Bulls defeat Stade Francais 56-20 in Champions Cup
The Vodacom Bulls defeated Stade Francais 56-20 in an Investec Champions Cup Round 1 Pool 4 match at Loftus Versfeld, securing a dominant victory.
Bulls Build Lead Before Halftime
Handre Pollard added the conversion to make it 7-0.
Stade Francais responded in the 10th minute through an Ihaia West conversion, narrowing the gap to 7-3. The visitors threatened again before Cobus Wiese powered through the defensive line for the Bulls’ second try in the 17th minute. Pollard converted to push the lead to 14-3. Louis Foursans-Bourdette replaced West for Stade Francais in the 18th minute and subsequently kicked a conversion in the 33rd minute to bring the score to 14-6. Just before halftime, Cameron Hanekom bulldozed over for the hosts’ third try, and Pollard maintained a 100 percent kicking record to send the teams into the break with the Bulls leading 21-6.
Bulls Secure Victory After Second Half Battle
Stade Francais opened the second stanza aggressively, forcing a turnover that culminated in Jacques Botha scoring a try in the 44th minute, which Foursans-Bourdette converted to make it 21-13. The Bulls struck back immediately in the 47th minute when Marco van Staden dotted down from a rolling maul, followed by another successful conversion from Pollard for 28-13.
Petero Mailulu forced his way through the Bulls defense for a Stade Francais try in the 57th minute, converted by Foursans-Bourdette to narrow the deficit to 28-20. The home side then pulled away decisively. Jeandre Rudolph scored in the 63rd minute following a display of football skills, and Jan-Hendrik Wessels added another in the 68th minute after receiving a cross-field kick from Willie le Roux. Jooste completed his hat-trick with two late tries in the 75th and 76th minutes. Pollard converted every second-half try he attempted, sealing the 56-20 full-time victory.
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Cheswill gets our first try of the day. + 5️⃣Successful conversion +2️⃣Vodacom Bulls 7-0 Stade Français.@ChampionsCup