The Bulls beat Stade Francais 56-20 in the Champions Cup at Loftus Versfeld, with wing Cheswill Jooste scoring a hat-trick.
The home side scored eight tries in total. Flyhalf Handre Pollard converted every one of them, IOL Sport reported.
The Bulls had said before the match that they were fully focused on the Champions Cup. The result backed up those words.
The first try came after only 30 seconds. The Bulls won the ball back from the kick-off and moved it wide. Centre Harold Vorster pushed the ball through the defence for Jooste to gather and score.
Stade Francais answered ten minutes later. Their New Zealand flyhalf Ihaia West kicked a long-range penalty. The French side looked dangerous each time they had the ball.
Coach Johan Ackermann had spoken about staying calm under pressure. His players held firm, and Khutha Mchunu won a turnover inside the Bulls 22. Lock Cobus Wiese then powered over for the second try.
The Bulls thought they had a third try when Paul de Wet went over after a Cameron Hanekom run. The TMO ruled it out because Eligh Louw had held a French player back at the scrum.
Stade Francais used that penalty to move up the field. Louis Foursans-Bourdette, who came on for the injured West, kicked another penalty.
Louw also appeared to score, but the TMO did not award the try. The Bulls lineout was struggling at this stage. Hanekom then forced his way over, and the Bulls led 21-6 at half-time.
The visitors scored first after the break. South African lock Jacques Botha went over after a spell of pressure. Botha is 2.06m tall and weighs 128kg. He joined the French club last year and made his senior debut in December, aged 19.
Flank Marco van Staden, back in the starting team, replied with a try from a lineout maul. Fijian flanker Petero Mailulu then scored for Stade Francais.
A minute later, flanker Jeandre Rudolph ran down the touchline, chipped over the defence and caught the ball to score.
Hooker Jan-Hendrik Wessels added another try. He chased a chip into the in-goal area and grounded the ball just before the dead-ball line.
The Bulls scored their last try from a planned lineout move. After quick work through several phases, Jooste used his pace to beat the defenders and complete his hat-trick.
The Bulls tries came from Jooste with three, Wiese, Hanekom, Van Staden, Rudolph and Wessels. Stade Francais scored tries through Botha and Mailulu, with two penalties from West and Foursans-Bourdette.
Source: this article is based on reporting by IOL Sport. Image: IOL Sport. Written with the help of AI and published by the Tzaneen Voice Sports desk. See our Editorial Standards.
Tiyani Mathebula writes about sport for Tzaneen Voice. Tiyani covers Bafana Bafana, the Springboks, the Proteas and the PSL, along with athletics, tennis and local club sport. Match reports and previews focus on results, team news, fixtures and what each game means for South African teams and fans.