Edinburgh 17 – 19 Vodacom Bulls: Sean Everitt's reaction, five quick facts and five things you might have missed

Despite a strong first half, Edinburgh fell victim to ill-discipline and were left scoreless in the second half. A close 17-19 victory from Vodacom Bulls as they overtake Edinburgh in the URC standings.

“You’ve got to look at three things: set piece, territory and defence.

“I thought we defended well. We didn’t have the territory – they just dominated us in the collisions.” – Sean Everitt

Edinburgh started strong, quickly challenging the Bulls offence and forcing a lineout in their half. Bulls pushed Edinburgh’s defensive effort back into the Edinburgh half before giving away a penalty for an offside infringement. Edinburgh capitalised with a lineout on Bulls’ 22 before switching the ball out wide to Harry Paterson, who handed off to Duhan Van Der Merwe – driving through tackles to opening the evenings scoring. 5-0.

Like a bull in a china shop, the visiting side showed they were not too be taken lightly. Vodacom Bulls marched Edinburgh back to their own 5 metre line with a series of penalties and lineouts. Making consistent meters in the maul, Bulls forwards drove Edinburgh backwards and captain Marcell Coetzee grounded the ball 5-5.

Pierre Schoeman decided to get in on the quick scoring action. After strong pressure from the restart Edinburgh found themselves with a five metre lineout. Some frustrating efforts left Edinburgh inches away from the Bulls try line and reclaiming the lead. Edinburgh stayed patient and worked through the phases, with the ball eventually landing in the hands of Schoeman who thundered over with roars from the Hive. 10-5.

With ten minutes to go Darcy Graham made a break at the halfway line and immediately reversed all the offensive efforts the Bulls had made since Edinburgh’s last score. Edinburgh went from a challenging defence in their own 22, to a tap and go in Bulls’ 22 in the blink of an eye. To the joy of the traveling South African fans, Edinburgh’s attempt to lengthen their lead was shut down.

The home side were not to be perturbed – a Bulls lineout called not straight was enough to put the ball back in dark blue hands. A chip and chase from Ben Vellacott saw Edinburgh once again inches from Bulls’ try line.

Determined not to leave the 22 again without another score they worked through the phases and prop D’arcy Rae went between the posts to strengthen Edinburgh’s position with their third try. With just 5 minutes before half time, Ross Thompson made the first successful conversion of the evening. 17-5.

The half ended with a final attempt from the Bulls falling apart with a turnover seeing Edinburgh replacement Paul Hill running into Bulls halfway line and looking sure of another score before a knock on from Harry Paterson saw the whistle blown and saving the visiting side from further points conceded.

The second half was less than ideal for Bulls winger Cheswill Jooste whose gum shield started blinking after he made a run down the win, passing Edinburgh players in the process. His sacrifice was not in vein as Bulls secured a five metre lineout, and an overpowering rolling maul saw hooker Johan Grobbelaar open up the second half scoring. Handre Pollard made his first successful conversion of the evening, closing the gap back to just five points. 17-12.

Something had clearly changed from the first half, whether it was a different team facing the wind in the Hive or a successful half time chat, but Vodacom Bulls claimed their position as top dogs with a strong opening 10 minute of offensive onslaught. Edinburgh surely felt lucky to only concede the one try during the Bulls’ barrage.

Vodacom Bulls’ injury ails continued as, amidst a beautiful grubber from Pollard, chaser Sebastian De Klerk has an unfortunate trip and got clothes-lined by Edinburgh’s Harry Paterson, and after a long stoppage, was wheeled off the pitch to applause from supporters of both clubs.

With 15 minutes still to play, the two teams looked much more evenly matched, with possession and territory bouncing back and forth between the sides, both hoping to be the ones to score next, but neither were able to capitalise.

Ten minutes from the final whistle, Vodacom Bulls saw an opportunity to take the lead for the first time this match. A lineout ten meters from Edinburgh’s try line led to an on-field held-up decision from referee Gianluca Gnecchi, but after a TMO review, replacement Marco Van Staden was awarded a try, and with Pollards boot warmed up, the Bulls led. 17-19.

As the rain poured, Vodacom Bulls found themselves sliding back into their own half, then 22, as Edinburgh made it clear they were not going to go down easily. However, the Bulls had sharpened their horns and were able to puncture Edinburgh’s final offensive effort. Finishing the game with a dominant scrum performance and ending the second half with a clean sheet.

15. Harry Paterson 14. Darcy Graham 13. Wes Goosen 12. James Lang 11. Duhan Van Der Merwe 10. Ross Thompson 9. Ben Vellacott 1. Pierre Schoeman 2. Harri Morris 3. D’arcy Rae 4. Glen Young 5. Grant Gilchrist 6. Liam McConnell 7. Freddy Douglas 8. Magnus Bradbury (c)

16. Jerry Blyth-Lafferty 17. Boan Venter 18. Paul Hill 19. Callum Hunter-Hill 20. Ben Muncaster 21. Charlie Shiel 22. Cammy Scott 23. Piers O’Conor

VODACOM BULLS: 19

15. Willie Le Roux 14. Cheswill Jooste 13. Sebastian De Klerk 12. David Kriel 11. Kurt-Lee Arendse 10. Handre Pollard 9. Zak Burger 1. Jan-Hendrick Wessels 2. Johan Grobbelaar 3. Wilco Louw 4. Ruan Vermaak 5. Ruan Nortje 6. Marcell Coetzee (c) 7. Mpilo Gumede 8. Jeandre Rudoplh

16. Marco Van Staden 17. Alulutho Tshakweni 18. Mornay Smith 19. Reinhardt Ludwig 20. Nizaam Carr 21. Embrose Papier 22. Harold Vorster 23. Stravino Jacobs

1. Edinburgh was founded in 1872 and became a professional side in 1996.

2. Edinburgh has been led by head coach Sean Everitt since 2023. Hailing from South Africa, Everitt previously coached the Sharks and suffered a 35-0 defeat before stepping down and making his move to Edinburgh.

3. In the 24/25 season, Edinburgh finished 7^th in the URC league structure and made it to the quarter finals of the playoffs.

4. Despite being next door to the international stadium, Murrayfield, Edinburgh play in The Hive Stadium, with a capacity of 7800.

5. Edinburgh’s all-time top scorer is Chris Paterson, who scored 783 points for club, and is also Scotland’s record try scorer, with a total of 809 for country.

1. Until today, Edinburgh had not lost a home game at the Hive Stadium this season across all competitions, with their only home defeat being against Glasgow in Murrayfield as part of the 1872 Cup. These home victories came against Benetton, Ospreys, RC Toulon and Gloucester.

2. Starting Hooker Ewan Ashman was replaced by Harri Morris for the fixture due to a neck worry. Head coach Sean Everitt said: “Ewan Ashman is getting better every day. This morning, he wasn’t feeling comfortable.” and said there was no six nations concern for the International Hooker.

3. Ben Vellacott complained to the refereeing staff about how Vodacom Bulls were feeding into the scrum. The scrum half was heard commenting about how the ball went straight into the flanker’s legs.

4. A fan in the Lothian stand showed his skills as he replaced the drink in his hand with the ball after Handre Pollard kicked it into touch for a lineout. The crowd cheered and the stadium announcer complimented his catch.

5. Edinburgh face Leinster next week as their final game before the six nations kick off, and as a warmup as the two sides are set to face each other in the round of 16 of the Investec Champions Cup.