Keagan Johannes on song as ‘smarter’ Bulls crush Zebre in nine-try URC rout

Jake White had called on his Bulls team to be “smarter” after the Leinster game, and they responded in kind to thrash a plucky Zebre outfit 63-24 at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday.

The Pretoria side ran in nine tries to three to move temporarily to second position on the log on 50 points after 14 matches, one point more than Glasgow, who will face the Lions late on Saturday night.

The Bulls were all over the place and needed a late David Kriel penalty to see off a weakened Leinster 21-20 last weekend, and White expressed his unhappiness afterwards as they made a number of errors and poor decisions, while also conceding red and yellow cards.

But while there was an unlucky yellow to lock JF van Heerden against Zebre, the Bulls were much more disciplined and direct, which paid off on a sunny afternoon in the capital.

The hosts were quickly out of the blocks as flyhalf Keagan Johannes produced a 50-22 kick, and wing Sergeal Petersen rounded off from the subsequent lineout after a good run by fullback Devon Williams.

It was soon 14 points in as many minutes as fortune favoured the incisive scrumhalf Zak Burger, who milked a penalty by passing the ball into an offside Zebre player, and then was able to pick it up and run through from the halfway line.

But after an enterprising start, the Bulls moved away from their blueprint and became a bit too loose, and the ever-alert Zebre pounced.

The men from Parma starting putting a few phases together in their free-flowing attacking approach, and one of their grubbers bounced away from Bulls wing Stravino Jacobs, which saw No 14 Jacopo Trulla finish easily.

It quickly became 14-10 after 26 minutes when a Bulls goal-line drop-out found scrumhalf Alessandro Fusco, who booted over a spectacular drop goal to reduce the deficit to just four points.

White’s team roared back before halftime, though, as first Jacobs made up for a few shaky moments with a stunning charge off a lineout as he bumped off a tackler and side-stepped another for a fine finish, and then impressive front-rower Jan-Hendrik Wessels powered through the middle of a maul to secure the bonus point.

Starting hooker Wessels was a busy ball-carrier and was part of a dominant Bulls scrum, and then continued the hard yards in the second half when he shifted to loosehead prop.

Zebre – who have beaten Munster and Ulster this season, and lost 35-34 to the Sharks last week – threatened a comeback by scoring immediately after halftime through flyhalf Giovanni Montemauri and later hooker Tommaso di Bartolomeo.

But the Bulls responded in kind through Marco van Staden’s rugged approach for a five-pointer, and then captain Marcell Coetzee barged over at close range following a massive scrum.

That seemed to break the Italians’ spirit, as the Bulls completed a successful afternoon in fine style in the final quarter through further tries to Petersen and David Kriel as the bench added further zip to the home effort.

Flyhalf Johannes provided the necessary steady hand all afternoon with a clever kicking game alongside Burger, as well as efficient decision-making and excellent goal-kicking to convert all seven of his goal-kicks, and he was deservedly named as the Player of the Match.

Points-Scorers

Bulls 63 – Tries: Sergeal Petersen (2), Zak Burger, Stravino Jacobs, Jan-Hendrik Wessels, Marco van Staden, Marcell Coetzee, Harold Vorster, David Kriel. Conversions: Keagan Johannes (7), Boeta Chamberlain (2).

Zebre 24 – Tries: Jacopo Trulla, Giovanni Montemauri, Tommaso di Bartolomeo. Conversions: Montemauri (2), Giacomo da Re. Drop goal: Alessandro Fusco (1).