Ken Borland

The Bulls may have scraped into the Currie Cup semi-finals, but the passion and desire they showed in going down 27-31 to the Free State Cheetahs in a match of high drama at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday, securing two vital bonus points despite suffering a red card in a moment of temporary madness, means they cannot be considered temps in this competition but genuine contenders.

The Bulls nearly won the match, the final whistle going with their maul four metres from the Cheetahs’ tryline. But by scoring four tries and finishing within seven points of the Free Staters, they earned two invaluable log points that left them on 38 points, two ahead of the Lions and out of reach of Western Province (37pts), despite their thrashing of the Sharks.

Considering they played the entire second half with 14 men after eighthman Elrigh Louw was red-carded in the 38^th minute, it was the stoutest of efforts, showing that the Bulls do have that never-say-die quality that will make them very dangerous semi-final opponents. They will play the Cheetahs again this weekend in Bloemfontein, but if the Free Staters underestimate the Bulls based on how they reached the last four, they will tempt fate most foolishly.

Louw was sent from the field after his shoulder made contact with the head of Cheetahs flank Siba Qoma, as he rushed into a ruck and made a clumsy attempt to clean.

By that stage, the Cheetahs had already turned around the momentum after the Bulls made a flying start, rushing into a 19-0 lead in the first quarter. With halftime beckoning, the visitors had closed to 14-19 and had lifted themselves from a lethargic start, really making their presence felt in defence and at the breakdown.

Although flyhalf Morne Steyn, in his farewell game at Loftus Versfeld, kicked a 42^nd-minute penalty to stretch the lead to 22-14, the Cheetahs took control of the match as they scored two tries in five minutes to open up a 28-22 lead.

Excellent flyhalf Siya Masuku, who will be in Sharks’ colours next season, seemed to be clothing himself in either a cloak of invisibility or the most slippery substance known to man as he weaved his way through the heart of the Bulls team to score an exceptional try. Masuku succeeded with the conversion too, as he did with all four of his other kicks at goal.

In the 49^th minute, hooker Marnus van der Merwe, who was like a bull in a china shop, produced another storming run that left him just short of the line, but scrumhalf Rewan Kruger picked up the ball and dived over to score.

It was not as if the Cheetahs closed up shop then either, but the Bulls just upped their game with sheer desperation. They too scrambled in defence against a team that is always so dangerous with ball-in-hand.

Masuku had the final say with a 71^st-minute penalty won at a ruck, but the Bulls were up close in their rearview mirrors throughout the final quarter.

Replacement flyhalf Chris Smith was brought into action in the 54^th minute as Steyn departed his home ground for the last time. The Springbok flyhalf had been more inspirational in his running of the backline than with the boot, missing three of his six kicks at goal.

It was Smith’s boot that ultimately put the Bulls into the semi-finals as, with the ferocious Cheetahs defence in his face and cutting him off from his centres, he put the deftest of crosskicks into the corner for wing Cornal Hendricks to score his second try. It was also the fourth for his team, bringing the first bonus point, and it dragged the home side back to within one point of the Free Staters, setting up a second log point.

The other legend being farewelled, hooker Bismarck du Plessis, came off the bench and had a big impact in the closing stages, both in the set-pieces and in bringing some added presence at the rucks.

The Bulls had begun the match in inspired fashion with three tries in the first 14 minutes.

Fullback Johan Goosen’s prowess in the air allowed the Bulls to attack the blindside and, with the Cheetahs defence slow to react, outside centre Stedman Gans was able to put Hendricks away for the opening try.

Two minutes later, Free State dropped the ball in their backline and wing David Kriel pounced, swivelling out of a tackle and then passing to centre Harold Vorster, who was quickly up in support and raced away for the second try.

The third try went to scrumhalf Embrose Papier, who is in such great form at the moment, but it is doubtful whether he will be able to play in the semi-final due to a hamstring injury. He sidestepped a defender and streaked away for a try after Ruan Vermaak’s super offload, the lock having burst clear after Steyn put him in a hole with a skip-pass.

The Cheetahs were very competitive in the scrums and they opened their account after getting a penalty there and going for a lineout deep in Bulls’ territory. Van der Merwe burst clear from the maul and then the similarly-built centre David Brits muscled over for the try.

Their second try also came off a lineout, but this time with a slick backline move, fullback Tapiwa Mafura dummying and then breaking the line, wing Daniel Kasende then providing a strong finish.

Given the quality the Cheetahs showed, the 14-man Bulls were just relieved to still be in the running for the Currie Cup crown.

“The team showed a lot of character and desire because the game could really have got away from us,” assistant coach Hugo van As said after the game. “We still had two or three opportunities to win right at the end, a great chance with our maul.

“But you’ve got to give the Cheetahs great credit for the way they stopped our maul and the breakdown was a big concern for us as well. We were beaten there, they came really hard at us and disrupted a lot of our plays.

“We’ve got to adapt on the day and make sure we look after our ball better. We saw in the first 20 minutes that when we get it right then we can score tries, it was a huge positive to see the interplay between forwards and backs.

“The team desperately want to send Morne and Bismarck off with a win and there is still a lot to play for. The hunger and desire is there to go further, we just need to be more clinical and make better decisions,” Van As said.

Scorers

Bulls: Tries – Cornal Hendricks (2), Harold Vorster, Embrose Papier. Conversions – Morne Steyn (2). Penalty – Steyn.

Free State Cheetahs: Tries – David Brits, Daniel Kasende, Siya Masuku, Rewan Kruger. Conversions – Masuku (4). Penalty – Masuku.

The Sharks are happy to cede the favourites’ tag to the Bulls for their United Rugby Championship quarterfinal at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday, but there is no doubt they see the match as a golden opportunity to make their mark in Europe by reaching the semi-finals and probably taking on Champions Cup runners-up Leinster.

The Champions Cup final last weekend was a thrilling affair with La Rochelle edging Leinster 24-21 in Marseille, the French club lifting the trophy thanks to a 79^th-minute try. The exciting conclusion was then overshadowed by the extraordinary celebrations in the seaport city on the Atlantic coast.

Those celebrations were seen by the Sharks and gave a taste of the passion they will encounter when they play in the Champions Cup next season.

“That trophy tour by La Rochelle was unbelievable and we know how much hard work goes into winning a competition like that,” Sharks captain Thomas du Toit said on Tuesday.

“There is an expectation from the players that that’s where we want to be competing and we have definitely put ourselves in a position to do that.

“We recognise that the Bulls are probably favourites on Saturday, but that also puts a target on their backs. The Bulls have really got into their stride lately, but we are bettering ourselves every week.

“We’ve had a few hiccups, but we are really going forward now. We have a certain level of confidence going there, yes, altitude makes a difference, but we overcame that last time there,” Du Toit said.

Having struggled to handle the Bulls in the early days of Jake White’s tenure, the Sharks now have two successive wins against their great rivals under their belts. Du Toit and his men were just a couple of points away from finishing in the top three and securing home ground privileges for themselves, but they have embraced the challenges of playing away from home.

“Our best option was playing at home, but next best is staying in South Africa,” Du Toit said. “It’s still going to be a difficult task at Loftus, we’re not underestimating anything.

“Subconsciously, things definitely change when it’s knockout rugby and you’re lying to yourself if you say there is not an extra level of pressure. But it’s good to have, to know it’s do-or-die.

“Normally this squad, when it has its backs against the ropes, knows the only way is to fight our way out. It’s good pressure, we live for it, it’s more exciting to have this different pressure. Embracing it makes it easier to handle.

“We expect the Bulls to have one or two variations at their mauls and lineouts and they’ll be aiming for a stable base at the scrum. They have put some new arrows in their quiver and are not one-dimensional,” Dui Toit warned.

When a South African leader talks about finding an extra 5% it’s normally the Minister of Finance trying to balance the books in a time of constrained fiscus, but Proteas captain Temba Bavuma admitted on Friday that this is what his team will need to do to beat England in Sharjah and maintain their hopes of qualifying for the T20 World Cup semi-finals.

Depending on Australia’s margin of victory or defeat against the West Indies in Saturday’s earlier game in Abu Dhabi, South Africa could advance to the semi-finals even if they lose narrowly to England or could still be knocked out even if they beat the favourites.

Bavuma said the Proteas’ focus was simply on winning, and to do that they needed to be at their best on Saturday.

“We need to play our best cricket tomorrow and our first port of call is the win. Although our cricket has been good so far, we need to find a way to add an extra 5% in all departments,” Bavuma said.

“England have had the better of us lately, so we have to be at our best against them. We can’t leave it to individuals, we can’t rely on individual brilliance, it’s all about us as a team.

“We want to show the same character we have done and fight to the end. Every game we have tailored our strategy according to the opposition and England are obviously a very good team.

“So we will come up with plans that speak to England’s strengths and weaknesses, but mentally our approach should not be any different. The players and management have been through a lot and we have grown as a team,” Bavuma said.

Bavuma may be a playful character out of the spotlight, but he is clearly taking the responsibility of leading the national team at a World Cup most seriously. He is also extremely diligent about fulfilling his batting role, over which there has been much chatter recently. His strike-rate of 108.33 has been a particular focus, as was his run-a-ball innings of 46 against Sri Lanka the last time they played in Sharjah.

“If you look at conditions, they have not been freeflowing and you can’t just come in and hit the first ball out of the middle of the bat. We’ve really had to graft as a batting unit.

“I feel I can do a role up front or in the middle to hold the game and allow the big-hitters to get into the game. We’ve seen that’s worked in this World Cup, we feel it’s what’s best and we back it.

“We really do know now after the Sri Lanka game that the pitch in Sharjah will be on the low side. In terms of our batting, we took the game quite deep and what we have learnt is that we should have pulled the trigger a bit earlier,” Bavuma said.

The wonderfully aggressive batting of the Free State Knights, led by Rilee Rossouw’s fiery century and the undimmed class of Farhaan Behardien, took them into the semi-finals of the CSA Provincial T20 Knockout as they beat Western Province by just four runs in Kimberley on Tuesday.

Rossouw added 52 off 32 balls with Jacques Snyman (32) for the second wicket, but when Behardien (57 off 29) came to the crease, the Knights really cut loose as 130 runs were plundered off just 66 balls.

Prodigal son Rossouw reached his fabulous century and then hit the last two balls of the innings off fast bowler Nandre Burger for six to finish with 112 not out off just 55 deliveries, allowing Free State to post a massive 223 for three.

Western Province looked well out of the running as they stumbled to 90 for four at the halfway stage, but captain Wayne Parnell was in belligerent mood and kept them in the battle with the innings of his life.

The left-hander battered 80 not out off just 29 balls and took Migael Pretorius for 24 off the last over as Western Province astonishingly finished just one big blow short.

In the other quarterfinal, Division II SWD would like to allege they are not far off the standard of the first division, but their fielding was appalling and four batsmen were run out as they lost to Northerns Titans.

Donovan Ferreira, an uncontracted 23-year-old, was the mainstay of the Northerns total of 192 for five, finishing with a feisty 55 not out off 29 balls, suggesting he might be the long-awaited replacement for Behardien.

Theunis de Bruyn showed his class at the top of the order with 48 off 33 deliveries, and Sibonelo Makhanya (26 off 18) and Aya Gqamane (21* off 10) supported Ferreira well.

SWD looked in the game while Leus du Plooy was blasting 55 off 33 balls, he and Hanno Kotze putting on 82 off 53 balls for the first wicket.

But three wickets fell in the ninth over of the innings, bowled by cunning left-arm spinner and skipper Aaron Phangiso, including Du Plooy being run out by a fine piece of fielding by Simon Harmer.

The rest of the SWD batting imploded, 10 wickets falling for just 56 runs in 11.4 overs, as the Northerns spinners held sway.