Bulls weather Zebre storm in Parma to complete SA clean sweep in URC opening weekend
Paul de Wet's crucial 50-metre intercept try before half-time set the platform for a second-half onslaught, with the Bulls running in seven tries to comfortably dispatch Zebre.
The South African team, the Bulls, secured a clean sweep for their country in the opening round of the United Rugby Championship by defeating Zebre 47-13 in Parma on Saturday night. This victory followed a series of impressive wins by South African teams in the opening weekend of the tournament. Earlier, the Stormers had defeated Connacht in Galway, the Lions had outplayed defending champions Leinster in Johannesburg, and the Sharks had overwhelmed the Ospreys in Durban.
The Bulls' performance in Parma was particularly remarkable given that they finished second last season and Zebre came in 16th and last. The game started quite intensely, with the Zebre team dominating the first ten minutes and the Bulls struggling defensively. They were fortunate to only concede a three-point penalty in the opening quarter.
The beginning of the game also highlighted an issue with World Rugby's efforts to make the game more accessible to color-blind viewers, as both teams wore blue jerseys, making it challenging to distinguish between players. The Zebre team opened the scoring in the 13th minute through a penalty kick by Tommaso Allan. The Bulls gradually took control of the game, aided by a mistake from Zebre lock Matteo Canali, who was penalized for offside at a ruck and sent to the sin bin.
The Bulls capitalized on this opportunity by scoring their first try through lock Reinhardt Ludwig. Half-time saw the Bulls leading 21-6, demonstrating their composure under pressure and efficient use of opportunities. The second half began with the Bulls maintaining possession and scoring another try from lock Ruan Vermaak. The Bulls continued to dominate, with centre Harold Vorster scoring another try and replacement lock JF van Heerden and scrumhalf Zak Burger adding to the score.
Zak Burger scored one final try in the last seconds of the game, completing an impressive performance by the Bulls and marking a perfect opening weekend for South Africa's four URC teams. Zebre scored one try, scored by Alessandro Fusco. Tommaso Allan also scored two conversions. The Bulls scored a total of six tries across the game, with Curwin Bosch converting six of them.
Written by urgent.news from IOL's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
