It’s only the first week of the new Super Rugby season, but the Loftus faithful will be hopeful that their own version of the running of the Bulls is back.
Pote Human’s well-drilled and inventive charges were outstanding in emphatically bossing Saturday’s north-south derby against the Stormers, winning handsomely by 40-3.
It was a performance brimming with excellent individual performances, but there’s little doubt that Rosko Specman provided the most thrilling moments of the match.
The former Blitzboks star – whose Twitter handle is memorably named ‘speckmagic11’- scored a brace of tries and immediately looked at home at this level.
More importantly, the Bulls seemed to feed on his influence.
Kick-off had been delayed by 20 minutes after the Stormers were left stuck on the N1 following a overturned truck just after Oliftansfontein and it seems they were still stuck there as they simply didn’t turn up for this game mentally.
Who was the star in this match?
Specman was brilliant, while Jesse Kriel also showed his pedigree with a wonderfully varied performance. But the evergreen Duane Vermeulen has already shown why he’s the Bulls’ marquee signing. He ran 66m from nine carries, he made seven tackles, won a turnover and four lineouts. Most pertinently, his physicality in the collisions brought the Bulls’ momentum on attack. World class.
Key moments and themes
Bulls – Tries: Rosko Specman (2), Johnny Kotze, Jesse Kriel. Conversions: Handre Pollard (4). Penalties: Pollard (4)
Stormers – Penalty: SP Marais.
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