ADVERTISEMENT
RugbyDump
REGISTER
LOGIN
ADVERTISEMENT
RugbyDump
Sunday Jul 18, 2021

Bulls score great 80m try in upset win over South Africa 'A'

Former Springbok Johan Goosen sparked an impressive comeback for the Bulls to snatch a 17-14 win over South Africa ‘A’ in another British & Irish Lions series warmup match for the hosts. 

ADVERTISEMENT

After beating the Lions 17-13 midweek with a powerful unit, the South Africa ‘A’ side was more experimental and couldn’t hold on as the Bulls grabbed the win with a late penalty and two converted tries, despite trailing 14-0.

Springbok coach Jacques Nienaber was satisfied with the result.

“We wanted this match for a number of reasons, and I am happy that we managed to play today,” said Nienaber.

“We needed three games to get our ducks in a row before the Test series and we got that. The result was not what we had hoped for, but a number of questions were answered, especially with regards to the readiness of individual players and their readiness for selection.

“I wanted the guys to stake a claim for selection for next week’s Test and unfortunately, not everyone did that, but I am not going to discuss individuals – any comments on them will be emotional, because we are hurting.

“As a team, the performance was not there, and I blame myself for that as well. The lack of dominance from our pack was not what we had expected. With the late confirmation of the game, we also did not do any analysis on the Bulls and that showed, while I did expect a better set-piece platform.”

ADVERTISEMENT

Nienaber praised the Vodacom Bulls on their performance:

“The Bulls were good and desperate, and they showed how much they wanted it. The disappointing part is that they wanted it more as a team.”

Nienaber said most of the players in the Springbok squad managed to get valuable game time in the last few days.

ADVERTISEMENT

“As there were places up for grabs in the Test team, we will do a proper review,” he said.

“At the moment, we have two hookers out due to COVID protocols (Bongi Mbonambi and Scarra Ntubeni), and we needed to see what Joseph Dweba and Fez Mbatha can do.

“And another couple of players got some valuable game time – Damian (De Allende) played 60 minutes, Kwagga (Smith) 80, and Damian Willemse had another run at centre.”

Nienaber said they will set their sights on the first Test from Sunday: “We will look at physical readiness and consider COVID protocols before we select our team and, in that regard, will be guided by our medical team.

“We will consider a number of factors before deciding to select players who have not played for the Boks in the last couple of years, like how long we have worked with them, their training stats and factors other like that.

“Some players who have been in our mix will slot back in more easily than others. But we will have a proper medical feedback session tomorrow so will make a call who will be in line for Test selection.”

Related Articles

  • 34 WEEKS AGO

    Ellis Genge puts on his boxing gloves ready...

  • 34 WEEKS AGO

    Crazy scenes as player deliberately kicks...

  • 34 WEEKS AGO

    RFU make decision on transgender players...



ADVERTISEMENT

Great Tries

  • 5 DAYS AGO

    Heart Breaking Six Nations Ending For Italy As Scotland Score Long Range Try

  • 2 WEEKS AGO

    Montpellier Number Eight Zach Mercer Outlandish Attacking Skill

  • 6 WEEKS AGO

    Damian Penaud Pulls Off a "van der Merwe" in Outrageous French Try

  • 6 WEEKS AGO

    Ireland Winger James Lowe With World Class Finish In Titanic Battle With France

  • 7 WEEKS AGO

    Sonny-Bill Williams Gives Irish U20 Star A Shoutout For Classy Offload

View All

Big Hits & Dirty Play

  • 1 DAY AGO

    Refereeing Legend Nigel Owens Breaks Down Freddie Steward Incident

  • 5 DAYS AGO

    England and Ireland fans express disappointment in grand slam refereeing decisions

  • 6 DAYS AGO

    England Fullback Shown Red For Collision With Opposite Number

  • 1 WEEK AGO

    Springbok Flyhalf Back With A Bang In Huge Development For World Champions

  • 2 WEEKS AGO

    Shocking Scenes As Rugby Players Attacked Following Rivalry Clash In South Africa

View All

See It To Believe It

  • 5 WEEKS AGO

    Ardie Savea Moment Of Magic In Super Rugby Aotearoa

  • 5 WEEKS AGO

    'Armchair athletes' berate Arundell's seriously impressive bench press

  • 6 WEEKS AGO

    Worcester Warriors - The End

  • 8 WEEKS AGO

    Sevens magic as 'headed' try brings stadium to its feet

  • 9 WEEKS AGO

    Almost 35,000 have now signed petition to reverse new grassroots tackle laws

View All

Funnies

  • 1 DAY AGO

    Whole Irish squad turn up to teammates parents house for drinking session

  • 2 WEEKS AGO

    Jonathan Sexton Fantastic Comeback Caught On Ref Mic

  • 2 WEEKS AGO

    Hilarious Footage Of English Players Post Leg Day Workout

  • 4 WEEKS AGO

    Mack Hansen leaves viewers in stitches with hilarious post-match interview mistake

  • 5 WEEKS AGO

    A Look Back At Rugby’s Greatest Ever Film

View All

Amateur

  • 10 WEEKS AGO

    You Won’t See Many Better Than This Silky-Smooth Try From Llandovery RFC

  • 11 WEEKS AGO

    Incredible Scenes As Caldy RFC Hand Ealing First Championship Defeat Of The Season

  • 34 WEEKS AGO

    Dubious Score Decides Result Of Rugby's Biggest Schools Fixture

  • 34 WEEKS AGO

    Incredible Scenes At School Boys Rugby Match

  • 34 WEEKS AGO

    The Next Dominant Backrow?

View All

Player Features

  • 2 WEEKS AGO

    Youth and experience combine in an effort to repeat Six Nations upset

  • 3 WEEKS AGO

    Wales international releases emotional statement after being offered contract that isn’t enough to feed family

  • 3 WEEKS AGO

    Ardie Savea causes outrage with ‘throat slitting’ gesture

  • 3 WEEKS AGO

    Smith, Marchant and Murley released from England camp to take part in 'Big Game 14'

  • 4 WEEKS AGO

    Mack Hansen leaves viewers in stitches with hilarious post-match interview mistake

View All