The Bulls certainly had more bite than their moo as they hammered the Sharks 40-10 in their Super Rugby derby at Kings Park in Durban on Saturday.
While the Sharks, who had to travel back from New Zealand for the game, looked flat and fatigued, the Bulls came out energised after their bye and hit the home team hard from the start.
Trailing 10-21 at halftime, the Sharks were forced to chase the game in the second half and, with the weather becoming really icky, their attacking efforts were often over-ambitious and resulted in a slew of handling errors.
By contrast, the Bulls were clinical and ruthless on attack, with fullback Warrick Gelant their ace with a hat-trick of tries. The Bulls driving maul was also extremely efficient and the penalty try they won early in the second half was a real kick in the shins for the Sharks.
Who was the star in this match?
Gelant took the plaudits and his superbly-taken hat-trick will hog the limelight, but Lood de Jager was the true hero of this Bulls effort.
From the opening minute through to the last, De Jager was in the thick of the action and he made close to 20 tackles, a phenomenal effort.
He was also the kingpin at lineout time, both on his own ball and in terms of stealing Sharks throws.
The Springbok provided the perfect mix of physicality and immense work-rate and his example was a big reason why the Bulls pack was so inspired.
Key moments and themes
Points scorers
Sharks – Try: Andre Esterhuizen. Conversion: Robert du Preez. Penalty: Du Preez.
Bulls – Tries: Warrick Gelant (3), Adriaan Strauss, penalty try, Johnny Kotze. Conversions: Handre Pollard (3), Manie Libbok.
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