The Bulls consolidated their position amongst the frontrunners on the United Rugby Championship standings when they sealed a 28-14 bonus-point triumph at Connacht, while the Dragons also impressed in their 31-23 win over the Dragons.

In Galway, both sides finished the match with 14 players on the field after Connacht number eight Sean Jansen was red carded midway through the opening half for a dangerous hit on Marcell Coetzee and Bulls counterpart Mpilo Gumede also received a red card for foul play in the 57th minute.

The Bulls were full value for their win as they dominated for long periods and their Springboks contingent led the way against Connacht.

In the end, the Pretoria-based outfit outscored their hosts by four tries to two with Embrose Papier, who was the official man of the match, Sebastian de Klerk, David Kriel and Canan Moodie crossing the whitewash, while Johan Goosen added four conversions.

Connacht‘s points came via tries from David Hawkshaw and Caolin Blade with Cathal Forde succeeding with two conversions.

The Bulls opened the scoring in the sixth minute when De Klerk dotted down after Papier laid the groundwork with a sniping break in the build-up and the game’s complexion changed when Jansen was sent off in the 21st minute.

Despite their numerical disadvantage, Connacht put up a brave fight but the visitors held a 14-0 lead at the interval after Papier scored his try in the 36th minute.

Soon after the restart, the Bulls increased their lead when Kriel dotted down and they held a 28-0 lead by the 55th minute when Moodie crossed for his five-pointer after intercepting a wayward Connacht pass in the build-up.

Gumede’s red card shortly afterwards seemed to boost Connacht’s confidence as they finished stronger and were rewarded with Hawkshaw and Blade’s tries in the game’s final quarter.

However, it was too little too late as the Bulls held on for a deserved victory.

Cardiff impress in derby triumph over Dragons

Meanwhile, Cardiff moved into the United Rugby Championship‘s play-off positions when they got the better of the Dragons courtesy of a 31-23 victory at the Arms Park.

The opening exchanges were tightly contested and the match was still in the balance at half-time with Cardiff holding a 17-9 lead.

This, after Alex Mann and Harri Millard crossed for tries which were both converted by Callum Sheedy, who also succeeded with a penalty earlier on, while Angus O’Brien added three-pointers off the kicking tee for the visitors.

After the interval, Cardiff took control of proceedings and Sheedy and Rey Lee-Lo also crossed for five-pointers which were both converted by the Wales fly-half.

The Dragons finished stronger and were rewarded with late converted tries from Morgan Lloyd and Aki Seiuli which added some respectability to the final score.