The Champions Cup witnessed an extraordinary 16-try, 110-point showdown between the Bulls and Bristol Bears in Pretoria. The Bears dominated early, racing to a 21-0 lead within seven minutes and securing the bonus point in the opening 15 minutes. The game's free-flowing nature continued, with Bristol's Noah Heward scoring a hat-trick and Stravino Jacobs contributing two tries for the Bulls, resulting in a 47-28 halftime score. The second half saw Bristol extend their lead to 61-35, but the Bulls mounted a late comeback with scores from Sebastian de Klerk and Willie le Roux. Despite their efforts, the Bulls couldn't close the gap, as Bristol's victory secured their place in the Champions Cup knockout stage. The match's high-scoring nature fell just short of setting a record, with the existing record standing at 124 points, set in a 1998-99 Toulouse-Ebbw Vale encounter. Both teams shared 16 tries, with Benhard Janse van Rensburg and Max Lahiff scoring early for Bristol, and Jeandre Rudolph and Jacobs contributing for the Bulls. The match saw a yellow card for Bristol's Rich Lane for illegally knocking the ball out of play, resulting in a penalty try for the Bulls. Bristol's victory propels them to the top of Pool 4, setting up a challenging home fixture against the defending champions, Bordeaux Begles, on January 18th. The Bulls, still in contention, travel to Pau on the same day. The match officials included Pierre Brousset as the referee, with Jeremy Rozier and Benjamin Hernandez as assistant referees, and Denis Grenouillet as the TMO.
