Ken Borland

The Vodacom Blue Bulls didn’t exactly bash the door down into the Absa Currie Cup semi-finals, but they did saunter through with growing confidence as they beat GWK Griquas 46-12 at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday night.

It was a convincing victory on the scoreboard, the Bulls dotting down six times and they ran away with the game in the second half thanks to the complete dominance of their forwards, especially in the set-pieces. It was an error-strewn performance, however, by the home side against a team lacking depth and depleted by injury and they will clearly have to raise their game several notches to compete with Western Province in their semi-final at Newlands next weekend.

It also won’t take much for Western Province to suss out that the Bulls are vulnerable out wide, with Griquas wing Ederies Arendse scoring two scintillating tries that saw his team trailing by just one point after half-an-hour.

The man of the match, however, was Bulls left wing Bjorn Basson, a supreme taker of chances. He scored a hat-trick of tries to show coach Frans Ludeke that he is back to his best after an injury-disrupted year, proving sharp in all aspects of his game, especially in the air. The experienced Springbok will be an important player in the semi-final.

The Bulls are also fortunate that they can call on Handre Pollard at flyhalf, and they looked a slicker, more threatening team on attack when he came on midway through the second half and immediately had the defence guessing with clever chips over the top and his own powerful runs.

Griquas made a nightmare start as scrumhalf Tian Meyer threw a pass straight to Basson who raced away for a 45m intercept try in the second minute, but they struck back with a wonderful try of their own. They showed how dangerous they can be from turnover ball as Marcel van der Merwe lost possession in contact and Griquas quickly went wide with a slick backline move. Arendse then showed that he can certainly put on the after-burners as he raced away for the try.

The visitors were under severe pressure for much of the first half and they can consider themselves fortunate that they did not get a yellow card.

The Bulls did get a Potgieter penalty, however (10-7) but Basson then showed how effective his prowess can be in the air as he won an up-and-under, the Bulls quickly spread the ball wide and a strong run by fullback Ulrich Beyers drew the infringement.

Arendse struck back with a magnificent try, using a classic in-and-out to beat three defenders from the halfway line, that could well have some SuperRugby franchises on the phone enquiring about his availability.

An alleged tip-tackle by loosehead prop Simon Westraadt eventually brought the first yellow card for Griquas and the Bulls reverted to a typical strength for their second try, flank and captain Deon Stegmann scoring from a rolling maul to give them a 20-12 half-time lead.

The njoyment increased in the second half as Griquas faded and their brave defence began to crack, the dominance of the Bulls forwards and their fierce ball-carrying starting to take its toll.

Stegmann broke free twice in the matter of a couple of minutes to put the Bulls strongly on attack in the fifth minute and when Griquas couldn’t secure their own lineout ball, it led to a five-metre scrum. A terrific shove totally opened up the blindside, replacement scrumhalf Rudy Paige went on a dart and Basson was in acres of space to stroll over for his second try.

Basson completed his hat-trick in the 61^st minute, showing great pace down the left, but it all begins with the forwards and apart from the wonderful front-foot ball the backs were getting, eighthman Jono Ross and replacement hooker Callie Visagie also made valuable contributions in the backline for the wing to score.

The last 10 minutes were dominated by Pollard, showing why he is the answer today at flyhalf for the Springboks.

After replacement hooker Ryno Barnes, playing his 100^th Currie Cup game, was red-carded for swearing at the assistant referee to leave Griquas one short, Pollard stepped inside and powered over for a try in the shadow of the poles.

Six minutes later, on the stroke of full-time, Pollard’s lovely little chip over the top was raced on to by right wing Akona Ndungane, who crossed for the sixth and final try.

Scorers

Blue Bulls – Tries: Bjorn Basson (3), Deon Stegmann, Handre Pollard, Akona Ndungane. Conversions: Jacques-Louis Potgieter (3), Handre Pollard (2). Penalties: Potgieter (2).

Griquas – Tries: Ederies Arendse (2). Conversion: Francois Brummer.

The Vodacom Blue Bulls have won five of their nine Absa Currie Cup matches this season and they know that just one more triumph is all that is required to clinch a place in the semi-finals as they take on the GWK Griquas at Loftus Versfeld tonight.

Griquas, with just one away win to their names this season – a shock 21-18 triumph over the Sharks in Durban at the beginning of September, are not expected to halt the momentum of a two-match winning streak for the Bulls, but home coach Frans Ludeke is taking nothing for granted.

“Griquas, throughout the season, have been very competitive and they had two very good wins against the EP Kings. Especially in that last game, they had a very good second half and used broken-field very well. They have a strong pack and a good rolling maul, and it is going to be a huge battle on the gain-line and in the set-pieces,” Ludeke warned.

Griquas coach Hawies Fourie will be worried that injuries to five frontline players will have robbed his team of their momentum after the win over the Kings, but for Griquas tonight’s game is all about winning and giving themselves a chance of finishing in the top six and therefore avoiding any relegation playoffs.

“Injuries have plagued us this year, it is a problem with which any union struggles, but we’ve gotten the short end of the stick this year. It makes preparations very difficult and it disrupts any momentum we might have had.

“We still want to finish in the top six and we need to put in a winning performance against the Blue Bulls if we want to achieve that. But it is going to be difficult, now even more so in light of the many injuries. Hopefully we can produce some magic come Saturday,” Fourie said in verifying his concerns.

Teams

Blue Bulls – 15-Ulrich Beyers, 14-Akona Ndungane, 13-William Small-Smith, 12-Burger Odendaal, 11-Bjorn Basson, 10-Jacques-Louis Potgieter, 9-Piet van Zyl, 8-Jono Ross, 7-Jacques du Plessis, 6-Deon Stegmann, 5-Grant Hattingh, 4-Paul Willemse, 3-Marcel van der Merwe, 2-Bongi Mbonambi, 1-Morne Mellet. Reserves: 16-Callie Visagie, 17-Werner Kruger, 18-Nicolaas Janse van Rensburg, 19-Wiaan Liebenberg, 20-Rudy Paige, 21-Handre Pollard, 22-Jesse Kriel.

Griquas –15-Jacquin Jansen, 14-Danie Dames, 13-PJ Vermeulen, 12-Jonathan Francke, 11-Ederies Arendse, 10-Francois Brummer, 9-Tian Meyer, 8-Ruaan Lerm, 7-Jonathan Adendorf, 6-Marnus Schoeman, 5-Jaco Nepgen, 4-Hugo Kloppers, 3-Maks van Dyk, 2-Martin Bezuidenhout, 1-Simon Westraadt. Replacements: 16-Ryno Barnes, 17-Wesley Cloete, 18-RJ Liebenberg, 19-Burger Schoeman, 20-Rudi van Rooyen, 21-Dean Grant, 22-Doppies la Grange.

The Vodacom Blue Bulls go into the final round-robin match of the Absa Currie Cup Premier Division, against the GWK Griquas at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday, without having to worry about all the permutations that so often confuse the issue at this stage of the season.

Thanks to collecting nine points in the last two weeks, against their main rivals for fourth place on the log – the Free State Cheetahs and the Pumas, the Bulls now just need to beat Griquas to assure themselves of a place in the semi-finals.

The clarity of the situation has also allowed coach Frans Ludeke to make six changes to the team, most of them rotational as they eye out the semi-finals.

Handre Pollard, the newest Springbok flyhalf sensation, will start off the bench on Saturday, a wise move giving the youngster the chance to catch his breath after a dizzying last week and reintegrate himself with the Bulls ahead of the knockout games. Ludeke said there is still a 5% chance that a niggling ankle problem will keep Pollard out, in which case Tian Schoeman will be the reserve flyhalf.

The scrum is one area where the Bulls have really shone in the latter stages of the Currie Cup, but Ludeke will nevertheless field an entirely new front row, with Springbok Marcel van der Merwe starting at tighthead, Bongi Mbonambi at hooker and Morne Mellet in the number one jersey. Callie Visagie and Springbok Werner Kruger will be on the bench.

The rotation continues at scrumhalf with Piet van Zyl starting ahead of Rudy Paige, but as the Bulls surely transit towards the semi-finals, there is one backline position where Ludeke is perhaps still unsure of who the first-choice should be.

Springbok Bjorn Basson starts on the left wing on Saturday in what will probably be his last chance to supplant Sampie Mastriet, who has made great strides in his game this season.

William Small-Smith will return in the number 13 jersey instead of JJ Engelbrecht, who has been stood down as a contracted Springbok – a ridiculous decision by SA Rugby that will not benefit anyone.

Engelbrecht has missed large swathes of the season due to injury and desperately needs to string some games together to rediscover his old form. Instead, he will be forced to sit on the sidelines until next year and will not be able to push for a place on the end-of-year tour.

“The presence of Marcel and Handre will give the team a big boost, they are quality players who produced a high standard in the Rugby Championship. The players working for each other will make us a dangerous team and you can see the team-work, the players complementing each other, and we’re getting momentum, playing off the front foot and scoring tries. But that will only happen if there’s work off the ball,” Ludeke said at Loftus Versfeld yesterday.

The coach will be hoping for a repeat of the display against the Pumas last weekend in Nelspruit, when the Bulls romped to a 37-6 victory.

“Last week against the Pumas was our most clinical performance and I feel like we will be peaking at the right time, which is vital. We need to be quick to spot the big moments because they swing momentum your way,” Ludeke said.

Bulls team – 15-Ulrich Beyers, 14-Akona Ndungane, 13-William Small-Smith, 12-Burger Odendaal, 11-Bjorn Basson, 10-Jacques-Louis Potgieter, 9-Piet van Zyl, 8-Jono Ross, 7-Jacques du Plessis, 6-Deon Stegmann, 5-Grant Hattingh, 4-Paul Willemse, 3-Marcel van der Merwe, 2-Bongi Mbonambi, 1-Morne Mellet. Reserves: 16-Callie Visagie, 17-Werner Kruger, 18-Nicolaas Janse van Rensburg, 19-Wiaan Liebenberg, 20-Rudy Paige, 21-Handre Pollard, 22-Jesse Kriel.

Continuity has always counted for a huge amount with Sharks director of rugby Jake White, so it’s no surprise that Currie Cup coach Brad Macleod-Henderson employs the same strategy, rewarding the team that so impressively beat the Blue Bulls at Loftus Versfeld with just one injury-enforced change for Saturday’s match against the EP Kings in Durban.

Flank Jacques Botes is the only player to miss out on selection, with the veteran suffering from a sprained shoulder joint. His place in the number six jersey will be taken by Khaya Majola, a product of Westville Boys’ High and a member of the 2012 IRB Junior World Championship-winning SA U20 side.

It will be the 22-year-old’s first start after making his debut off the bench last weekend in Pretoria.

There are two changes to the bench with Springbok lock Stephan Lewies returning after an injury-enforced intermission, while scrumhalf Conrad Hoffman is also fully fit again and replaces Hanco Venter amongst the replacements.

Although the Kings are propping up the bottom of the log after seven straight defeats, Sharks forwards coach Paul Anthony is expecting a full-on onslaught from the visitors.

“EP Kings will be difficult because they have nothing to lose, they can play as they want, with some sort of freedom. There won’t be any pressure on them, so we need to settle down, focus and go hard at them. We have to play well and have a good game, we have to man up defensively and we just have to keep winning,” Anthony said.

A climb to second place in the standings is not totally out of the question for the Sharks: if the Lions slip up against Griquas in Kimberley and the KwaZulu-Natalians secure a big bonus-point victory against the Kings, then the rapid improvement in log position will continue for Macleod-Henderson and his team.

Team: 15-SP Marais, 14-S’bura Sithole, 13-Paul Jordaan, 12-Andre Esterhuizen, 11-Lwazi Mvovo, 10-Lionel Cronje, 9-Cameron Wright, 8-Tera Mtembu, 7-Etienne Oosthuizen, 6-Khaya Majola, 5-Marco Wentzel, 4-JC Astle, 3-Lourens Adriaanse, 2-Kyle Cooper, 1-Dale Chadwick. Replacements – 16-Franco Marais, 17-Danie Mienie, 18-Stephan Lewies, 19-Johan Meyer, 20-Conrad Hoffmann, 21-Tim Swiel, 22-Tonderai Chavhanga.