Telling 2nd half mix of power & slick attack takes Bulls to runaway victory over Cheetahs
The Bulls produced a telling mix of power in the tight phases and slick attacking play in the second half to run away with their Currie Cup match against the Free State Cheetahs at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday, eventually romping to a 40-13 victory.
The Bulls started like a house on fire, cruising to a 13-3 lead after the first quarter, but the Cheetahs, taking advantage of their impressive scrum and some errors in judgement by the Bulls in their own territory, dominated the rest of the first half and the score was level 13-13 at halftime. And that was with the Free Staters wasting a few opportunities for more points.
But with Trevor Nyakane replacing Marcel van der Merwe at tighthead prop after 34 minutes, the Bulls shored up their scrums, their lineout work was excellent and they contested very well on the Cheetahs ball, they used the rolling maul to good effect and were clinical in forcing turnovers and then capitalising on them.
Having been sucked into playing the way the Cheetahs wanted to in the first half, the Bulls once again showed that when they stick to their game-plan, they are tough to beat.
Openside flank Marco van Staden went to town at the breakdowns, was prominent in the mauls and carried the ball strongly, being rewarded with two tries and the man of the match award.
Other heroes for the Bulls were flyhalf Morne Steyn with his educated boot, which netted him a perfect six-from-six record from two conversions and four penalties, as well as gaining the home side plenty of territory with pinpoint accuracy. He did go through a bit of a distracted phase in the second quarter though, his mistakes allowing the Cheetahs to pin the Bulls in their own half.
The experienced hands like captain Duane Vermeulen, flank Arno Botha and Steyn led from the front in ensuring the Bulls returned to basics, and coach Jake White followed his urgent introduction of Nyakane by bringing on lock Ruan Nortje and scrumhalf Ivan van Zyl early in the second half, both of them making a difference in lifting the energy of the home team.
The Free State Cheetahs certainly extended the Super Rugby Unlocked champions more than the final scoreline suggests, but for all their valiant efforts, they were simply not accurate enough, handling errors and soft penalties costing them dearly.
Scorers
Bulls – Tries: Embrose Papier, Marco van Staden (2), Chris Smith. Conversions: Morne Steyn (2), Smith (2). Penalties: Steyn (4).
Free State Cheetahs – Try: Rynhardt Fortuin. Conversion: Francois Steyn. Penalties: Steyn (2).