Bulls blitz Kings at Loftus
The Blue Bulls moved above Western Province in the standings after claiming a hard-fought 48-27 victory over the Eastern Province Kings in Pretoria.
Despite winning by 21 points, the home side didn't always have things going their own way.
However, a strong second half showing paved the way to victory.
The home side outscored the Kings by seven tries to three, with captain Lappies Labuschagne leading the way with a brace of tries.
The Kings were competitive throughout and held a 20-17 lead at half-time – thanks to tries from their captain Tim Whitehead and Elgar Watts.
Acccurate goal-kicking from Scott van Breda also helped set up the lead, but the home side were kept in the game thanks to Labuschagne's first try and another by Arno Botha.
The Bulls' expansive game plan paid dividends as they increased the intensity levels.
This seemed to catch the Kings by surprise and the Port Elizabeth-based outfit faltered badly in the second half.
A yellow card to Edgar Marutlulle didn't help the visitors' cause and the Bulls made full use of their numerical advantage.
Tries from Dries Swanepoel and Francois Hougaard gave them a handy 29-20 lead and they went further ahead when Werner Kruger barged over from close quarters in the 67th minute.
Ruan Steenkamp added another try five minutes later but the Kings were well-beaten by then, though they didn't surrender.
Their efforts were rewarded when JP du Plessis crossed for their third try in the 75th minute.
But the Bulls sealed victory shortly before the final whistle when Jacques du Plessis crossed for their seventh try.
The seven-tries-to-three victory means the Bulls will almost certainly finish second on the Currie Cup standings – behind the table-topping and unbeaten Golden Lions.
Western Province, in third and four points behind the Bulls, still have a mathematic chance to catch the Bulls – but it is remote and unlikely.
The scorers:
For the Blue Bulls:
Tries: Labuschagne 2, Swanepoel, Hougaard, Kruger, Steenkamp, Du Plessis
Cons: Schoeman 4, Fouche
Pen: Schoeman
For the Eastern Province Kings:
Tries: Whitehead, Watts
Cons: Van Breda 2
Pens: Van Breda 2
Yellow cards: Edgar Marutlulle (Eastern Province Kings, 9 – repeated infringements, collapsing the maul illegally), Schalk Ferreira (Eastern Province Kings, 70 – repeated infringements, collapsing the maul), Ruan Steenkamp (Blue Bulls, 74 – professional foul, collapsing the maul)
Teams:
Blue Bulls: 15 Warrick Gelant, 14 Travis Ismaiel, 13 Dries Swanepoel, 12 Burger Odendaal, 11 Jamba Ulengo, 10 Tian Schoeman, 9 Francois Hougaard, 8 Arno Botha, 7 Pieter Labuschagne (captain), 6 Deon Stegmann, 5 Rudolph Snyman, 4 Jacques du Plessis, 3 Marcel van der Merwe, 2 Bandise Maku, 1 Pierre Schoeman.
Replacements: 16 Corniel Els, 17 Werner Kruger, 18 Marvin Orie, 19 Ruan Steenkamp, 20 Ivan van Zyl, 21 Louis Fouché, 22 William Small Smith.
Eastern Province Kings: 15 Scott van Breda, 14 Sylvian Mahuza, 13 JP du Plessis, 12 Tim Whitehead (captain), 11 Luther Obi, 10 Elgar Watts, 9 Enrico Acker, 8 Jacques Engelbrecht, 7 Stefan Willemse, 6 Thembelani Bholi, 5 Cornell Hess, 4 Steven Sykes, 3 Tom Botha, 2 Martin Ferreira, 1 Lizo Gqoboka.
Replacements: 16 Edgar Marutlulle, 17 Schalk Ferreira, 18 Simon Kerrod, 19 Paul Schoeman, 20 Tim Agaba, 21 Dwayne Kelly, 22 Karlo Aspeling.
Referee: Lesego Legoete
Assistant referees: AJ Jacobs, Francois Pretorius
