The Hive Stadium was buzzing as Edinburgh Rugby hosted the Vodacom Bulls in a thrilling EPCR Challenge Cup quarter-final clash on a sun-drenched Saturday afternoon in the Capital.
Edinburgh wasted no time getting on the scoreboard. Within the first five minutes, Wes Goosen offloaded brilliantly to James Lang, who stretched over the line to dot down the opening try. Ross Thompson added the extras to give the home side an early 7–0 lead.
The Bulls suffered an early setback as Zak Burger was shown a yellow card for a knock-on infringement, reducing them to 14 men. Edinburgh seized the momentum and came close to a second, but Ben Vellacott’s try was ruled out after a TMO review, handing the visitors a scrum on their own 5m line.
Undeterred, Edinburgh struck again. Magnus Bradbury powered over from close range, and Thompson converted successfully to make it 14–0.
The Bulls finally broke through in the 16th minute, with David Kriel finishing off a slick attacking move. Keagan Johannes nailed the conversion. 14–7.
Edinburgh responded with precision. In the 25th minute, crisp passing along the backline opened up space for Lang, who danced through defenders and casually touched down under the posts. Thompson once again slotted the conversion with ease.
At 21–7, Edinburgh looked in control, and they stretched their lead further in the 36th minute. After Jamie Ritchie won a turnover penalty, Thompson converted from a tough angle to make it 24–7 heading into halftime.
Half-time Edinburgh 24-7 Vodocom Bulls
The second half started in similar fashion. Just four minutes in, Grant Gilchrist crashed over after a break from Ewan Ashman. Thompson made it five from five off the tee, extending the lead to 31–7.
However, the Bulls weren’t done yet. Despite being a man down, they clawed their way back with a penalty try after Ross McCann illegally entered the ruck, who was sent to the bin. Moments later, Stravino Jacobs surged from a scrum and set up Hanekom for another try, with Johannes converting to bring the game to 31–21.
Edinburgh made a series of substitutions to steady the ship, but the Bulls kept coming. In the 59th minute, Edinburgh won a penalty under pressure and Thompson, ever-reliable, slotted it to add breathing room — 34–21.
The closing stages were tense. Jannes Kirsten escaped a red card after a high tackle on Pierre Schoeman, and Edinburgh’s discipline began to falter. In the 75th
minute, Kriel Burrows barrelled over for a converted try, cutting the deficit to just six points. With the crowd on edge, Edinburgh held their nerve through the final minutes, absorbing the Bulls’ late pressure to seal a dramatic 34–28 win and book their spot in the semi-finals of the EPCR Challenge Cup — where they’ll face either Gloucester or Bath at Hive in May.
Full time Edinburgh 34–28 Vodocom Bulls
Head Coach Sean Everitt said: “The Bulls are a dangerous team with the power they have upfront, and getting a big lead at half-time helped us.” He followed on saying: “we took our opportunities in the first half and that’s what you need to do against a team like this, because they do have the ability to come back.”
Everitt spoke on the semi-final saying: “a semi-final at home is awesome against probably two of the better teams in the partnership at the moment.”
