Photo Credit: Gallo Images
The late Saturday fixture saw the Vodacom Bulls locking horns with the Cell C Sharks at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria and manhandled their opponents to score a 41-14 bonus point win.
An arm-wrestle for the first ten minutes with the Sharks the early aggressors come scrum time. The second penalty against the Bulls scrum, lead to the Sharks' first points on the scoreboard to lead 3-0.
A Morne Steyn penalty levelled the score on the scoreboard, which reflected the onfield action in the first twenty minutes. However, the Bulls maybe just deserved an extra half a point lead for their efforts on the field.
The Bulls continuing domination in general play allowed Stedman Gans to dance his way through a below-par Sharks' defence to give the Bulls the lead (10-6) for the first time of the game. A second try within minutes from the Bulls not only gave them a 17-6 lead but the momentum clearly with the Bulls.
The Bulls deservedly lead 17-9 at halftime with their scrums the only worries. They dominated possession and territory for most of the half with the Sharks still to cross the Bulls' 22 after forty minutes.
The Bulls continued their dominance over the Sharks in the second half and scored their first points after a forwards maul to extend their lead to 24-9. A try by each of the teams had the Bulls in the lead with 31-14 at the end of the third quarter.
The rain started to fall with 15 minutes to go which ended any hopes of any attacking play. The Bulls dominance, however, continued to secure them a 41-14 win.
Scorers:
Blue Bulls: Tries: Stedman Gans (2), Marco van Staden (2), Marco Jansen v Vuuren, Embrose Papier. Conversion: Morne Steyn (5). Penalties: Morne Steyn.
Cell C Sharks: Try: Dylan Richardson. Penalties: Curwin Bosch (3).
Vodacom Bulls: 15 David Kriel, 14 Travis Ismaiel, 13 Stedman Gans, 12 Cornal Hendricks, 11 Kurt-Lee Arendse, 10 Morné Steyn, 9 Ivan van Zyl, 8 Duane Vermeulen (captain), 7 Elrigh Louw, 6 Marco van Staden, 5 Ruan Nortje, 4 Jason Jenkins, 3 Marcel van der Merwe, 2 Johan Grobbelaar, 1 Jacques van Rooyen. Replacements: 16 Joe van Zyl, 17 Gerhard Steenekamp, 18 Trevor Nyakane, 19 Sintu Manjezi, 20 Arno Botha, 21 Embrose Papier, 22 Chris Smith, 23 Marco Jansen van Vuren.
Cell C Sharks: 15 Manie Libbok, 14 Sbu Nkosi, 13 Lukhanyo Am (captain), 12 Marius Louw, 11 Werner Kok, 10 Curwin Bosch, 9 Sanele Nohamba, 8 Sikhumbuzo Notshe, 7 Phepsi Buthelezi, 6 James Venter, 5 Hyron Andrews, 4 Ruben van Heerden, 3 Thomas du Toit, 2 Dylan Richardson, 1 Ox Nche. Replacements: 16 Kerron van Vuuren, 17 Mzamo Majola, 18 John-Hubert Meyer, 19 JJ van der Mescht, 20 Henco Venter, 21 Grant Williams, 22 Jeremy Ward, 23 Yaw Penxe.