Bulls fightback sinks Edinburgh to book semi spot

Bulls had too much for Edinburgh in Pretoria

URC play-off quarter-final: Bulls v Edinburgh

Bulls (18) 42

Tries: Hanekom, Kriel, Vorster, Moodie, Johannes, Nortje Cons: Johannes 3 Pens: Johannes 2

Edinburgh (21) 33

Tries: Goosen 2, Thompson 2, Ashman Cons: Thompson 4

A 12-minute blitz at the start of the second half helped the Bulls roar back from behind to knock Edinburgh out of the United Rugby Championship play-offs at the quarter-final stage.

The Scottish side had built a commanding 13-point lead in Pretoria with Wes Goosen going over early on and Ross Thompson crossing either side of Cameron Hanekom's try for the hosts.

David Kriel and Harold Vorster reduced the Bulls' deficit before half-time.

And Jake White's side took charge after the restart as Canan Moodie burst through to put them in front and Keagan Johannes exploited another gap for their fifth try.

Ruan Nortje took the hosts further in front before Ewan Ashman's try and another from Goosen gave Edinburgh late hope.

But the Bulls remained in control to reach the last four, where they will be the home side against fellow South African side Sharks, who beat Munster in a place-kick competition after a 24-24 draw.

Travelling to the high-altitude Loftus Versfeld Stadium is no mean feat, but Edinburgh could take inspiration from Glasgow Warriors' heroics a year ago when they upset the Bulls on home soil to win the URC title.

The visitors started with all the momentum built from the final few weeks of the regular season.

Sean Everitt's side have been written off at times this season but the past few games have already had a play-off feel to them, given their win-or-bust nature. Until the quarter-final, Edinburgh had produced.

They started fast, assisted by Sebastian de Klerk's early yellow card. With the hosts down to 14 men, Edinburgh scored twice in quick succession through Goosen and Thompson.

Hanekom charged over from short range as the Bulls found their feet, but Thompson dotted down again to give the visitors an unthinkable lead.

It wouldn't be the commanding advantage at the break that Everitt wanted, though, as Kriel and Vorster punished Edinburgh twice for poor kick chases, scoring on the counter.

The half-time whistle was blessed relief for the visitors, but the second half didn't get any easier. With the wind in their sails, the Bulls had turned the score on its head after 52 minutes.

First crossed Moodie, then Johannes and Nortje. Edinburgh looked out on their feet, sapped of energy and morale, punch drunk from the flurry of tries.

Ashman's score stopped them staggering, but a mistake from the restart led to Thompson being sin-binned, and Johannes knocked over an easy penalty to put the hosts out of reach.

Goosen scored a questionable fifth try for Edinburgh - there was a clear forward pass in the build-up - but the hill was too big to climb and they had to make do with ending the season with pride, instead of a semi-final place.

Line-ups

Bulls: Le Roux, Moodie, Kriel, Vorster, De Klerk, Johannes, Papier, Wessels, J Grobbelaar, W. Louw, Wiese, Van Heerden, Coetzee, Nortje, Hanekom.

Replacements: Van der Merwe, Matanzima, M. Smith, Kirsten, Van Staden, Z Burger, Gans, Williams.

Edinburgh: Goosen, Graham, M Currie, Lang, Paterson, Thompson, Price, Schoeman, Ashman, Rae, Sykes, Skinner, Ritchie, Watson, Bradbury.

Replacements: Harrison, Venter, Sebastian, McConnell, Muncaster, McAlpine, Healy, Bennett.