh though. Yes it was high, but normally only penalties are given for that.

41'- Replays show Matt Toomua jump up and tackle JJ Engelbrecht high.

41'- The Bulls win a penalty after a Brumbies high tackle.

Referee Joubert wants to go upstairs to see how dangerous it was.

40'- Potgieter starts the second half.

And immediately the Bulls are on the attack when the Brumbies fail to catch the kick-off.

40'- Welcome back for the second half. No changes to either side at the break.

TWEET

Honestly even though we saw 2 great tries it has been rather boring...Sad! too much kicking WAY TOO MUCH - JudgeRugby

FIRST HALF STATS

Metres run: Bulls 192-119 Brumbies
Carries: Bulls 31-54 Brumbies
Defenders beaten: Bulls 5-3 Brumbies
Clean breaks: Bulls 1-0 Brumbies
Tackles made: Bulls 59-18 Brumbies
Tackles missed: Bulls 3-5 Brumbies
Turnovers won: Bulls 5-0 Brumbies
Kicks in play: Bulls 22-15 Brumbies
Rucks won: Bulls 15-39 Brumbies
Rucks lost: Bulls 0-2 Brumbies
Mauls won: Bulls 3-1 Brumbies
Lineouts won: Bulls 6-6 Brumbies
Linouts lost: Bulls 1-2 Brumbies
Scrums won: Bulls 3-1 Brumbies
Scrums lost: Bulls 1-0 Brumbies
Penalties conceded: Bulls 5-6 Brumbies

HALF-TIME: Bulls 23-6 Brumbies

40'- The Brumbies launch one last attacking move on the stroke of half-time, but a brilliant rip from Jono Ross makes them lose it.

39'- PENALTY slotted by Potgieter.

Bulls 23-6 Brumbies

37' - Bulls prop Werner Kruger - like a top notch fetcher - wins a penalty on the ground for the Bulls. It's just inside the Brumbies half and Potgieter will line up - about a metre from the halfway line.

36' - Silly penalties creeping into the Bulls play now. They are up to 4 conceded, compared to 5 by the Brumbies. At one stage it was 0-5...

35'- PENALTY converted by Lealiifano.

Bulls 20-6 Brumbies

34'- The Brumbies win a kickable penalty when Bulls flank Jacques du Plessis is caught off-side.

Lealiifano to line up from virtually in front, 20m out.

32'- Another Brumbies penalty at scrum time. Dean Greyling told he wasn't keeping his elbow up. The Bulls will be slightly worried about their scrums at present...

31'- Bulls definitely winning the aerial battle at present! So far the Bulls have kicked 18 times, compared to the 11 by the Brumbies.

TWEET

That was brilliant by Craig Joubert - Judge Rugby

28'- Referee Joubert gets a massive cheer when he kicks a beautiful torpedo after there were two balls on the field. What a kick! Why do professional rugby players never kick torpedos anymore?! 

26'- There are some gaping holes in this Brumbies midfield! Already four tackles slipped by the visitors.

25'- CONVERSION by Potgieter.

Bulls 20-3 Brumbies

24'- TRY! Jono Ross barges over next to the posts for the Bulls.

It was set up by a brilliant break from centre Jan Serfontein. Also a good final side-step by Ross!

22'- PENALTY converted by Lealiifano.

Bulls 13-3 Brumbies

21'- First kick at goal for the Brumbies as the Bulls are penalised at scrum time. Christian Lealiifano lines up, about 25m out, 20m in-field...

Werner Kruger was the man penalised for going down in the scrum.

19'- Already five penalties conceded by the Brumbies, none by the Bulls.

Referee Joubert warns them: "Penalties mounting," he says.

18'- PENALTY converted by Potgieter.

Bulls 13-0 Brumbies

17'- Serfontein nearly barges over again but is stopped just short. The Bulls then win a penalty right in front as the visitors go off-side under their own posts.

16' - Matfield loses a lineout near halfway but gets a penalty from referee Joubert who adjudged a Brumbies player had impeded him in the air...

15'- Another Bulls penalty at scrum time allows Potgieter to clear from inside his own 22m area...

15'- Already 15 kicks in play tonight. 9 by the Bulls.

13'- Superb PENALTY slotted by Potgieter.

Bulls 10-0 Brumbies

12'- Brumbies prop Scott Sio penalised at the first scrum for scrumming skew. Another shot for Potgieter from just inside the Brumbies half, close to the touchline...

10' - PACK WEIGHTS

Brumbies 900kg
Bulls 896kg

9'- CONVERSION by Potgieter.

Bulls 7-0 Brumbies

8'- TRY to Bulls centre Jan Serfontein.

But that try belongs to Victor Matfield who dummied his way through like a top notch centre in midfield!

Also a slick pass to his outside by Matfield there. The try also came from first phase when the Bulls attempted a short lineout, before Matfield popped up in the backline.

7'- The Brumbies appear to be struggling with all the up-and-unders the Bulls are launching...

6'- Potgieter misses a drop goal attempt from just inside the Brumbies half...

5'- Matt Toomua fails to take an up-and-under which gives the Bulls a chance to attack inside the Brumbies 22m are, but they then cough it up...

4'- Potgieter is well short with his penalty attempt. Strange, I thought he would have the legs...

3'- First penalty goes to the Bulls - Jono Ross winning it on the ground!

Potgieter will line up from just inside his own half...

2'- It's all Brumbies at the start here, but the Bulls defence is sound.

0' - Potgieter fails to find touch with his first kick, which gives the Brumbies - via the dangerous Henry Speight - a chance to attack.

19:10 - Brumbies No 9 Nic White kicks off...

19:09 - Craig Joubert is tonight's referee. 

19:08  - The Brumbies are again - like last week - clad in an orange strip.

HEAD TO HEAD

The Bulls have won 6, lost 10; 422 points, 496 against; 44 tries, 62 conceded.

Average score: Brumbies 31-26 in favour of the Brumbies.

19:03 - DID YOU KNOW?

The Brumbies' win in last year's semi-final was their first since 2006 and only their fourth ever at Loftus Versfeld.

19:00 - Nick Mallett says home ground advantage and desperation will see the Bulls win tonight.

I agree with him that they're favourites, but can't believe that the Brumbies are themselves not desperate for a win, especially after coming unstuck against the Cheetahs last weekend.

TWEET

Bulls have won all games at home in 2013, 2014 except for semi-final defeat to Brumbies last year, and draw to the Chiefs 2014 - SA Rugby

18:53 - Mallett feels Handre Pollard was slightly unlucky to lose his starting spot to Jacques-Louis Potgieter. It was done due to the rotation policy employed by the Bulls - something I'm no fan of. Pick the in-form flyhalf!

18:44 - In-studio SuperSport pundit Nick Mallett says the reason for the Brumbies changing into a kicking-oriented side in the last while was due to Jake White coaching them in 2012 and 2013...

18:43 - Despite conditions being perfect for running rugby, I'm still expecting a tactical kicking duel tonight. Both these teams are renowned for using the boot quite often...

18:38 - CONDITIONS

Perfect conditions here at Loftus. No rain or wind in sight. A little bit of dew, but still perfect for running rugby.

PICTURE

Bulls fan Jermaine Rhoda - (via e-mail)

PICTURE

Supporting different teams in the work place! Bulls fan Gareth Boxall and colleague and friend - and Sharks fan - Eric Denman (via e-mail)

LOG STANDINGS

Ahead of kick-off, the Bulls find themselves in second place in the South African Conference and eighth in the Overall standings.

The Brumbies are currently top of the Australian Conference and second in the Overall log.

LISTEN TO THE EXPERTS!

The Bulls take on the Brumbies in a repeat of last year’s Super Rugby semi-final when they clash at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria on Friday.

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OFFICIALS

Referee: Craig Joubert (South Africa)
Assistant referees: Jaco Peyper (South Africa), Cobus Wessels (South Africa)
TMO: Johan Greeff (South Africa)

RECENT RESULTS

2013: Brumbies won 26-23, Pretoria (semi-final)
2013: Brumbies won 23-20, Canberra
2012: Bulls won 36-34, Pretoria
2010: Bulls won 50-32, Pretoria
2009: Brumbies won 32-31, Canberra
2008: Bulls won 28-17, Pretoria

TEAMS:

Bulls

15 Jurgen Visser, 14 Akona Ndungane, 13 JJ Engelbrecht, 12 Jan Serfontein, 11 Bjorn Basson, 10 Jacques-Louis Potgieter, 9 Francois Hougaard, 8 Grant Hattingh, 7 Jacques du Plessis, 6 Jono Ross, 5 Victor Matfield, 4 Flip van der Merwe (captain), 3 Werner Kruger, 2 Callie Visagie, 1 Dean Greyling

Substitutes: 16 Mbongeni Mbonambi, 17 Morne Mellett, 18 Marcel van der Merwe, 19 Paul Willemse, 20 Jacques Engelbrecht, 21 Piet van Zyl, 22 Handrè Pollard, 23 Ulrich Beyers

Brumbies

15 Jesse Mogg, 14 Henry Speight, 13 Tevita Kuridrani, 12 Christian Lealiifano, 11 Robbie Coleman, 10 Matt Toomua, 9 Nic White, 8 Ben Mowen (captain), 7 Jarrad Butler, 6 Scott Fardy, 5 Sam Carter, 4 Leon Power, 3 Ben Alexander, 2 Stephen Moore, 1 Scott Sio

Substitutes:16 Josh Mann-Rea, 17 Ruan Smith, 18 JP Smith, 19 Fotu Auelua, 20 Jordan Smiler, 21 Conrad Hoffmann, 22 Andrew Smith, 23 Pat McCabe

Welcome to Sport24's LIVE scoring and interactive commentary on today's Super Rugby match between the Bulls and Brumbies in Pretoria!