Great excitement and anticipation reigned when the Vodacom Bulls hosted DHL Western Province in the first semi-final match of the Carling Currie Cup in what was also a classic North-South derby between the defending champions and the men from Cape Town, who snuck into the top four courtesy of a brilliant victory in Durban last Saturday. The Vodacom Bulls who only lost one match at Loftus Versfeld this season against DHL Western Province in the first round, outplayed Western Province in all aspects to convincingly beat them 48-31.
In what was expected to be a tight and brutal encounter, the Bulls started the match firing on all cylinders and quickly built up a healthy lead on the scoreboard by playing hard running and forward play rugby, which exposed the poor Western Province defence. The strong Bulls defence in turn as well as their dominance in the rucks, forced many penalties by Western Province which they managed to convert into more scoring opportunities. Western Province started the second half much stronger by playing more rugby in the Bulls' half, however, the Bulls kept on increasing their lead which Western Province was unable to catch up with despite scoring more tries.
00:45 The Bulls opened their scoring tally with a successful penalty kick by Johan Goosen just within the Western Province half (3-0).
05:10 The Bulls scored their first try after the ball was played wide within the Western Province quarter to Cornal Hendricks who went over the try line. Converted by Johan Goosen (10-0).
07:58 Johan Goosen scored the Bulls second try after great and skilful interplay between the backline players exposing the lack in defence of Western Province out wide. Converted by him (17-0).
11:42 Western Province winger Edwill van der Merwe scored an opportunistic try after taking a quick tap penalty in the Bulls' half who were caught napping on defence. Conversion missed by Tim Swiel (17-5).
15:00 Bulls flanker Arno Botha scored a try when the ball was played quickly from a scrum in the Western Province quarter. Converted by Johan Goosen (24-5).
18:54 Western Province scored their second try after finally getting into the Bulls' quarter and Scarra Ntubeni burst over the try line. Converted by Tim Swiel (24-12).
20:00 The Bulls came out firing on all cylinders and built up a good lead on the scoreboard by playing the ball wide and exposing the Western Province's poor defence in the midfield and out wide. Western Province did manage to get on the scoreboard despite having very little possession and territory.
28:47 Lionel Mapoe went over in the corner for another Bulls' try after very quick phase play and skilful handling by the Bulls. Converted by Johan Goosen (31-12).
35:41 Marcell Coetzee crashed over the try line after repeated phase play attacks on the Western Province try line. Converted by Johan Goosen (38-12).
40:00 The Bulls continued to build a considerable lead on the scoreboard by forcing penalties by Western Province due to strong defensive and attacking play and using their scoring opportunities.
46:14 Western Province winger Edwill van der Merwe scored a try under the posts after good interplay from within the Bulls' quarter. Converted by Tim Swiel (38-19).
52:34 Scrum penalty awarded to the Bulls and successfully kicked by Johan Goosen (41-19).
60:00 Western Province started the second half much stronger with a try and by playing more rugby in the Bulls' half, forcing some penalties within the Bulls quarter. The very strong Bulls defence however prevented them from scoring more points.
67:15 Cornal Hendricks scored a brilliant try after a quick inside pass from a driving maul in front of Western Province's goalposts. Converted by Johan Goosen (48-19).
70:41 Andre-Hugo Venter scored a try for Western Province after a lineout 5 metres from the Bulls' try line. Conversion missed by Tim Swiel (48-24).
79:10 Edwill van der Merwe scored his third try after a strong run from within the Bulls half. Converted by Tim Swiel (48-31).
Scorers:
Vodacom Bulls: Tries: Cornal Hendricks (2), Johan Goosen, Arno Botha, Lionel Mapoe, Marcell Coetzee. Conversions: Johan Goosen (6). Penalties: Johan Goosen (2).
DHL Western Province: Tries: Edwill van der Merwe (3), Scarra Ntubeni, Andre-Hugo Venter. Conversions: Tim Swiel (3).
Teams:
Vodacom Bulls: 15. David Kriel, 14. Cornal Hendricks, 13. Lionel Mapoe, 12. Harold Vorster, 11. Madosh Tambwe, 10. Johan Goosen, 9. Zak Burger, 8. Elrigh Louw, 7. Arno Botha, 6. Marcell Coetzee (c), 5. Ruan Nortje, 4. Janko Swanepoel, 3. Mornay Smith, 2. Schalk Erasmus, 1. Gerhard Steenekamp. Replacements: 16. Jan-Hendrik Wessels, 17. Simphiwe Matanzima, 18. Jacques van Rooyen, 19. Jacques du Plessis, 20. WJ Steenkamp, 21. Keagan Johannes, 22. Chris Smith, 23. Stravino Jacobs, 24. Joe van Zyl, 25. Reinhardt Ludwig, 26. Jaco Labuschagne, 27. Marco Jansen van Vuren, 28. Stedman Gans.
DHL Western Province: 15. Sergeal Petersen, 14. Ruhan Nel, 13. Juan de Jongh, 12. Dan du Plessis, 11. Edwill van der Merwe, 10. Tim Swiel, 9. Paul de Wet, 8. Hacjivah Dayimani, 7. Marcel Theunissen, 6. Deon Fourie, 5. Johan du Toit, 4. Ernst van Rhyn (captain), 3. Sazi Sandi, 2. Scarra Ntubeni, 1. Leon Lyons. Replacements (from): 16. Andre-Hugo Venter, 17. Dian Bleuler, 18. Neethling Fouche, 19. Justin Basson, 20. Nama Xaba, 21. Godlen Masimla, 22. Rikus Pretorius, 23. Tristan Leyds, 24. Warrick Gelant.
Article by Francois du Toit