Manager Jake White's decision to rest his Springbok stars ahead of this weekend's United Rugby Championship match did not pay off, with the Bulls losing 27-22 to Munster in Pretoria.
The South African team caused controversy by leaving 11 international players at home in the Champions Cup quarter-final against Northampton Saints.
White was heavily criticized for his decision in the run-up to the final eight, and was ultimately slammed by the Saints.
One of the reasons for sending a weakened squad was to keep their best players fresh for the crucial URC game against Munster, but that backfired on Saturday.
Johan Grobbelaar put the Bulls ahead 22-17 in the second period, coupled with earlier efforts from Elly Rowe and Kurt Lee Arendse, but the visitors fought back.
Shane Daly and RG Snyman scored touchdowns in the first half, and John Hodnett tied it in the second period.
The game was tied 22-22 going into the final minutes, but a late goal from Conor Murray gave Irish Province the victory.
Click here for scorers
Before kick-off, the teams were separated by just two points in first place, and although the Bulls dominated possession in the early stages, they were unable to make much headway against a well-organized Munster defence.
Munster were unlucky not to take the lead when Murray's 52-metre penalty shot hit the post, but they took the lead with their first attack after 19 minutes, with center Alex Nankibel's spark from behind. His superb handling gave Daly a try for Jack. Crowley was converted.
But it was a short-lived advantage, and the Bulls fought back with a trademark score that displayed an enviable forward momentum.
Roux attacked from the back of the scrum and Munster initially contained him, but the second time they were unable to stop the skipper as he crossed the line with three defenders.
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Johan Goossen converted and took the penalty, but Munster regained control as Snyman ended any lingering pressure and Crawley converted and added the penalty to take a 17-10 interval advantage and a strong first half continued. There was no denying the termination.
It took the Bulls just five minutes to close the gap with Arendse's wide cross from close range, and Munster were unable to contain one wave of phase play after another.
Grobbelaar was the next beneficiary, breaking through Munster's defense and quickly converting for a penalty, with Goossen converting for a burst of 12 points in just six minutes.
This would have been Goosen's last scoring contribution, but he was sent off by Welsh referee Adam Jones for a head-on collision with Munster's substitute scrum-half Craig Casey.
Munster quickly built up a one-man advantage as Hodnett showed great strength and awareness on Crowley's cross-kick, falling before Murray's late clincher to level the score at 22-22.
team
Bull: 15 Willie Le Roux, 14 Kurt-Lee Arendse, 13 Kanan Moody, 12 David Kriel, 11 Sebastian de Klerk, 10 Johan Goossen, 9 Embrose Papier, 8 Ellie Rowe (c), 7 Reinhardt Ludwig, 6 Cameron Hanekom, 5 JF Van Heerden, 4 Luan Vermaak, 3 Wilko Lowe, 2 Johann Grobbelaar, 1 Gerhard Steenekamp.
Replacement: 16 Acker van der Merwe, 17 Simphiwe Matanzima, 18 Mornay Smith, 19 Janko Swanepoel, 20 Mpilo Gumede, 21 Zak Berger, 22 Chris Smith, 23 Devon Williams
Munster: 15 Simon Zebo, 14 Calvin Nash, 13 Antoine Frisch, 12 Alex Nankibel, 11 Shane Daly, 10 Jack Crowley, 9 Conor Murray, 8 Jack O'Donoghue, 7 Alex Kenderen, 6 Peter O'Mahony, 5 Tad Beirne (c), 4 RG Snyman, 3 Stephen Archer, 2 Niall Scannell, 1 Jeremy Loughman.
Replacement: 16 Eoghan Clarke, 17 Josh Wycherley, 18 Oli Jager, 19 Tom Ahearn, 20 Gavin Coombs, 21 Craig Casey, 22 Joey Carbery, 23 John Hodnett
Referee: Adam Jones (Wales)
Assistant referee: AJ Jacobs (South Africa), Dayren November (South Africa)
TMO: Craig Evans (Wales)
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