Vodacom Bulls Run Riot at Loftus, Demolish Hollywoodbets Sharks in United Rugby Championship Game

Vodacom Bulls Run Riot at Loftus, Demolish Hollywoodbets Sharks in United Rugby Championship Game

Byron Pillay
updated at February 13, 2024 at 11:54 AM
  • The Vodacom Bulls ran in six tries as they demolished the Hollywoodbets Sharks at Loftus Versveld
  • Coach John Plumtree was not happy with the performance of his Sharks outfit against the Bulls
  • The DHL Stormers and Emirates Lions also picked up good wins in the United Rugby Championship

The Vodacom Bulls mean business in this year’s United Rugby Championship.

The Pretoria-based side are in third on the table after seven games, and lead the way when it comes to the South African teams.

Action between the Vodacom Bulls and the Hollywoodbets Sharks.
The Vodacom Bulls ran rampant against the Hollywoodbets Sharks in Pretoria. Image: Willem Loock.
Source: Original

The Bulls continued their fine form this weekend when they demolished the Hollywoodbets Sharks at Loftus Versveld.

Coming off a big win against the Dragons in their last game and buoyed by the return of their Springbok stars, the Sharks would have been confident going into the encounter.

That confidence was short-lived as the Bulls bagged a bonus point before halftime and led 27-3 at the interval, Rugby365 reported.

No chance in the second half

The Bulls didn’t take their foot off the pedal in the second half as they scored a further 17 points to the Sharks’ seven.

The Bulls ran out 44-10 winners, with Stedman Gans and Akker van der Merwe scoring a brace, while Kurt-Lee Arendse and Elrigh Louw also crossed the try line.

Johan Goosen kicked over four conversions and two penalties as the Bulls consolidated third spot on the table.

Plumtree unhappy with Sharks’ performance

With the Sharks suffering their sixth defeat of the season, coach John Plumtree did not cut a happy figure after the game.

SARugbyMag reported that the coach was unhappy with his side's lack of cohesion and set-piece performance.

“Clearly we are still not a team. Last week we played against a Welsh side that was probably under the pump in the conditions in Durban and were pretty tired.
“That Bulls side are a real team. Collectively, they’re a bit ahead of us so that’s our challenge. We’ve got to dig deep and become a team because we didn’t look like we got a lot of things right today,” he said.
The Vodacom Bulls in action against the Hollywoodbets Sharks.
The Vodacom Bulls beat the Hollywoodbets Sharks 44-10. Image: Willem Loock.
Source: Original

Stormers and Lions win big

While the Bulls and Sharks faced off in a South African derby, the Emirates Lions and DHL Stormers were also in action in the URC.

The Stormers beat Zebre 31-7 at home, while the Lions mauled the Dragons 49-24 in Johannesburg.

Super Rugby vs the URC

Following the pandemic, rugby in the Southern Hemisphere underwent a realignment with several pros and cons, as Sports Brief previously reported.

South Africa's shift from Super Rugby to the United Rugby Championship gave fans something novel, but there is still a yearning for the traditional rivalries.

Here are eight reasons South African franchises should consider returning to their southern hemisphere roots versus remaining in Europe.

Authors
Byron Pillay photo
Byron Pillay
Byron Pillay is a sports writer and Head of the Department at Sports Brief (joined in 2022) with over 10 years of experience in community journalism and a degree in journalism from Caxton's Cadet School.
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South AfricaUnited Rugby Championship