Agonising loss for plucky Sunwolves in bruising Super Rugby clash with Bulls
New Japanese franchise go down 30-27 against South African outfit in Singapore and are still waiting for their first win in the competition
The Bulls claimed their first Super Rugby match outside of South Africa in more than three years on Saturday when they held off tournament newcomers the Sunwolves 30-27 at Singapore’s National Stadium.
The new Japanese franchise came agonisingly close to registering their first win since joining the expanded competition this season, scoring three spectacular tries against the three-time tournament champions from South Africa, before running out of time and settling for a second bonus point in four matches.
As long as we hold together on the injury front, spend more time together, then we should start knowing what each others’ going to do
Openside flanker Andrew Durutalo scored early for the Sunwolves and winger Akhito Yamada finished off a spectacular move to crash over for a try. Replacement Yuki Yamtomi darted through a giant hole in the South African line-out to score off the final play of the game to snatch the bonus point.
Adriaan Strauss, Roelof Smit and Jamba Ulengo scored tries for the Bulls.
Sunwolves coach Mark Hammett said: “You never get the perfect game but you can get perfect attitude. As long as we hold together on the injury front, spend more time together, then we should start knowing what each others’ going to do.”
