Bulls trample game Leopards
Fri, 09 Oct 2009 21:46
Bulls stampede: Wynand Olivier and Morne Steyn
The Blue Bulls cemented their place at No.3 on the Currie Cup standings with an emphatic nine-try rout of a game Leopards team in Phokeng (Rustenburg) on Friday.
The 61-24 scoreline was every bot as convincing as the Bulls' dominance was in a game in which all the key players got valuable game time - including world class scrumhalf Fourie du Preez.
In fact, the Bulls even managed to give their two world-class Springbok locks - Victor Matfield and Bakkies Botha - a rest in the final quarter, with Pedrie Wannenburg and Flippie van der Merwe finishing in the second row.
While the Leopards managed to make a good fist of it in the first half, holding the Bulls to a narrow four-point (21-17) lead at the break, it was in the third quarter that the visitors ended the game as a contest.
It was a five-try blitz between the 45th and 64th minutes that took the Bulls clear, into a 54-17 lead - 33 unanswered points.
The Bulls' Deon Stegman
scored the first points of the night, barely six minutes after kick-off, after the Bulls elected to kick
for line-outs twice. They secured the ball and the Leopards couldn't stop the rolling maul.
Six minutes later the Bulls were in the exact same position - they secured the ball but this time the home team were ready and defended heroically to prevent a try millimetres from the goal line. Edrich Linde and Thabo Mamojele were dominant in the defence.
With 16 minutes on the clock Wynand Olivier darted through in midfield, popped to Zane Kirchner, caught the whole Leopards backline off guard and planted the ball in the corner for the second try. Morné Steyn converted and the Bulls were leading 14-0.
Just when the Bulls appeared to have settled in, the home side's Jovan Bowles intercepted, ran through on his own and dotted down under the poles. Cecil Dumond converted and the score was 14-7.
Immediately after that, the Leopards' Shuaib Samaai had the Bulls at sixes and sevens when he side stepped a few big names and had them groping for air, but Kirchner secured in the back.
The Bulls' third try came from a scrum in front of the Leopards' posts, Heini Adams played quickly, and Morné Steyn bluffed all and galloped through. He converted his own try to help the Bulls to a 21-10 lead.
The home team however never gave up trying and Nicky Kritzinger decided on a short kick into no mans' land, Kirchner and Steyn couldn't secure and the ever present Samaai picked up and dotted down for the Leopards' second try of the game.
The score was 21-17 at half time.
The Bulls wasted no time in setting up camp on the Leopards goalline at the start of the second half and within five minutes big Bakkies Botha found a huge gap and fell over for the first points of the second half.
This was followed by a brilliant try by Olivier.
There had been no play in the Bulls' half since the break and the Leopards were struggling to block the gaps.
Seconds later Francois Hougaard made sure his name was on the score card when he was driven over by his forwards. Then t was the turn of Gerhard van den Heever, twice and Jaco Pretorius who also took part in the try feast.
In the last five minutes the Leopards came with a charge, but were held up in goal.
Their persistence paid off when replacement scrumhalf Theo van Wyk was eventually forced over by his teammates for a late consolation try.
The scorers:
For the Leopards:
Tries: Bowles, Samaai, Van Wyk
Cons: Dumond 3
Pen: Dumond
For the Blue Bulls:
Tries: Stegmann, Kirchner, Steyn, Botha, Olivier, Hougaard, Van den Heever 2, Pretorius
Cons: Steyn 6, Francis 2
Teams:
Leopards: 15 Colin Lloyd, 14 Nicky
Kritzinger, 13 Jovan Bowles, 12 Japie Nel, 11 Shuaib Samaai, 10 Cecil Dumont, 9 Michael Bondesio, 8 Christo van Niekerk, 7 Thabo Mamojele, 6 Wilhelm Koch (captain), 5 Edrich Linde, 4 Bradley Mockford, 3 Barend van der Walt, 2 Gavin Williamson, 1 Nardus Lombard
Replacements: 16 Martinus van der Westhuizen, 17 Philip Lemmer, 18 Bennie Adams, 19 RW Kember, 20 Theo van Wyk, 21 Clayton Durand, 22 Berndt Theissinger
Blue Bulls: 15 Zane Kirchner, 14 Francois Hougaard, 13 Jaco Pretorius, 12 Wynand Olivier , 11 Gerhard van den Heever, 10 Morné Steyn, 9 Heini Adams, 8 Danie Rossouw, 7 Dewald Potgieter, 6 Deon Stegmann, 5 Victor Matfield (captain), 4 Bakkies Botha, 3 Werner Kruger, 2 Derick Kuün, 1 Gurthrö Steenkamp
Replacements: 16 Bandise Maku, 17 Rossouw de Klerk, 18 Pedrie Wannenburg, 19 Flip van der Merwe, 20 Fourie du Preez, 21 Burton Francis, 22 John Mametsa
Referee: Craig
Joubert
Assistant referees: Gareth Lloyd-Jones, Reuben Rossouw
TMO: Arrie Schoonwinkel
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