Northampton Saints overcame the loss of injured captain George Furbank to post a statement 30-21 Investec Champions Cup win against the Bulls in Pretoria.
England international full back Furbank went off 10 minutes before half-time after suffering an issue with his right arm following a tackle by Bulls skipper Elrigh Louw.
The Gallagher Premiership champions dug deep, though, at Loftus Versfeld, with Furbank’s replacement George Hendy and number eight Juarno Augustus scoring first-half tries en route to a bonus-point triumph.
Augustus’ score came immediately after Saints prop Emmanuel Iyogun had been yellow-carded, which underlined a resilient performance at altitude in temperatures of more than 30 degrees.
Wing Tommy Freeman added two tries after the break, while fly half Fin Smith kicked two conversions and two penalties. Back-row forwards Cameron Hanekom (two) and Marcell Coetzee touched down for the Bulls, with Johan Goosen converting all three.
But Freeman’s second try, taking a brilliant Rory Hutchinson pass to the line, put the result beyond doubt as Saints secured both victory and an attacking bonus point.
Coach Phil Dowson was vindicated in his decision to select a full-strength side despite the challenges that travelling to South Africa posed.
The five competition points leave them firmly in charge of Pool Three following a bonus-point success against Castres in their Champions Cup opener.
Meanwhile, Ulster’s hopes of progressing from Pool One suffered another setback after they lost 40-19 against Bordeaux-Begles in Belfast.
A week after conceding 60 points to Champions Cup holders Toulouse, Ulster led 19-14 at half-time following tries from Cormac Izuchukwu, Nick Timoney and Werner Kok. Bordeaux, though, overwhelmed the Irish side after the break as Damian Penaud, Guido Petti, Louis Bielle-Biarrey and Ugo Boniface claimed touchdowns that followed a first-half penalty try and score for Tevita Tatafu.
Leicester Tigers coasted to a 56-17 victory against South African visitors the Sharks in Pool One at Mattioli Woods Welford Road. Sharks were without a number of World Cup-winning Springboks, including Siya Kolisi, Eben Etzebeth and Bongi Mbonambi, and Leicester tore them apart.
Hooker Julian Montoya scored two early tries before wing Ollie Hassell-Collins and centre Solomone Kata crossed, with Tigers collecting a bonus point after just 35 minutes.
Fly half Handre Pollard added a fifth try before the interval – he also kicked six conversions for a 17-point haul – then a Jack van Poortvliet dot-down took Tigers past 40 points and forwards Charlie Clare and Emeka Ilione completed the rout, with Jamie Shillcock landing two conversions.
Pool Two favourites Leinster backed up their impressive victory over Bristol by beating Clermont Auvergne 15-7 at Dublin’s Aviva Stadium. Garry Ringrose and Jordie Barrett scored first-half tries after Alivereti Raka claimed an early Clermont score, with Leinster fly-half Sam Prendergast adding a conversion and penalty.
