Bulls move to second with 28-10 win over Rebels

Bulls 28 - 10 Rebels, Loftus Versfield

A dominant first-half performance from Bulls saw them complete a 28-10 bonus point victory over Melbourne Rebels in their Super Rugby encounter at Loftus Versfield on Saturday.

This is also Bulls third consecutive victory in the season as they move to the second position in South African Conference while Rebels with their fourth defeat in the season are at second in Australian Conference.

The home side got off to a promising start with hooker Adriaan Strauss scoring his fifth try of the season in the sixth minute following an assist from Ivan van Zyl. Fly-half Handre Pollard slotted the conversion to take their lead to 7-0.

At the end of the first quarter, Jack Debreczeni got Rebels off the mark and also reduced the arrears to four points with his penalty kick in the 20th minute but the Bulls further extended the lead two minutes later.

With AmanakiMafi penalised for a high tackle, Bulls captain Burger Odendaal pointed to touch and further justified the decision with a wonderful kick that found Jesse Kriel, who went past the line. Once again Pollard scored the extras. The third try from Bulls came at the stroke of half time when Divan Rossouw dived past the line as they headed into the break with a 21-3 lead.

Six minutes after the break, Rebels fought back briefly through a touchdown from Michael Ruru and a conversion from Debreczeni brought the scoreline down to 21-10 but any chance of a fightback from the visitors were put off by replacement Andre Riaan Warner, who helped them attain the bonus point with a try in the 72nd minute and Pollard's conversion saw them end the game with 28-10 margin.