The Vodacom Bulls were mauled by Exeter Chiefs in a 30-point defeat in the Champions Cup match at Sandy Park on Saturday afternoon.
Trailing 32-7 at half time, the Bulls went down 44-14 after Jake White’s charges scored only two tries to the Chiefs’ six that included a hat-trick from skipper Luke Cowan-Dickie.
The Bulls kicked off their competition debut last week with a bonus-point win at home, but on the road were guilty of giving away far too many penalties while handling errors cost them possession and momentum at crucial times.
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Five points from the boot of Exeter flyhalf Joe Simmonds, to go with close-range tries from England hooker Cowan-Dickie and Zimbabwean openside flank Dave Ewers, earned the hosts a 15-7 lead in the first quarter, during which Bulls wing Stravino Jacobs cruised through a gap for his second try in as many matches.
The visitors trailed by a mammoth 25 points at the break after Simmonds kicked a further five points to complement another Cowan-Dickie try from the back of a rolling maul and outside centre Henry Slade’s bonus-point touchdown.
What series of phases before Stravino Jacobs cruises through a big hole for the opening try 🏉@bluebullsrugby mean business…#HeinekenChampionsCup pic.twitter.com/UxLrQywOwI
— Heineken Champions Cup (@ChampionsCup) December 17, 2022
Welcome to power game 💪
A pair of classic @ExeterChiefs tries from the pack to regain the lead 🏉#HeinekenChampionsCup pic.twitter.com/b2K6GiYOUP
— Heineken Champions Cup (@ChampionsCup) December 17, 2022
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It was more of the same in the second half, with Cowan-Dickie scoring his third after the restart from a quick-tap penalty, and Simmonds duly adding the extras.
Bulls inside centre Chris Smit finally pulled one back from a Morne Steyn chip over the top midway through the second half, but the Chiefs replied via replacement Solomone Kata, and the gap proved too much for the tourists to close by the final whistle, even after Ewers was yellow-carded for a high tackle.
The Bulls will now regroup for a trip to Cape Town on Friday to face the Stormers in a rematch of last season’s Vodacom United Rugby Championship final.
👊 Punching a hole 👊
Luke Cowan-Dickie booms through three defenders for his hat-trick score to put @exeterchiefs in complete control at Sandy Park#HeinekenChampionsCup pic.twitter.com/rCT38LLPGk
— Heineken Champions Cup (@ChampionsCup) December 17, 2022
Photo: Ben Hoskins/Getty Images
