David Kriel converted a late Akker van der Merwe try as the Vodacom Bulls recovered from a first-half deficit to overcome Benetton in Treviso on Friday night.
Trailing 9-3 at halftime, the Bulls scored two second-half tries to overturn Benetton’s lead. The second try was scored less than two minutes later when replacement hooker Van der Merwe crashed at the back of a rolling maul and inside center Kriel. It turned out to be the match-winning conversion.
The Herd’s 17-15 win at the Stadio Comunale di Monigo in the final round of Vodacom URC action before the international break capped Jake White’s successful European tour.
White’s men began their overseas trip with a bonus point win at the Ospreys, but lost to the Scarlets last week, marking URC’s first defeat of the season.
The Bulls controlled possession in the first half against Benetton on Friday but could only manage one penalty from flyhalf Keagan Johannes. This is one of four late changes to the visitor lineup due to illness in camp.
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Benetton flyhalf Tomas Albornoz opened the scoring with a penalty in the first minute, followed shortly by another goal from fullback Rhyno Smith. Albornos added a third penalty kick in the 35th minute of the first half, capping off the home team’s solid defense.
The Bulls briefly thought they had scored the first try of the game through blindside flanker Reinhardt Ludwig before the end of the third quarter, but his attempt was disallowed due to a knock-on by Kurt-Lee Arendse in the build-up.
Albornoz separated the upright from the kick tee to extend the hosts’ lead to nine points, but Ludwig was not to be denied a second time from close range and put them past the whitewash with less than 15 minutes remaining in the match.
Kriel added the extra to put Benetton five points clear before Albornoz struck his fifth penalty of the clash before Van der Merwe struck at the death and Kriel completed the comeback win for the Republic native.
The Bulls are due to return to action on November 30 against Connacht in Galway, while Benetton travel to the Scottish capital to face Edinburgh.
