Vodacom Bulls Win After Dominant Second Half Performance

Photo Credit: Speedshots.co.za

The second game of the weekend's Carling Currie Cup action on Saturday was between log leaders the Vodacom Bulls who hosted the Toyota Cheetahs in Pretoria resulted in a comfortable bonus point win for the Bulls with 4013.

The Cheetahs put up a brave fight but their steam ran out in the second half. The Bulls now completely in demand of the log with the other sides left to fight for the other three positions in the playoffs.

03:15 The Cheetahs started the game with a knock-on in their 22m which gave the balls an early opportunity to attack which lead to a Morne Steyn converted penalty. (3-0)

06:32 The Bulls took advantage of an error by the Cheetahs on defence to score the first try of the match by Embrose Papier (10-0)

With ten minutes on the clock, both teams had their fair share to attack and quality ball. However, the Bulls are just able to use their opportunities with a lot more purpose and accuracy.

14:20 Cheetahs put their first points on the board after a penalty converted by Frans Steyn. A dominant scrum from the Cheetahs surprised the Bulls and the 2 spectators were the source of the penalty. (10-3)

20:37 Another Morne Steyn penalty to stretch the Bulls' lead. (13-3)

26:07 Frans Steyn Added another three points from just inside his half. (13-6)

36:11 The Cheetahs score their first try of the match after a period of constant pressure on the Bulls in their red zone. Reinhardt Fortuin scored a great try from a steady scrum as he sliced the defence of the Bulls backline (13-13)

Frans Steyn missed a penalty just before halftime. What was significant was that White replaced a struggling Marcel vd Merwe with Trevor Nyankane who also struggled and was penalised.

50:47 Marco van Staden scored a forwards try of a good 35 metres to give the lead back to the Bulls. The Bulls replacements again have an almost immediate effect on the game. (20-13)

56:41 The third More Steyn penalty was just rewarded for a Bulls team who had the Momentum swung in their favour since the start of the second half. (23-13)

61:34 The Bulls kept the pressure on the Cheetahs with Morne Steyn who kept the scoreboard ticking with another penalty. (26-13)

65:09 Cornal Hendrickse "scored" the Bulls third try after a brilliant kick of Morne Stey just to be cancelled by the referee seconds later. The Bulls was at this stage completely in control of the match with the Cheetahs' lack of discipline that played a major role in the Bulls dominance.

67:13 Chris Smith scored a rampant Bulls' third try with the fire of the Cheetahs all but gone. (33-13)

77:12 A second try by Marco van Staden which secured the Bulls win with a bonus point. (40-12)

Scorers:
Vodacom Bulls: Tries: Embrose Papier, Marco van Staden (2), Chris Smith. Conversions: Morne Steyn (2), Chris Smith (2). Penalties: Morne Steyn (4)
Toyota Cheetahs: Try: Reinhardt Fortuin. Conversion: Frans Steyn. Penalties: Frans Steyn (2)

Teams:

Vodacom Bulls: 15 Kurt-Lee Arendse, 14 David Kriel, 13 Stedman Gans, 12 Cornal Hendricks, 11 Marco Jansen van Vuren, 10 Morné Steyn, 9 Embrose Papier, 8 Duane Vermeulen (captain), 7 Arno Botha, 6 Marco van Staden, 5 Walt Steenkamp, 4 Sintu Manjezi, 3 Marcel van der Merwe, 2 Johan Grobbelaar, 1 Gerhard Steenekamp. Replacements: 16 Corniel Els, 17 Jan-Hendrik Wessels, 18 Trevor Nyakane, 19 Ruan Nortje, 20 Nizaam Carr, 21 Ivan van Zyl, 22 Chris Smith, 23 Marnus Potgieter.

Toyota Cheetahs: 15 Clayton Blommetjies, 14 Rhyno Smith, 13 Howard Mnisi, 12 Frans Steyn, 11 Rosko Specman, 10 Reinhardt Fortuin, 9 Tian Meyer, 8 Jeandré Rudolph, 7 Victor Sekekete, 6 Andisa Ntsila, 5 Carl Wegner (captain), 4 Ian Groenewald, 3 Khutha Mchunu, 2 Reinach Venter, 1 Boan Venter. Replacements: 16 Jacques du Toit, 17 Cameron Dawson, 18 Erich de Jager, 19 Chris Massyn, 20 George Cronjé, 21 Ruben de Haas, 22 Reinhardt Fortuin, 23 William Small-Smith.