Blue Bulls lose momentum but win well
Fri, 09 Jul 2010 21:08
Un-stoppa-Bull: Flanker Deon Stegmann powers ahead
The Blue Bulls have lost the bulk of their first-choice players to the Springbok Test squad but their second-stringers showed they will still be a force to be reckoned with in the Currie Cup when they scored a convincing 38-15 win over the Pumas at Loftus Versfeld on Friday.
The Bulls will not be entirely happy with their performance, however, as they lost momentum after a superb start and their platform from first phase was less stable than they'd have liked.
In the first half they were effective in retaining possession through phases and at times their handling and support play was excellent.
Their timing of passes, particularly in setting up their five first-half tries, belied any notion that in the absence of their Springboks their individual and team skills will not allow them to score wonderfully skilful tries.
But after scoring five tries and 31 points in 22 minutes, their inability to maintain momentum and capitalise on a reeling Pumas team by scoring a runaway win will be a major concern for Blue Bulls coaches Frans Ludeke and Pieter Rossouw. Conceding turnovers after initially guarding their possession so jealously will no doubt be a particular focus for the coaches in the coming week.
With the exception of captain Gary Botha, the Bulls senior players were not as effective - and certainly not as dominant - as they will need to be with their Boks missing and their excitingly talented youngsters, led by a skilful centre pair in Stephan Dippenaar and Stefan Watermeyer and potent No.8 Gerrit-Jan van Velze, were not given the opportunities they need to make the impact of which they are capable.
The Pumas appeared overawed for the first 25 minutes - perhaps by the Blue Bulls, perhaps by Loftus Versfeld itself - conceding three tries in the 11 minutes after kick-off and allowing the home team a bonus point for four tries in the 22nd minute.
But they deserve credit for their resilience in lifting their game and making a serious fight of it after their miserable start. They came back strongly, with their pack on top for long stretches, and perhaps they deserved better than only two tries.
However, they will have learned that that to compete at this level they will have to concede far fewer turnovers and tighten their defensive organisation. They will need to play from the start and not put themselves under pressure by having to play catch-up rugby from early in the match.
Not taking opportunities to score, as they failed to do time and again in this game, will cost them dearly in the Currie Cup.
Ricardo Croy gave the Pumas a 3-0 lead with a penalty goal in the third minute when Van Velze crossed the 15-metre line before a lineout had ended, but the home team struck back two minutes later when their midfield pair Watermeyer and Dippenaar combined neatly to feed Jaco van der Westhuyzen and the Bok utility back timed his pass to perfection to send John Mametsa in for the first try of the match.
Flyhalf Jacques-Louis Potgieter converted to give the Blue Bulls a 7-3 lead.
A breakout by Potgieter after a turnover given away by the Pumas had the visitors' defence scrambling as Derick Kuün carried strongly and Botha came close to scoring before Watermeyer crossed close to the posts. Potgieter converted and the Blue Bulls led 14-3 after nine minutes.
Two minutes later the Pumas turned the ball over again and Mametsa picked up the bouncing ball to race away from the defence to score in the corner. Potgieter could not convert but the Blue Bulls held a commanding 19-3 lead after 11 minutes.
The Blue Bulls gained their bonus point in the 22nd minute when they tapped and ran from a 5-metre penalty and TMO JC Fortuin advised referee Stuart Berry that Dean Greyling had grounded the ball on the goalline. Potgieter converted to give the home team a 26-3 lead.
The Blue Bulls scored from the restart when a long pass by Watermeyer created space and after a 70-metre movement in which a host of Bulls players handled the ball, an inside pass from Van der Westhuyzen set up Dippenaar for a try in the corner. Potgieter's conversion flew wide but the Blue Bulls led 31-3 after 23 minutes.
Werner Kruger was penalised at two consecutive scrums inside the Blue Bulls half and then after a breakdown penalty against the home team, an attacking scrum saw Pumas scrumhalf Tian Meyer slip, fall to the ground, regain his feet, and then race through a gap for a try which Croy converted. With four minutes to go in the half the Pumas had reduced the deficit to 31-10.
Immediately before half-time, another penalty at breakdown against the Blue Bulls allowed the Pumas to launch a strong driving maul from an attacking lineout but Kruger stole the ball as the visitors drove across the goal-line.
For close to half an hour after the half-time break, it was the Pumas who held the initiative and enjoyed possession and territory. Holding onto the ball far better than in the first half, their forwards put the Blue Bulls pack under pressure but the home team's defence held and the Pumas were unable to turn pressure into points.
In the 69th minute the Bulls scored their first points since just into the second quarter of the match when from an attacking penalty their lineout driving maul was nigh unstoppable and Deon Stegmann scored far out. Substitute flyhalf Francois Brummer goaled from near touch and the home team led 38-10.
With four minutes to play the Pumas continued to battle with determination and after a series of attacking sorties replacement Alistair Kettledas used his feet skilfully to beat Gerhard van den Heever on the inside and score a few metres in from touch. The visitors could not convert and the game ended at 38-15.
It had been a steep learning curve for the Pumas, who will now have a clearer idea of what it takes to win matches in the Currie Cup, and after their magnificent start to the match, it will serve as a small but significant wake-up call for the Blue Bulls, who will appreciate that starting well and then resting on your laurels could be costly against stronger opposition.
Man of the Match: Gary Botha showed yet again why he is perhaps the unluckiest player in South Africa not to be in the Bok Test squad and the Blue Bulls' 22-year-old centre duo, Stephan Dippenaar and Stefan Watermeyer, gave more than a few glimpses as to why they are rated such huge talents. But our Man of the Match must be Blue Bulls left wing John Mametsa, for doing what he does best - finishing promising attacks by scoring tries.
The scorers:
For the Blue Bulls:
Tries: Mametsa 2, Watermeyer, Greyling, Dippenaar, Stegmann
Cons: Potgieter 3, Brummer
For the Pumas:
Tries: Meyer, Kettledas
Con: Croy
Pen: Croy
The teams:
Blue Bulls: 15 Jaco van der Westhuyzen, 14 Gerhard van den Heever, 13 Stephan Dippenaar, 12 Stefan Watermeyer, 11 John Mametsa, 10 Jacques-Louis Potgieter, 9 Ruan Snyman, 8 Gerrit-Jan van Velze, 7 Derick Kuün, 6 Deon Stegmann, 5 Fudge Mabeta, 4 Flip van der Merwe, 3 Werner Kruger, 2 Gary Botha (captain), 1 Dean Greyling.
Replacements: 16 Bandise Maku, 17 Bees Roux, 18 Juandré Kruger, 19 CJ Stander, 20 Danie Faasen, 21 Francois Brummer, 22 Hayden Groepes.
Pumas: 15 Carl Bezuidenhout, 14 Du-Wayne Smart, 13 Ashwin Scott, 12 Jevon Botha, 11 Shaun Venter, 10 Ricardo Croy, 9 Tian Meyer, 8 Junior Bester, 7 Eduan van der Walt, 6 Corné Steenkamp, 5 Marius Coetzer, 4 Luhan Velthuizen, 3 Ashley Buys, 2 Hannes Franklin (captain), 1 Dawie Steyn.
Replacements: 16 Torsten van Jaarsveld, 17 Ronnie Uys, 18 Willem Serfontein, 19 Doppies le Roux, 20 Jacques Coetzee, 21 Elgar Watts, 22 Alistair Kettledas.
Referee: Stuart Berry
By Len Kaplan
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