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When 19 436 rugby fans flocked to Loftus Versfeld on Saturday afternoon, it was bound to be an epic day of rugby at the iconic venue in Tshwane.

All who were there would agree that this was indeed the case when the 80 minutes of play finished with the Vodacom Bulls claiming a commanding 34-16 victory over Irish giants, Ulster Rugby, in their Vodacom United Rugby Championship match.

The weather came to the party in Tshwane and the prospect of a thrilling clash between the most successful rugby team in South Africa and one of the most dominant sides in Europe assisted in Fortress Loftus hosting the biggest sporting event in two years in South Africa.

At the end of the day, rugby was the winner, with the Vodacom Bulls being the team to claim the bragging rights despite finishing the opening 40 minutes trailing 3-9 as the visitors held an early lead in the game.

The first half saw the kickers having the biggest say in the game. It was Ulster’s Nathan Doak who claimed the first points of the match and successfully kicked over three penalties in the first stanza, while the Vodacom Bulls only managed to respond with a penalty via Chris Smith.

It was in the second half that the Vodacom Bulls showed their intent to give the fans that came out in their numbers something to smile about.

A bonus point, four tries courtesy of Marcell Coetzee, Madosh Tambwe, Johan Grobbelaar and Kurt-Lee Arendse, a penalty and conversions from Smith and Morne Steyn were enough to achieve a perfect day in the highveld for the side from Tshwane.

The Ulstermen would not go down without a fight. They added a try via Luke Marshall and gave a good fight until the end in a match that lived up to expectation.

The Vodacom Bulls will now travel to Cape Town where they will take on DHL Stormers in their next Vodacom URC fixture.

Scorers

Vodacom Bulls (3) 34

TRIES: Marcell Coetzee, Madosh Tambwe, Johan Grobbelaar, Kurt-Lee Arendse
CONVERSIONS: Chris Smith (2), Morne Steyn Steyn (2)
PENALTIES: Smith (2)

Ulster Rugby (9) 16

TRY: Luke Marshall
CONVERSION: Nathan Doak
PENALTIES: Doak (3)

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