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The Bulls triumped by three points in a great game that could have gone either way. No team really established themselves, with momentum shifting multiple times throughout the fixture.
REPORT: BULLS TOO STRONG FOR SUNWOLVES
The Sunwolves fought valiantly, but unfortunately, fell short once again to South African opposition. For the Bulls, it wasn’t a perfect game as they missed several opportunities to score, but in the end, they played well enough to claim the victory and the Sunwolves helped their cause by giving away penalty after penalty after penalty which resulted in two yellow cards during the match.
Final score
Sunwolves 27
Bulls 30
Can the Sunwolves get their elusive first win in Super Rugby or will the Bulls build upon their 16-16 result against the conference-leading Sharks? Tune into The Roar from 9:55pm (AEDT) to find out.
It may be a tough ask for the men from Pretoria, as they haven’t won a game outside of South Africa since 2013 – when they beat the Blues 28-21 at Eden Park – a long time between drinks.
To try and achieve this, coach Nollis Marais has made numerous changes to the side that drew with the Sharks last week. Flyhalf Tian Schoeman, lock Jason Jenkins, prop Lizo Gqoboka and Spirngbok Jesse Kriel all come into the starting team, replacing Francois Brummer (bench), Grant Hattingh, Trevor Nyakane (bench) and Jan Serfontein (bench) respectively.
The 25-year-old Hattingh did not travel after succumbing to injury, so Nicolaas Janes van Rensburg will take his place, whilst Bandise Maku and Pierre Schoeman have the chance to make their first appearances.
Coach Marais also alluded to the fact that the Bulls will not be taking the Sunwolves lightly at all, and the South African team will look to make put out a solid performance.
“The Sunwolves I rate highly as a team. If you look at their first they played against the Lions, they were very good. I don’t think a team in this competition – any team – must be underestimated,” Marais stated.
“They keep the ball quite well and they come with little new interventions every single time – a chip here, a grubber to put you under pressure. It is always difficult to play away from home and we have to be ready for anything”.
For the Sunwolves, it’s a case of getting that first win. Coach Mark Hammett has also made a similar amount of changes for this fixture.
Akihito Yamada, the Sunwolves’ superstar winger, replaces Mifiposeti Paea, scrumhalf Kaito Shigeno takes the place of Atsushi Hiwasa who drops out of the match day 23 and Tomas Leonardi replaces Ed Quirk at No.8.
Additionally, winger Viliami Lolohea re-enters the starting line-up, along with Liaki Moli who moves to lock.
In their last two games, the Sunwolves have led at halftime, so it remains to be seen if they can get off to a fast start and then hold on for their first win.
Prediction
The Japanese franchise should be able to build upon numerous positives from their opening games, especially with another match at home, and I’m tipping them to triumph over a good Bulls side – just.
Sunwolves by 3.
Join The Roar rugby editor Christy Doran, former Wallaby Matt Toomua and a cast of regular and special guests as they look at the biggest issues in the game on The Roar Rugby Podcast. If you’re looking for great odds on the next game check out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.