Ken Borland

The Free State Cheetahs showed that they might well be the team to chase in the Currie Cup as they downed the previously-unbeaten, two-time defending champions, the Bulls, 38-25 in an all-action display at Loftus Versfeld on Wednesday night.

It was clear from the outset, when the Cheetahs kept the ball alive with offloads and passing through multiple phases, that the visitors were after tries and they scored six of them. Two of them were via hooker Louis van der Westhuizen at the maul, but the rest were slickly worked and the reward for ball-in-hand rugby.

Flank Andisa Ntsila’s grubber through for wing Rosko Specman to score was an early highlight.

A helter skelter first 20 minutes saw the Bulls match the Free Staters on the scoreboard, even if they only scored two tries to the three of the Cheetahs. Nineteen-year-old debutant loose forward Cameron Hanekom was rewarded for following up a botched restart by the visitors for the opening try, and a good long pass out wide by flyhalf Chris Smith led to the second try by wing Stravino Jacobs.

Fullback Clayton Blommetjies cutting through for a try after a lovely angled run by flyhalf Siya Masuku was not enough to prevent Free State actually trailing by one point (19-20) at halftime.

But the Bulls were left chasing the game in the second half as very little went right for them.

They had practically zero lineout platform and a physical, streetwise Cheetahs pack meant the Bulls’ rolling maul had no traction.

Referee Paul Mente was also ruthless in targeting their ill-discipline and both lock Reinhardt Ludwig and prop Lizo Gqoboka were yellow-carded in the final quarter.

The problems started in the 47^th minute when wing Siyabonga Novuka was a fraction-of-a-second early in tackling Specman in the air. The Cheetahs set the maul, went wide right and then, when they came back left, there were no defenders left and lock Aidon Davis strolled over for the try.

The visitors built on their lead 12 minutes later when Van der Westhuizen rumbled over for his second try and Masuku then put in a lovely crosskick for Ntsila to score to put Free State 38-20 up and out of sight.

Scorers

Bulls: Tries – Cameron Hanekom, Stravino Jacobs, Siyabonga Novuka. Conversions – Chris Smith (2). Penalty – Smith. Drop goal – Smith.

Free State Cheetahs: Tries – Rosko Specman, Louis van der Westhuizen (2), Clayton Blommetjies, Aidon Davis, Andisa Ntsila. Conversions – Ruan Pienaar (4).

There will be a bonanza of rugby at Loftus Versfeld this week with the Bulls taking on the Free State Cheetahs in a Currie Cup game on Wednesday and then also hosting a United Rugby Championship Jukskei derby against the Lions on Saturday.

And, if the players’ comments at Monday’s press conferences are to be believed, they don’t know yet whether they will be playing in the Currie Cup, the URC or both. The Bulls are set to name their team to play the Cheetahs shortly before midday on Tuesday.

For some players, it may be a bit unsettling, but centre Harold Vorster said he is one of the Bulls who is quite happy with the dual squad arrangement.

“It’s a difficult thing running both a URC and a Currie Cup team at the same time. But we’re enjoying it, it doesn’t matter which one you play in. I don’t care which team I’m in, when you get a chance, you’re just excited to play.

“Your opportunity can come at any time of the week, especially with Covid, and you need to be on the same page as everyone else whether you’re playing Currie Cup or URC,” Vorster said on Monday.

Of course, the last time the Bulls played at Loftus Versfeld, they let slip a 26-18 lead with 12 minutes remaining to lose 30-26 to the Stormers, a maiden defeat at home with Jake White as coach. It left a sour taste in the month and the Bulls produced an impressive performance in response last weekend against the Lions at Ellis Park.

Now it is the Lions who travel to Pretoria eager to erase the hurt from their previous outing.

“The Stormers game was a big disappointment, but fortunately we got another opportunity to fix what went wrong against the Lions. Our focus was just on getting back on track and being the best we can be,” Vorster said.

“We put the Lions under a lot of pressure and executed very well. I don’t think the Lions lack anything, they’re still a very good side, and it’s a fresh week, Saturday is gone and over.

“I’m sure the Lions will prepare very well and we’ll have to set new standards for ourselves,” Vorster said.

It may have just been written in the stars or it may have been because the Bulls were forced to use the away changeroom at Loftus Versfeld, but Jake White was almost resigned to the inevitability after he suffered his first defeat as the home coach at the famous fortress at the weekend as they were beaten 30-26 by the Stormers in their United Rugby Championship derby.

The Bulls started poorly, trailing 0-18 after half-an-hour, but then stormed into a 26-18 lead with 12 minutes remaining. Only to let the game slip as the Stormers scored two brilliant late tries.

“They are refurbishing our changeroom so we had to use the away changeroom, and the team in that room doesn’t usually win here,” White quipped after the defeat. “But it’s my first loss at Loftus Versfeld and it’s not great.

“I was hoping the crowd would be a catalyst, they were making such a noise that we could hear them on the field. It’s disappointing we did not do them justice.

“But to sum the game up – we found a way to lose. We didn’t show enough composure, which previously we’ve been really good at. After the fightback and then taking the lead, we conceded silly penalties which was disappointing.

“Usually we find ways to win, we squeeze and squeeze and generally then put the opposition away. But today there were just lapses of concentration. We were never going to win every game at Loftus Versfeld,” White said with more seriousness.

With the Bulls, considered the dominant force in South African rugby after winning successive Currie Cups and the Rainbow Cup, languishing second-from-bottom on the URC log, perhaps that is why their players performed with an air of frantic desperation at times. The Stormers were presented with plenty of turnover opportunities and were in clinical mood, taking their chances with aplomb.

“Despite losing our tighthead prop [Mornay Smith] to his first carry of the game and Deon Fourie being very good on the ground, we still created opportunities to get around them and scored four tries.

“But then we also knocked-on a metre from their line or gave away penalties there. We gave them a couple of 22-entries and they scored twice. We were a bit hasty at times when we had them on the ropes.

“But after being 18-0 down, to score 26 points from there shows we’ve got to have something as a team. I’m very proud of the comeback and we must just find a way to learn from the defeat.

“So we will dust ourselves off and go back to work on Monday. The only way to get things right is to work hard. Credit to the Stormers for sticking to it for 80 minutes and scoring a couple of long-range tries,” White said.

The Stormers were clinical in gobbling up their chances in the first half but looked like being overwhelmed by the Bulls in the second before they staged a late comeback to win 30-26 in their United Rugby Championship match at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday.

Having surrendered an 18-0 lead and trailing 26-18 with 12 minutes remaining, replacement back Warrick Gelant inspired two breakaway tries that saw the Stormers snatch the spoils in the end.

The Stormers had raced into that 18-0 lead with a superb effort, their pack stepping up and dominating and flyhalf Manie Libbok pulling the strings well at flyhalf.

Wing Seabelo Senatla was dished up two tries by deft grubbers from Libbok, who also added two penalties.

With loosehead prop Steven Kitshoff feasting in the scrums, the Stormers were dominating that phase as well. But the momentum turned on a vital scrum decision just before halftime when Kitshoff was penalised for scrumming around the corner, which could have been a 50/50 call.

The Bulls kicked into the corner, piled on the pressure, forced a yellow card on flank Ernst van Rhyn, and then hooker Johan Grobbelaar scored from the rolling maul. Flyhalf Chris Smith’s conversion further ate into the lead as the visitors went into the break 18-7 up.

The second half was a bright affair as the Bulls dominated the third quarter with Morne Steyn coming on at flyhalf and provided a much-needed spark.

A dazzling move off a scrum, with many dummy runners involved, saw Steyn then pass inside to wing Madosh Tambwe, who came knifing through on the angle to score.

The sharp thinking of the veteran former Springbok flyhalf then led to another try just four minutes later. He tapped a penalty and ran, and then put in a big crossfield kick to wing Kurt-Lee Arendse, who fed scrumhalf Embrose Papier, who raced away for the try.

The Bulls were suddenly ahead 21-18 and matters looked even gloomier for the Stormers when Bulls eighthman Elrigh Louw powered through some lacklustre defence to score the home side’s fourth try.

But Gelant had arrived on the scene and began showing his immense talents. Shortly after the restart, he made a great break down the right and then put in a brilliant infield kick for scrumhalf Herschel Jantjies to score.

The Bulls lost Tambwe to a yellow card for an aerial collision just two minutes later, and it was down his wing that the Stormers surged, through Damian Willemse and Gelant, with Senatla also making some yards, before replacement scrumhalf Paul de Wet rounded off the try.

A disappointing display by the Bulls, in which they only really caught fire for 20 minutes, was completed when Steyn, trying another crosskick after the final hooter, put the ball in touch as Tambwe did not have much space, the ball bouncing away from him as the Stormers defence converged.

Scorers

Bulls: Tries – Johan Grobbelaar, Madosh Tambwe, Embrose Papier, Elrigh Louw. Conversions – Chris Smith, Morne Steyn (2).

Stormers: Tries – Seabelo Senatla (2), Herschel Jantjies, Paul de Wet. Conversions – Manie Libbok (2). Penalties – Libbok (2).