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Blues end the Bulls' run

Sat, 03 Apr 2010 08:17

Beating the Bulls: Blues' winning skipper Keven Mealamu

A committed Blues team became the first conquerors of the Bulls this year when they scored a convincing 32-17 victory in Auckland on Saturday.

Basing their game on dominating the collisions and breakdown, the Blues managed to force the visitors into conceding a host of penalties - which eventually resulted in two yellow cards against the Bulls.

Stephen Brett slotted six penalties and converted the tries of Isaia Toeava and Joe Rokocoko for a personal tally of 22 points.

The Bulls just never managed to get their running game going and also slipped too many tackles - bringing to an end a 12-match unbeaten run going back to April 2009.

Immediately after the game, Bulls captain Victor Matfield described the Blues performance as "awesome".

"We didn't perform," he said, praising the Blues for their skills at the contact points and winning the battle at breakdown.

Blues skipper Keven Mealamu lauded his players for their superb performance.

"Every single one stepped up," he said.

The Bulls will rue their 25 missed tackles and the 14 penalties and free kick they conceded. Having two men sin-binned when they had their backs against the wall and were trying to stage a comeback didn't help either.

In the final analysis the Bulls were a well beaten team. The Blues controlled the game tactically and their superiority at breakdown was decisive. Their defence was tight and the normally potent Bulls attacking play was largely nullified.

When they control possession ball and get their backs going, the Blues achieve impressive momentum on attack too. They have so many attacking pressure points and have the strike power to cut every defence. If they continue in this vein they could certainly be play-off contenders.

The Bulls took a 3-0 lead in the fourth minute when Blues loosehead prop Charlie Faumuina, standing in for the injured Tony Woodcock, was penalised for illegal scrummaging and Morné Steyn judged the gusting wind perfectly to slot the angled penalty goal.

In the 11th minute Deon Stegmann was penalised for not rolling away after a tackle and Stephen Brett drew the scores level at 3-3 with a kick from the Bulls 10-metre line.

For the next period of play it was all Blues attack as they launched wave after wave at the Bulls defence, using pick-and-go tactics as well as spreading the ball wide.

A steal by Victor Matfield at a line-out and a turnover secured by Gary Botha at a ruck near his goal-line gave the Bulls brief respite as the Blues enjoyed a territorial advantage.

A brilliant break by Rene Ranger was followed by a missed penalty attempt by Brett but then he goaled from the 10-metre line when Stegmann was again penalised at breakdown (6-3).

With the visitors having conceded six penalties at this stage to the one by the home team, referee Craig Joubert gave Bulls captain Matfield a team warning for infringements at breakdown, telling him the next offender would be sin-binned.

But after another breakout by Ranger, he was robbed of the ball and Pierre Spies led a strong Bulls counter-attack up the left. They moved the ball wide right and Fourie du Preez's pass found Spies on the right touchline. The No.8 was tackled but managed to place the ball over the goal-line while lying on his back - a fine try by the Springbok No.8.

Steyn's conversion attempt failed but the Bulls led 8-6 after 27 minutes.

In the 33rd minute Stegmann was again penalised, this time for obstruction in front of his posts as he blocked defenders ahead of Spies. Brett goaled and the Blues led 9-8.

Discipline had been a problem for the Bulls, having conceded seven penalties and a free kick in just over half an hour to the single penalty given away by the Blues.

From the kick-off the Bulls put the Blues under pressure just outside their 22 and Steyn kicked an excellent drop-goal from a few metres in from touch to put the Bulls 11-9 ahead.

From the restart the Blues attacked strongly, committed defenders at a ruck in front of the Bulls posts and passed wide left. The Bulls ran out of defenders, fullback Isaia Toeava scored, Brett converted and with three minutes to go in the half, the Blues had taken a 16-11 lead.

The Bulls had enjoyed a majority of possession in the first half but the plethora of penalties conceded had cost them territory and points and had ruined their momentum and it was the Blues who had done most of the effective attacking. The Bulls had been required to make a lot of tackles.

The Bulls were first to score in the second half when, in the 45th minute, Steyn goaled a penalty from 40 metres out after Benson Stanley and Viliami Ma'afu were both offside at a ruck (16-14).

When Toeava was penalised for not releasing in a tackle, Steyn had a chance to regain the lead for the Bulls, but his angled, long-range kick flew wide of the left upright.

When the Bulls were penalised yet again at breakdown, replacement flank Pedrie Wannenburg was sin-binned and Brett goaled from close to the posts. With just under half an hour to play the Blues led 19-14.

From the restart, the Bulls attacked strongly, Serge Lilo was penalised inside his 22 and Steyn reduced the lead to 19-17.

Ahead of the penalty, Jerome Kaino appeared to have been guilty of a deliberate knock-down in front his posts but referee Joubert thought otherwise.

The Bulls gave away another penalty at breakdown and Brett's close-range penalty goal increased the lead to 22-17 with 21 minutes to play.

Pressure on the Bulls defence told as the Blues stole a line-out ball and then a quick throw-in by Gerhard van den Heever inside their 22 put Zane Kirchner under pressure near his goal-line. From there the Blues moved the ball wide right and Joe Rokocoko rounded off the excellent attack by scoring just inside the touch-in-goal line.

Brett converted and the Blues led 29-17 after 64 minutes.

The Bulls had opportunities to come back but their attacks inside the Blues 22 were repelled and their line-out driving maul, usually a strong weapon, was ineffective.

In the 78th minute replacement lock Flip van der Merwe was yellow-carded for a high, late tackle. Brett goaled the penalty to put the home team 32-17 ahead and put the bonus point for losing by fewer than seven points out of reach for the Bulls.

The  Blues were on top towards the end and came close to scoring again but the final whistle was blown without any further scoring.

It had been a disappointing day for the hitherto unbeaten defending champion Bulls and a memorable victory for the home team, who look set for an impressive second half of the competition.

Man of the Match: The Blues backs were often wonderful with ball in hand, skilful and deceptive, each of them an attacking pressure point. Rene Ranger may make mistakes but he certainly is a constant threat to opposition defences. Blues openside flank Serge Lilo had what may have been his most effective Super 14 game ever and Keven Mealamu was superb as hooker and captain. Young loosehead prop Charlie Faumuina had the game of his life. But the Man of the Match must be blindside flank Jerome Kaino, who was a force on attack and made huge impact on defence; he showed exactly why he is so highly rated by New Zealanders .

The scorers:

For the Blues:
Tries: Toeava, Rokocoko
Cons: Brett 2
Pens: Brett 6

For the Bulls:
Try: Spies
Pens: Steyn 3
DG: Steyn

Yellow cards: Pedrie Wannenburg (Bulls, 52 - repeated infringements at the breakdown), Flip van der Merwe (Bulls, 78 - foul play, high and late tackle).

Teams:

Blues: 15 Isaia Toeava, 14 Joe Rokocoko, 13 Rene Ranger, 12 Benson Stanley, 11 Rudi Wulf, 10 Stephen Brett, 9 Alby Mathewson, 8 Viliami Ma'afu, 7 Serge Lilo, 6 Jerome Kaino, 5 Anthony Boric, 4 Kurtis Haiu, 3 John Afoa, 2 Keven Mealamu, 1 Charlie Faumuina.
Replacements: 16 Tom McCartney, 17 Tevita Mailau, 18 Filo Paulo, 19 Peter Saili, 20 Chris Smylie, 21 Luke McAlister, 22 Paul Williams.

Bulls: 15 Zane Kirchner, 14 Gerhard van den Heever, 13 Jaco Pretorius, 12 Wynand Olivier, 11 François Hougaard, 10 Morné Steyn, 9 Fourie du Preez, 8 Pierre Spies, 7 Dewald Potgieter, 6 Deon Stegmann, 5 Victor Matfield, 4 Danie Rossouw, 3 Werner Kruger, 2 Gary Botha, 1 Gurthrö Steenkamp.
Replacements: 16 Bandise Maku, 17 Bees Roux, 18 Flip van der Merwe, 19 Derick Kuün, 20 Jacques-Louis Potgieter, 21 Jaco van der Westhuyzen, 22 Pedrie Wannenburg.

Referee: Craig Joubert (South Africa)
Assistant referees: Jonathon White (New Zealand), Matthew Stanish (New Zealand)
TMO: Ben Skeen (New Zealand)

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