Looking to end a run of defeats in the Vodacom United Rugby Championship, the Vodacom Bulls will lock horns with the Dragons in Wales on Friday.
Overall Vodacom URC record: Played 1, Bulls won.
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When they last met:
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Did you know?
– The Dragons and the Bulls have only met once, with the latter beating the Welsh region 55-20 in Pretoria.
– The Dragons’ home form has improved this season, during which they have won three of their five matches in Newport.
– The Bulls have had a reversal of fortunes in the last couple of rounds. They have lost two on the bounce, both to South African franchises, after a four-match winning streak.
– Props Chris Coleman and Aki Seiuli are the two most heavily penalised players in the league, with penalty counts of 16 and 14 respectively. The Dragons have the lowest scrum success in the league (79%) and have conceded a league-high 12 scrum penalties on their own feed.
– The Dragons have scored two tries which originated from lineout steals – more than any other team. However, they have scored the joint-fewest tries in the league (27, along with Munster, the Emirates Lions, and Zebre Parma).
– Looking for alternative methods to keep the scoreboard ticking, the Dragons have scored the most penalties in the URC (27). Their goal-kicking success rate is 81%.
– Wing Canan Moodie is the first player this season – and only the second player since the inception of the URC – to concede both a yellow and red card in a match. He also conceded three penalties.
– Linking the forwards and backs with his ball-handling, Ruan Nortje has made more passes than any other forward in the URC (46) – seven of these have been offloads. Marcell Coetzee has also made the most try assists for a forward (three).
– Aggressive in the scrum, the Bulls have won more penalties from opposition scrums than any other team (nine). Their opposition has averaged just an 86% success rate at the scrum, lower than any team bar the Sharks.
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Photo: Samuel Shivambu/BackpagePix
