Bulls coach Jake White expressed his unhappiness with how his team started, but had “no doubt” that they would’ve beaten Edinburgh if they had just a few extra minutes on Saturday.
It was a case of so near and yet so far for the Pretoria side as their Challenge Cup journey ended in a 34-28 quarter-final defeat at the Hive Stadium.
The Bulls matched their opponents with four tries, but it was Ross Thompson’s two penalties that proved to be the difference on the scoreboard.
The South Africans’ bench made a major impact and brought the deficit down to 10 points at 31-21 after 50 minutes.
But a combination of wasted attacking opportunities in the last quarter and gritty Edinburgh defence saw the Bulls’ Challenge Cup campaign end with a whimper.
“You can’t play against an international team, the calibre of the players they have – we played with 14 men and conceded 21 points in that time. Once you’re 24-7 down, it makes it very, very difficult,” White said in the post-match press conference.
“But I am still very, very proud because at 31-7, we could quite easily have gone the other way.
“You’ve seen how some teams have blown others away at the back-end of the competition.
“We literally had the last play of the game, turned over in the 22, and it’s something that I am really happy about.
“But I must stress that I am obviously very disappointed because we came here with a group that I thought would be good enough to actually beat Edinburgh. So, the boys are a little disappointed.
“It’s just disappointing, as I genuinely thought that, especially with the bench we had, it was almost as if we ran out of time.
“If we had played five more minutes, I’ve got no doubt that we would end up winning that game.”
It was the South African outfit’s shaky defence and poor finishing that cost them the game, particularly in the first half, as they were trailing 24-7 at the break and battling to cope with Edinburgh’s fast-paced style.
An eighth-minute yellow card to scrumhalf Zak Burger had a lot to do with that – although he was unlucky as he appeared to go for the turnover at the breakdown inside the Bulls 22, but was dismissed for a deliberate knockdown of centre James Lang’s offload from the ground.
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Another yellow card, to flank Jannes Kirsten early in the second half – for a dangerous tackle that could’ve been red as well – saw Edinburgh pounce through a Grant Gilchrist try to make it 31-7 after 44 minutes.
But that’s when the Bulls fought their way back into the contest through replacements such as Johan Goosen, Canan Moodie, Jan-Hendrik Wessels and Marco van Staden as the visitors finally played with real physical intensity and panache on attack.
The Bulls received a penalty try in the 47th minute after an excellent lineout drive, and then No 8 Cameron Hanekom rounded off following a blockbuster charge by wing Stravino Jacobs, who bumped over Scotland star Darcy Graham.
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Hanekom gets the third for the Vodacom Bulls as they trail by 10 points ➡️
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At 31-21 down and 30 minutes to go, the Bulls had all the momentum to close out a famous comeback, but it was not to be as they wasted a few more attacking opportunities until it was too late.
David Kriel’s second try in the 77th minute gave White’s team hope that they could steal a last-gasp victory, and they actually worked their way back into the Edinburgh half.
But a former Bulls prop in Scottish international Pierre Schoeman latched onto the ball carried by Mornay Smith on the 22m line, and won the breakdown penalty after the hooter to break the visitors’ hearts.
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“We had about four or five chances in their 22, where we just didn’t finish – either threw the ball in skew, lost the lineout, maybe got a delivery wrong...” White said.
“We double-banked once when we’d set up a nice maul. Everyone will learn and know that in knockout games, you can’t be five metres from the tryline three or four times and not come away without any try.
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The Vodacom Bulls' centres combine for their opener 🏉
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“I don’t think we need to say now that the team will be frustrated because we (didn’t win away from home).
“We’ve won six out of 11 away games (this season), and today was literally another example that we can win away from home.
“We are going to have to do that if we want to win competitions in the next couple of years.
“But it didn’t go our way. In the first half, we can’t concede 14 points in 14 minutes – with 14 men on the field – against a team like this.
“They’ve got internationals right through their squad, and they’ve just come off the Six Nations. So that means they’ve played against England, France... They’re obviously very game-ready and battle-hardened, so we just made it difficult for ourselves.”
The Bulls will return to Biarritz in France on Sunday to prepare for next Saturday’s United Rugby Championship clash against Irish side Munster in Limerick (6.15pm start).
Points-Scorers
Edinburgh 34 – Tries: James Lang (2), Magnus Bradbury, Grant Gilchrist. Conversions: Ross Thompson (4). Penalties: Thompson (2).
Bulls 28 – Tries: David Kriel (2), Penalty Try, Cameron Hanekom. Conversions: Keagan Johannes (1), Johan Goosen (2).