Cheetahs hold off Bulls in Bloem
There were two teams on show, with totally contrasting styles at the Toyota Stadium in Bloemfontein; the home side the Toyota Cheetahs preferring the running game with excellent combinations and offloads, while the Vodacom Bulls are more physical and leaning on territorial gain with their immense kicking game.
At the start of the first half it was the away side who imposed their style first, using their forward packs to run at the Cheetahs defence, the Free State side were not to be pushed over as they matched the Bulls, lead by their lock Carl Wegner, who was in the face of the Bulls running riot with the tackling.
The first 15 minutes were characterised by the two sides seizing each other, similar to how heavyweight boxers do in the opening rounds, when they are trying to get the opponent and ring feel. In those 15 minutes, both sides lost two of their veterans through injury; Bulls fullback Gio Aplon was first to go early in the match and was followed a few minutes later by Cheetahs captain Ruan Pienaar after he took a knock on the knee from Marco van Staden.
The scoreboard would get some adjustment within the same 15 minutes when Cheetahs flyhalf Tian Schoeman slotted in a successful kick as he took on the kicking duties from Ruan Pienaar. Morne Steyn responded with a successful penalty minutes after to level the scores.
The Cheetahs running would trouble the Bulls when the back trio played a key role in the first try of the game, with all three involved in the build-up in the try, Clayton Blommetjies picking the ball up in his half and running at the Bull, winger Malcom Jaer was offloaded the ball and he set up Rosko Specman who went on to dot down, with Tian Schoeman converting the two points at hand. To keep the score ticking, with six minutes to go until half time Schoeman, backed himself to kick to the poles from the halfway line and got the goal in to give his side a 10-point lead, with that in hand the home side went to the break leading 13-3.
The Bulls started the second half like a house on fire, putting the Cheetahs under pressure; they entered the territory of the home side but couldn’t convert that early momentum into points from the lineout as the Cheetahs defence was solid.
However, the Bull were the first to get on the scoreboard when Morne Steyn scored a penalty; his opposite number Tian Schoeman responded with two successful penalties, Steyn got in his third penalty of the game and minutes after Schoeman missed his first of the night. Debutizing Bulls flyhalf Chris Smith joined in on the kicking action and kicked in a goal of his own to reduce the gap to seven points with ten minutes left to play.
The Bulls had the momentum, and put the Cheetahs on the back foot. Their pressure paid off when subsitutue Joe van Zyl crossed the white line from a well driven maul,unfortunatlely the try was not converted as Chris Smitht’s kick fell short, leaving the score at 19 -17.
The Cheetahs held on for their second win in the Super Rugby Unlocked and continue to stay on top of the log. The win is a statement, showing how that Hawies Fourie’s side can go pound for pound with the big hitters. For the Bulls it’s back to the drawing board, as they are yet to blossom under Jake White.
Scorers
Cheetahs
Try: Rosko Specman
Con: Tian Schoeman
Pen: Tian Schoeman (4)
Bulls
Try: Joe van Zyl
Con
Pen: Morne Steyn (3) Chris Smith
15.Clayton Blommetjies,14. Malcolm Jaer, 13. Benhard Janse van Rensburg, 12. Frans Steyn, 11. Rosko Specman 10.Tian Schoeman 9. Ruan Pienaar (C) 8. Jasper Wiese 7.Junior Pokomela 6.Andisa Ntsila 5.Walt Steenkamp 4. Carl Wegner 3. Luan de Bruin 2.Reinach Venter 1.Charles Marais
Replacement
16. Jacques du Toit 17. Boan Venter 18.Erich de Jager 19. JP du Preez 20. Aidon Davis 21. Chris Massyn 22. Tian Meyer 23. William Small-Smith
Vodacom Bulls: Gio Aplon, 14. David Kriel, 13. Cornal Hendricks, 12. Clinton Swart, 11. Jade Stighling, 10. Morné Steyn, 9. Embrose Papier, 8. Duane Vermeulen (C), 7. Arno Botha, 6. Marco van Staden, 5. Ruan Nortje, 4. Jason Jenkins, 3. Trevor Nyakane, 2. Johan Grobbelaar, 1. Jacques van Rooyen.
Replacements: 16. Joe van Zyl, 17. Gerhard Steenekamp, 18. Mornay Smith, 19. Sintu Manjezi, 20. Nizaam Carr, 21. Ivan van Zyl, 22. Chris Smith, 23. Stedman Gans.
