Africa-Press – South-Africa. Whatever Jake White said to his players at halftime, it worked wonders.
Edinburgh went to the break with a lead and some momentum but the Bulls returned a different side to stamp their authority as they eventually ran out 42-33 winners.
With this win, the Bulls have also secured a place in the United Rugby Championship semifinal at home on Saturday.
They now wait for the result of the quarterfinal match between the Sharks and Munster in Durban, which kicked off late on Saturday, to find out who their semifinal opponents will be.
When the halftime bell went, they had scored three tries each but Edinburgh enjoyed a slender three-point lead which they could not hold on to when play resumed.
The Bulls scored their first-half tries through Cameron Hanekom, David Kriel and Harold Voster while the visitors ticked the scoreboard with the efforts of Wes Goosen and a brace from Ross Thompon.
But they started the second half with three quick tries in a space of less than ten minutes from Canan Moodie, Keagan Johannes and Ruan Nortje giving them a firm grip on the match.
Before the second-half drama unfolded, the Bulls suffered a blow inside five minutes when Sebastien de Klerk was sent to the sin bin for clumsily catching Darcy Graham on the chin.
The visitors were the first to register their name on the score sheet after six minutes when Wes Goosen ran on the far side to touch down and Ross Thompon was spot on with his kick.
Johannes narrowed the points gap to four with a penalty after Jamie Ritchie was pinged by referee Adam Jones for shoving the Bulls jumper in the line-out.
But the visitors pulled away again after 15 minutes when Thompon got their second try much to the frustration of the Bulls supporters in the stands.
Before the 20-minute mark, the Bulls got back in the game when Hanekom powered his way over the white line for their first try but Johannes missed from the kicking tee.
Edinburgh were dominating the match at this point and Thompson registered his second try and it was quickly followed by the second one for David Kriel after he was fed the ball by veteran Willie le Roux.
The Bulls narrowed the gap to three points when Harold Vorster dotted down on the near side but Kriel missed his first kick after he took over the duties from Johannes who missed two earlier on.
The Bulls got the second half off to a good start when Moodie and Johannes scored the fourth and fifth tries to give the hosts the lead for the first time in the match.
The good news was that Johannes, who was back on kicking duties, managed to put away those two conversions as the Bulls started to turn it on after the break.
Edinburgh tried to get back in through a try from Ewan Ashman and Goosen’s second of the afternoon but the Bulls held on for this crucial victory that kept them in the hunt for their first URC title.
Bulls (18) 42
Edinburgh (21) 33
Scorers — Bulls: Tries: Cameron Hanekom, David Kriel, Harold Voster, Canan Moodie, Keagan Johannes, Ruan Nortje, Conversions: Keagan Johannes (3) Penalties: Keagan Johannes (2)
Edinburgh: Tries: Wes Goosen (2), Ross Thompon (2), Ewan Ashman, Conversions: Ross Thompon (4)
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