Bulls flyhalf Handré Pollard was instrumental in their victory over the Scarlets on Saturday as the Loftus side ended their tour on a high.
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The Bulls completed a successful final overseas United Rugby Championship (URC) tour on Saturday evening with a hard-fought 23–21 victory over the Scarlets, returning to South Africa in a strong position to secure a play-off spot.
With two home games remaining at Loftus Versfeld and the potential to collect 10 points from these clashes, they could still claim a home quarter-final if other results go their way.
However, the nine points earned on the road lifted them from eighth to seventh on the log, creating some breathing room between them and ninth-placed Connacht, who are still pushing for a Top 8 finish.
After four weeks abroad, head coach Johan Ackermann and his troops are looking forward to time back home, though he admitted that the pull of home comforts nearly came back to bite them against the Scarlets. They showed quality in patches but allowed the Welsh side to dictate much of the play.
If not for the reliable boot of flyhalf Handré Pollard and the forwards’ dominance at set-piece, the result might have gone the other way. Pollard contributed 18 points, including a try, and slotted a couple of crucial penalties to seal the win.
“The boys showed a lot of character. It was a tough four weeks on tour,” Ackermann said after the match.
“Although we addressed being away from your family, especially for the guys who have just got married or had a newborn, it is still a mental challenge knowing you are two days away from seeing them. I think you could see a bit of that in our performance. We were accurate, but not quite accurate enough.
“The positive is that even though we were down to 13 players at one stage (after two yellow cards), we showed heart and fight. We made some good decisions then. Tactically, we played well and slowed the game down. That is a big positive. But we were our own worst enemy when we lacked accuracy.
“But we can take a lot of confidence from this performance, especially when you grind out results in games you didn’t play well in.”
A break now awaits the Pretoria side before they return to action with an Italian job to finish at Loftus Versfeld in May. They face Zebre Parma (9 May) and Benetton (16 May), and a full haul of points from both fixtures could put them in a strong position heading into the knockouts.