Ulster spoil Bulls' Bok party with comfortable victory

No sooner than the Bulls stopped celebrating the return of several Springboks to their ranks, they were left to pick up the pieces of a disappointing performance. International stars Handre Pollard, Canan Moodie, Marco van Staden and an all-Springbok front row trundled out for business in Belfast, but they left with little.

A war of attrition ensued in the first half, with Ulster centre Stuart McCloskey eventually scything over in the 22nd minute. The hosts went down to 14 men after a series of penalties and hooker Rob Herring copped the blame.

The Bulls took advantage and Bok behemoth Wilco Louw bashed over from close range with a quick tap. Pollard added the extras and the teams went down the tunnel at seven apiece.

In the second stanza, Bulls No. 8 Jeandre Rudolph was shown a yellow card for cynical play and Ulster took advantage immediately with a try via South African import Juarno Augustus.

Herring made up for his sin bin in the first half with a well-worked rolling maul try in the 54th minute. The final nail in the Bulls' coffin came from Cormac Izuchuwu, who crashed over for the bonus point try a few minutes later.