The men from Pretoria overturned a halftime deficit of 5-7 to score no less than five tries in a dominant and entertaining second half. 

Specman helped himself to a second-half hat-trick of tries as the home pack laid on a feast of good supply for their backs. Springboks Warrick Gelant and Cornal Hendriks also crossed the try line in the second spell.

Both teams wore almost identical blue shirts in the first half and it was a welcome relief when the home side came out dressed in a light-coloured jersey for the start of the second half.

The chance of kit definitely did the trick for the home team, who gave an assured and dominant forward display in the second period, allowing their backs to inflict the damage on the visiting side.

The timely victory was the Vodacom Bulls’ first success of the season and came as a great relief for the Pretoria faithful who had to witness four false starts from their team. They also moved above the Emirates Lions on the SA Conference log.

Furthermore, the win also comes at just the right time, as the Vodacom Bulls next embark on a four-game tour of Australasia, where they will face the Reds, Waratahs, Hurricanes and Chiefs on consecutive weekends.

Scorers:

Vodacom Bulls 38 (5) - Tries: Jaco Visagie, Warrick Gelant, Rosko Specman (3), Cornal Hendricks. Conversions: Manie Libbok (3), Morne Steyn.

Highlanders 13 (7) – Try: Josh Ioane. Conversion: Ioane. Penalty goals: Ioane (2).