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Bulls march into another Final

Sat, 22 May 2010 18:55

Man of the moment: Bulls' scrumhalf Fourie du Preez

The Bulls reached their third Super Rugby Final in four years, when the defending champions equalled their highest-ever winning margin over the Crusaders - an emphatic 39-24 victory at the Orlando Stadium, in Soweto, on Saturday.

The momentous occasion - the first ever rugby match at this iconic soccer stadium - produced plenty of drama and lots of action.

But most of all, it saw the Bulls record their third consecutive semifinal victory over the Crusaders and showed they are indeed the new hallmark of Super Rugby.

It also means the Orlando Stadium will continue to make history, as it host its first major rugby Final next week - when the Bulls host either the Stormers or Waratahs.

The Bulls were simply more clinical than the seven-time champion Crusaders and in fact showed their true championship qualities by shutting the visitors down wide with ease.

The margin somewhat flattered the outclassed Crusaders, who scored a consolation seven-pointer in the 79th minute to give their score some credibility

There were plenty of first-half handling errors by the Crusaders, who at times had that 'deer caught in the headlights' look about them. They also gave away penalties through some silly play.

While the Crusaders looked to run the Bulls around like they did a fortnight ago, and did indeed play at a high pace, they were not nearly as clinical as they were at Loftus Versfeld.

Then there was the Bulls' impressive defensive lines - with some really big hits from the home team, in particular Wynand Olivier in midfield.

The other noteworthy aspect of the first half was referee Stuart Dickinson's inconsistent rulings at the scrums, which did neither team any good.

And in the second half the Crusaders continued to pay dearly for their high error rate, while Dickinson's confusing rulings also caused concern.

The Bulls opted for their familiar a territorial game, putting the big choke on the visitors.

The home teams' defence was often tested by the Crusaders, who managed to break the line on occasion, but mostly they were confronted with a solid blue wall.

It took the Bulls just two minutes to open their account - Pierre Spies scoring the opening try after the Bulls hit hard from a turnover. The Crusaders first took the ball through a number of phases, before a knock-on handed the ball to the Bulls and they showed their ability to score from a turnover - breaching at advantage line with every phase. Steyn added the conversion for a 7-0 lead.

And almost from the restart the Bulls were over the line again, Danie Rossouw planting the ball for what he thought was the second try. However, the TMO ruled that he had knock on in the attempt to put the ball down.

But matters did not improve for the Crusaders, as their high error rate handed the Bulls a penalty on their 22 and Steyn slotting the penalty to make if 10-0 in nine minutes.

However, the Crusaders finally made one of their opportunities count  - when they held the ball up in a maul inside the Bulls 22, then managed to force their way over from a strong drive. The try was awarded to Richie McCaw, with Carter adding the conversion - 7-10.

But the Crusaders' high error rate continued to haunt them - a soaring up-'n-under bouncing off the head of a Crusaders player, towards their own goalline, and Zane Kirchner was on it in a flash to score his team's second try. Steyn's conversion restored the 10-point (17-7) lead. The error would have been comical - considering the game was played in a soccer stadium - had the outcome not been so costly for the visitors.

And when Owen Franks conceded a penalty in the 19th minute, for a stupid shoulder charge, Steyn made it 20-7.

A scrum penalty against the Bulls in the 22nd minute gave Carter an opportunity to narrow the gap and he made no mistake - 10-20.

Carter's next shot at goal came in the 30th minute - a penalty at the breakdown against Deon Stegman - but this time Carter was not on target.

Two minutes later Steyn had a shot from seven metres inside his own half, when Brad Thorn did not roll away in the tackle, and it crept over the crossbar - 23-10.

Right on half-time Steyn had another shot - coming after the Crusaders' handling again let them down metres from the Bulls' line. Pierre Spies hacked the ball upfield and in their desperation the Crusaders illegally killed the ball. But fortunately for them Steyn was off target for the first time - leaving the score at 23-10 as the teams headed into the break.

The Crusaders got their second-half off to a blistering start - a simple scrum move that saw Sean Maitland over after Morné Steyn had kicked too deep and they had to come back for the scrum deep inside the Bulls half. It was quick hands from Kieran Read and Andy Ellis that set up the try, with Carter's conversion narrowing the gap to 17-23.

But Steyn made it 26-17 in the 49th minute, another penalty against the Crusaders at the breakdown.

Steyn had a drop-goal attempt in the 52nd minute, but it just shaved the upright.

With just on 25 minutes to go Carter had a chance to bring the margin back to a converted try, an offside penalty, but again the flags stayed down.

As the game moved into the final quarter Bulls scrumhalf Fourie du Preez slipped around the blindside of a scrum and beat the Crusaders' cover to score a crucial try. It was a classic scrumhalf score and showed the Bulls No.9's ability to produce the big plays when it matte res most. Steyn added the conversion for 33-17 lead.

And a penalty right in front, as the Crusaders' scrum collapsed in the 68th minute, allowed Steyn to make it 26-17 - leaving the Crusaders needing three converted tries for the win.

Steyn used a drop-goal to keep the Crusaders pinned deep in their own half, as the game entered the final 10 minutes, and it paid dividends - as the Crusaders, in their desperation to run it out, knocked on and gave the Bulls and attacking scrum,.

That scrum became a penalty, as the tiring Crusaders couldn't hold up against the hard-driving Bulls. Steyn made it 39-17, making it virtually impossible for the Crusaders to come back.

The penalties were now mounting against the Crusaders, allowing the Bulls to slow the game down even further - with Steyn pin-point kicking game pushing the Crusaders back deep into their own territory.

With the Crusaders now throwing everything at the Bulls, it was lock Sam Whitelock who went over in the right corner after several phases, some quick taps and good hands. Carter's conversion made it 39-24 - with just one minute left one the clock.

And the siren soon went as the Bulls equalled their biggest win ever over the Crusaders.

Man of the match: You can look at Bulls No.8 Pierre Spies, with his strong runs and showing his blistering pace, but his hands let him down at times. Then there was centre Wynand Olivier, with some big hits and great chasing. However the game was won by the halfback combination of Fourie du Preez and Morné Steyn, with their overall control of the match. Our award goes to scrumhalf Fourie du Preez for another world class performance.

Moment of the match: There is no doubt that this goes to Fourie du Preez's 64th-minute try - when he sniped around a scrum to set the Bulls on their way to victory.

Villain of the match: No villains, just heroes.

The scorers:

For the Bulls:
Tries: Spies, Kirchner, Du Preez
Cons: Steyn 3
Pens: Steyn 4

For the Crusaders:
Tries: McCaw, Maitland, S Whitelock
Cons: Carter 3
Pen: Carter

Teams:

Bulls: 15 Zane Kirchner, 14 Jaco van der Westhuyzen, 13 Jaco Pretorius, 12 Wynand Olivier, 11 Francois Hougaard, 10 Morné Steyn, 9 Fourie du Preez, 8 Pierre Spies, 7 Dewald Potgieter, 6 Deon Stegmann, 5 Victor Matfield (captain), 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 Stephan Dippenaar, 22 Pedrie Wannenburg.

Crusaders: 15 Colin Slade, 14 Sean Maitland, 13 Robbie Fruean, 12 Daniel Bowden, 11 Zac Guildford, 10 Daniel Carter, 9 Andy Ellis, 8 Kieran Read, 7 Richie McCaw (captain), 6 George Whitelock, 5 Sam Whitelock, 4 Brad Thorn, 3 Ben Franks, 2 Ti'i Paulo, 1 Owen Franks.
Replacements: 16 Daniel Perrin, 17 Wyatt Crockett, 18 Chris Jack, 19 Thomas Waldrom, 20 Kahn Fotuali'i, 21 Tim Bateman, 22 Jared Payne.

Referee: Stuart Dickinson
Assistant referees: Jonathan Kaplan, Reuben Rossouw
TMO: Johann Meuwesen

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