Ken Borland

According to coach Jake White, the Bulls team expected a “bollocking” from him at halftime in their Currie Cup match against the Free State Cheetahs at Loftus Versfeld at the weekend, but a return to the basics saw them romp to a 40-13 victory in the second half.

The Bulls started the match well, racing into a 13-3 lead in the first quarter, but they then allowed the Cheetahs to dictate affairs and the visitors had pulled level at 13-13 at the break.

“Just before the game I think I gave them a bit of a scare when I told them a thunderstorm could stop the match so we needed to be in front at halftime. We were up 13-3 but then we started defending and waiting for halftime. I think the guys were a bit scared of the weather, they were a bit naïve and psychologically it’s part of the learning process.

“I think they expected a bollocking at halftime but I just said that we had had no ball but when we did have possession we created pressure in their half. I just told them to go back to what they had practised, to believe in it. And in the second half everything worked, we definitely got it right. It was very pleasing, very good rugby and the bench impact was very good too,” White said after the win.

White said his team continues to learn how to come out on top in different match situations.

“Last week we had to show massive character to win with 14 men against Western Province and this week we had to work really hard in the second half and go hard to the end to get the bonus point. Overcoming these sort of challenges are all building blocks, it goes in the memory bank and it’s another box ticked. There’s that understanding how to get it done and the direction.

“Trevor Nyakane is a World Cup winner, he comes on and all of a sudden we get a scrum penalty and that changes the whole game because the scrums are very important. Duane Vermeulen played well and spoke well to the team, he brings massive composure. Nizaam Carr also brought composure and Morne Steyn was good too, it’s very good to have him back in the system,” White said.

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).

The Cheetahs may have been the only team to beat them this season, but as Bulls coach Jake White pointed out, it is a very different Free State team that is coming to Loftus Versfeld for their Currie Cup match on Saturday and they have to endure a bus ride from Bloemfontein to Pretoria before the game.

The Cheetahs edged the Bulls 19-17 on October 16 at Free State Stadium, but they will be missing eight starters, including five forwards and veteran scrumhalf Ruan Pienaar, from that game on Saturday. The Bulls will also feel that they wasted several opportunities to win that first meeting with the Cheetahs and they have also grown considerably as a team since then, with the confidence of winning Super Rugby Unlocked.

“Free State are a different team, they’ve lost a couple of props in Charles Marais and Luan de Bruin, they’ve lost Oupa Mohoje, Walt Steenkamp [playing for the Bulls now], Junior Pokomela and Jasper Wiese. I know what it’s like – you make a couple of changes to your team and you think you’ve lost your rhythm. Plus to come here they have to spend four/five hours on a bus, like we did going there.

“So it’s not ideal for the Cheetahs and if there is rain as forecast then I think they may be vulnerable at forward. But I’m also wary of them because they are the Currie Cup champions, they are very well coached and they play with tempo and pace. They have such good players that they can do the same game-plan even if they’re missing a lot of guys, and they play with a lot of pride,” White said.

The Cheetahs also had their challenge for the Super Rugby Unlocked title made more difficult by Covid-19 and coach Hawies Fourie has made no bones about his team wanting to launch their defence of the Currie Cup crown in style, after they had a bye on the opening weekend.

White is also resting some first-choice players like wing Travis Ismaiel, scrumhalf Ivan van Zyl, lock Ruan Nortje and tighthead Trevor Nyakane, but he has full confidence in the youngsters replacing them. With one eye firmly on a European future, the likes of wing Marco Jansen van Vuren, lock Sintu Manjezi, centre Marnus Potgieter and props Gerhard Steenekamp and Jan-Hendrik Wessels will want to start long and successful careers at Loftus Versfeld.

If White is correct and the Bulls do get the ascendancy up front, then their brilliant loose trio of Vermeulen, Van Staden and Botha can do serious damage and the Bulls have the backline to capitalise.

Teams

Bulls: Kurt-Lee Arendse, David Kriel, Stedman Gans, Cornal Hendricks, Marco Jansen van Vuren, Morné Steyn, Embrose Papier, Duane Vermeulen (c), Arno Botha, Marco van Staden, Walt Steenkamp, Sintu Manjezi, Marcel van der Merwe, Johan Grobbelaar, Gerhard Steenekamp. Replacements – Corniel Els, Jan-Hendrik Wessels, Trevor Nyakane, Ruan Nortje, Nizaam Carr, Ivan van Zyl, Chris Smith, Marnus Potgieter. 

Cheetahs: Clayton Blommetjies, Rhyno Smith, Howard Mnisi, Frans Steyn, Rosko Specman, Tian Schoeman, Tian Meyer, Jeandré Rudolph, Victor Sekekete, Andisa Ntsila, Carl Wegner (captain), Ian Groenewald, Khutha Mchunu, Reinach Venter, Boan Venter. Replacements – Jacques du Toit, Cameron Dawson, Erich de Jager, Chris Massyn, George Cronjé, Ruben de Haas, Reinhardt Fortuin, William Small-Smith.

Kickoff: 4.30pm.

Not changing a winning side used to be a mantra in rugby, but seasoned Bulls coach Jake White knows that a constant reliance on certain players could cause problems further down the line, which is why he has made eight changes to the team that registered an incredible win, with 14 men, last weekend over Western Province for their Currie Cup match against the Free State Cheetahs at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday.

Regulars such as wing Travis Ismaiel, scrumhalf Ivan van Zyl, lock Ruan Nortje and tighthead Trevor Nyakane are all being rested, while White said captain Duane Vermeulen will hopefully be given time off over the Christmas period. White made a point of saying at Thursday’s team announcement though that he is wary of the Cheetahs, and Van Zyl, Nortje and Nyakane are all on the bench should the Bulls get into trouble.

But with the impressive David Kriel moving to wing to replace Ismaiel, there is the excitement of Kurt-Lee Arendse playing fullback, Springbok Embrose Papier gets a start at No.9 in the sort of high-tempo game he enjoys, the lock pairing of Walt Steenkamp and Sintu Manjezi both began the year in the Free State, and props Marcel van der Merwe and Gerhard Steenekamp, replacing the suspended Jacques van Rooyen, both deserve a start.

“It’s a bit of both wanting to rest guys and see how some new combinations go,” White said on Thursday. “I can’t keep playing the same guys, we’re not going to get away with that. I know things are working at the moment, but if we get to the playoffs and we haven’t tried any other combinations then we could be in trouble. What happens if someone gets Covid?

“There’s also a much bigger picture and we’re highly unlikely to get away with the same 23-man squad in Europe next year. So we have to get the guys game-ready and one of these new faces could play in a Currie Cup final, you never know. So I’d like to see these different combinations we’re trying and the guys are incredibly positive about the changes,” White said.

White has kept faith with the brilliant surprise packet centre pairing of Cornal Hendricks and Stedman Gans, and seems to have become a real cheerleader for the Sevens stars who have switched to XVs. He was particularly excited about playing Arendse at fullback.

“Like all the Sevens players, Kurt-Lee has incredible all-round skills and work-ethic. Not many fullbacks are putting their hands up in South African rugby and I would like to see him with more space and time. He can kick with both feet so he won’t get cornered and he’s done phenomenal things in training. He has unbelievable feet and if we can unearth another fullback like Gio Aplon, his idol, and Cheslin Kolbe, then it can only be good for the union,” White said.

With the security of knowing he has his office at Loftus Versfeld through to 2023, White knows the importance of blooding the next generation of players to ensure continued success for the Bulls.

“I’m quite fortunate that I have a long-term deal and part of my job is to get things in place for the next couple of seasons. Guys like Jan-Hendrik Wessels and Marnus Potgieter are on the bench this weekend and I have said that I will bring them through the system. I will keep my word to them and they need to get game time,” White said.

Bulls: Kurt-Lee Arendse, David Kriel, Stedman Gans, Cornal Hendricks, Marco Jansen van Vuren, Morné Steyn, Embrose Papier, Duane Vermeulen (c), Arno Botha, Marco van Staden, Walt Steenkamp, Sintu Manjezi, Marcel van der Merwe, Johan Grobbelaar, Gerhard Steenekamp. Replacements – Corniel Els, Jan-Hendrik Wessels, Trevor Nyakane, Ruan Nortje, Nizaam Carr, Ivan van Zyl, Chris Smith, Marnus Potgieter.