The Sunwolves' defence let them down badly against the Bulls at Loftus, according to SARugbymag.co.za's Opta-powered statistics.

The Japanese franchise had to make 99 tackles, of which they missed 26. The Bulls missed just 13 of the 126 tackles they made.

The Sunwolves trailed 36-3 early in the second half but were very competitive for the next half an hour, before conceding two late tries. That saw them finish the match with 52% of the possession. Unfortunately for the visitors, though, they were unable to cross the line (although they came close on a few occasions), while the Bulls scored seven tries.

The hosts finished with 551 running metres and nine clean breaks, compared to the Sunwolves' 373 and three.

More team and player statistics

Photo: Anne Laing/HSM Images