Bulls overcome hostile Bayonne crowd to clinch Challenge Cup quarter-final against Edinburgh

It was an arm-wrestle for more than an hour, but the Bulls’ grit and determination was eventually rewarded as they pulled off a deserved 32-22 triumph over Bayonne to reach the Challenge Cup quarter-finals on Saturday.

The men from Pretoria were on top for most of the game, with the forwards rolling up their sleeves and dominating physically.

But a few wrong decisions and poor execution on attack let them down, while a sometimes shaky defensive line allowed Bayonne to make real inroads with their counter-attacks.

The hostile home crowd at Stade Jean Dauger also seemed to influence referee Christophe Ridley at times, so credit to the Bulls for absorbing that pressure and tricky circumstances to keep their trophy hopes alive.

Jake White’s team will now take on Edinburgh, who beat the Lions 24-12 on Friday night, in next weekend’s quarter-final in Scotland.

Bulls tighthead prop Wilco Louw led the charge with a powerful scrumming performance as he gave Bayonne loosehead Pierre Castillon a torrid time on a warm afternoon in south-west France.

It didn’t result in early points, but like a red London bus, two scoring opportunities came within a minute as first flyhalf Keagan Johannes slotted a penalty, and then a special play brought up the first try.

Some slick handling opened a gap for fullback Devon Williams to slice through the middle, and he spun around and put wing Sergeal Petersen over in the 16th minute.

Scrumhalf Zak Burger produced arguably his finest display for the Bulls, as he kept the defence guessing and cleared the base well with his boot.

But the finishing wasn’t quite there from the Bulls, with Bayonne able to scramble in defence.

That tenacity paid off in the 33rd minute when they levelled matters at 8-8 through giant centre Federico Mori, who bumped off Johannes to score in the left corner.

The Bulls managed to hit back just before halftime, though, and it was worth waiting for.

Burger was the catalyst again after a few strong carries as the No 9 dummied and offloaded to a flying flank Reinhardt Ludwig, who showed impressive pace to get around the Bayonne fullback to cross the whitewash.

The Bulls introduced some heavyweights in Cameron Hanekom, Jan-Hendrik Wessels and Ruan Nortjé off the bench at the start of the second half, and it immediately benefited the visitors.

Wessels is a sight to behold with ball-in-hand, and the front-rower charged forward before a Stravino Jacobs grubber somehow landed in the hands of David Kriel, who dummied and went over.

Bayonne, urged on by their fans, didn’t give up, and flank Remi Bourdeau crashed over following a lineout drive to reduce the deficit to 22-15.

The South Africans wasted a few more opportunities on attack, and when hooker Akker van der Merwe received a yellow card for a high tackle, the hosts had all the momentum for the last quarter.

They launched wave after wave of attack, but the Bulls showed tremendous fortitude to hold them out, with the likes of captain and Player of the Match Marcell Coetzee, young lock JF van Heerden, Wessels and centres Kriel and Harold Vorster prominent.

It didn’t help when Johannes missed touch from a penalty, but the Bulls quickly recovered and ended the match as a contest when Marco van Staden reached out to score after a series of pick-and-go carries from the pack.

Bayonne flyhalf Tom Spring ensured that there would be a nervy finish when he dotted down to make it 29-22, but Johan Goosen closed things out with a late penalty.

Points-Scorers

Bayonne 22 – Tries: Federico Mori, Remi Bourdeau, Tom Spring. Conversions: Cheikh Tiberghien (2). Penalty: Baptiste Germain (1).

Bulls 32 – Tries: Sergeal Petersen, Reinhardt Ludwig, David Kriel, Marco van Staden. Conversions: Keagan Johannes (2), Johan Goosen (1). Penalties: Johannes (1), Goosen (1).