ICE MAN: Pollard penalty saves Bulls in Llanelli

It took a 77th minute penalty by Springbok flyhalf Handre Pollard - who scored 18 points on the night - for the Vodacom Bulls to finally seal their first win in Llanelli against a spirited Scarlets side in their Vodacom United Rugby Championship clash on Saturday night.

Pollard’s late kick brought a sigh of relief to Johan Ackermann and his charges as they survived an ambush away from home and kept their playoff hopes alive, although there has to be a serious rethink of their strategies if they are to make any progress further in the tournament.

Firstly, if you haven’t guessed it, this was never going to be a classic. The Scarlets are a scrappy bunch, fuelled by their desperation to win and the plethora of mistakes made by the Bulls, and certainly played their hearts out on the night.

But for a side that is second from bottom on the log, there was always going to be a lot of fight in them. The Bulls, on the other hand, arrived with the stronger scrum, the more physical pack and a backline full of finishers.

They were expected to dominate up front, and expected to play the per centages, as they did the week before when they beat the Dragons 47-7, slow poison until the dam broke.

EARLY TRY SEDUCED BULLS

Instead, this was a Bulls side that felt they came to play and score tries. They scored early and seemed to be seduced by the fact that the first try worked so well. From there on, any thought of grinding it out with the forwards was shelved, and they reverted to the attack at all costs scenario that cost them so dearly at the start of the season.

It would be easy to say this was just a poor performance at the end of a long tour - and in many ways it was - but this was not the performance of a side that hopes to win the tournament. Just compare it to the Stormers and Lions earlier in the day and it becomes clear.

Pollard’s clutch kicking - so often an asset for the Springboks in desperate situations - came to the rescue again. The three penalties kept their noses in front at a time when the game could have slipped away from them. For that, Pollard is worth his price in gold.

And in the end a win is a win, and that is all that matters. The Bulls will be the first to admit this wasn’t the prettiest victory, and they will rue the lack of a bonus point, but for 76 minutes it could have been a lot worse.

HOME QUARTERFINAL STILL A POSSIBILITY

What it did underline is that the side needed to become a lot more ruthless, and decide which game plan they want to play before the playoffs if they are to have any sort of success later on in the competition.

Still, it leaves them in seventh spot, and with an easier run-in to the playoffs than other sides - although Benetton’s shock win over Leinster may challenge that scenario a bit.

The outside chance of a home quarterfinal is also still alive, although they will need some luck in getting there. Munster, Cardiff and the Fidelity Securedrive Lions all won this weekend and are gunning for the same spot. But several of those teams have tough games in the next fortnight - many against each other - so the victory was exceptionally crucial to the Bulls’ hopes.

And it wouldn’t be right to carry on without mentioning the officials - who were below par on the night - but none more so than when Willie le Roux stabbed a ball cross field for David Kriel to latch onto and slide in to score.

The TMO intervened for a forward pass - although replays showed it to be flat and marginal, not to mention several phases back at the other end of the field, and the try, which had run 70 metres upfield, was scratched off.

These decisions do happen, and Bulls fans will be happy it wasn’t the final word on the game, but it was a reminder of how both sides can feel aggrieved on the night with the way the game was refereed.

JOOSTE CONTINUES TO IMPRESS

Still, there were highlights - like the beauty of the first phase move from the lineout as Pollard fed the ball inside for Cheswill Jooste to glide through and score under the posts. It was exceptional in its execution and put the Bulls up early.

But then the Scarlets struck back with ease. The Bulls were called offside from a lineout attack and the ball went to Callum Woodley, who scored a simple reply. Too simple in fact.

A few minutes later Eddie James crossed from a virtual copy of Jooste’s try, hitting the line hard and ghosting between Pollard and Jooste to score a try that would make a defence coach cry.

They left the Bulls behind on the scoreboard and needed something special to get back into the game.

This they got when Kriel was pulled out of his jersey trying to escape a tackle, and made it to the 22, where Harold Vorster burst through the ruck and unloaded to a flying Embrose Papier to take it 60 metres upfield.

Papier gave it back to Vorster, who in turn fed Ruan Vermaak and he popped the ball to Pollard to score a great counter-attack try and give the Bulls the lead back.

YELLOW CARDS ALMOST COST THEM

But then early in the second half the Bulls pressed the self-destruct mode. Stedman Gans was yellow carded for an early tackle and Francois Klopper followed him three minutes later for a tackle from an offside position. The latter could easily have been adjudged a penalty try as Taine Plumtree had an open tryline ahead of him, but the referee decided otherwise.

Down to 13, the Bulls immediately conceded when Fletcher Anderson went over from a lintoue move, but the Scarlets’ game management after this try was poor, and they kicked the ball away several times, letting the Bulls off the hook.

The Pretoria side, however, took their chances, as a power scrum won them the first of Pollard’s penalties. That made it 17-15 Bulls.

A Scarlets penalty by Joe Hawkins retook the lead for the home side and with 10 minutes to go Pollard stepped up and the ping-pong battle continued.

ICE MAN COMETH

It seemed like a Scarlets' game when Hawkins retook the lead in the 73rd minute, but the Bulls kept on fighting, even when Kriel’s try was disallowed.

Still, it seemed apt when Pollard got his chance to win the game on his terms, having contributed so much, and the Bulls would have been relieved with back to back wins in Wales.

In the end the “Iceman” delivered, and the Bulls head for Loftus knowing their legacy is still in their own hands. But for a large part of the game it almost wasn’t.

Scorers

Scarlets - tries: Callum Wooley, Eddie James, Fletcher Anderson. Penalties: Joe Hawkins (2).

Vodacom Bulls - tries: Cheswill Jooste, Handre Pollard. Conversions: Pollard (2). Penalties: Pollard (3).