Bulls snap Griquas’ run
15 Aug 2009
The Bulls scored a last minute try to beat Griquas 25-24 in a tense encounter in Kimberley.
With Griquas reduced to 13 players, Pedrie Wannenberg scored a decisive try to snap their host’s five game unbeaten streak. The performance wasn’t polished, but given how difficult it has become to beat Griquas, particularly at home, the result, which included a four-try bonus point, is all that matters.
The yellow cards killed Griquas’ challenge. They had defended brilliantly prior to that, but against a side of the class and experience of the Bulls, a two-man disadvantage was always going to cost them.
The Bulls’ pattern was initially not dissimilar to that of the Springboks – they relied heavily on accurate tactical kicking from their halfback pair to pin Griquas in their territory, as well as on a committed chase, punishing defence and a strong contest at the breakdown.
The approach was an intelligent one, as the majority of the teams who have fallen to Griquas have attempted to run them off the track. That approach troubled their hosts, but their ill-discipline allowed Griquas to stay in touch. Then having having weathered an onslaught and maintained parity, Griquas took their opportunities and pulled ahead.
The Bulls dominated possession and territory in the first half, forcing Griquas into countless tackles. To their credit Griquas resisted manfully, but were helped by fundamental errors and poor decision making in good positions by the Bulls.
Griquas opened the scoring through the boot of Naas Olivier, but it would be the Bulls to cross the whitewash first. They systematically worked their way into Griquas’ 22, drove towards the tryline and scored when Derick Kuun sniped around the ruck fringe and powered over.
Francois Brummer missed the conversion but banked a penalty shortly thereafter. Griquas struggled to get out of their half, but when they did they profited from the Bulls’ ill-discipline, Olivier landing two penalties.
They then extended their lead against the run of play thanks in most part to the deft skills and vision of captain Jonathan Mokuena. The No 8 threaded through a perfectly weighted grubber which wing Egon Seconds chased down to score.
The Bulls rebounded immediately. A slick backline move broke down just inside the 22 and scrumhalf Francois Hougaard hit up around the side of the ruck and broke four tackles en route to the tryline. Brummer missed the conversion and Griquas led 14-13 at half-time.
Griquas stuck a decisive blow just after the restart when hooker Rayno Barnes scrambled to collect a charged down kick to score. Olivier pulled his conversion attempt wide, but the impetus was with his side.
Griquas have proved to be a very difficult team to beat when they have momentum and it was crucial that the Bulls denied them the opportunity to pull further ahead.
However, they were denied the opportunity to launch a counter offensive as Griquas became progressively better at retaining their possession, and extended their lead when former Bulls player Trompie Nontshinga scored to extend the lead to 11 points. Griquas built through the phases then sent the ball wide to Barnes who drew two defenders and offloaded inside to Nontshinga.
With just 17 minutes remaining the Bulls needed to respond speedily, and did so when wing Gerhard van den Heever scored from a flowing backline move. Burton Francis, on for Brummer, missed a crucial conversion but the Bulls seemed to have shaken themselves out of their lethargy.
They camped in Griquas’ 22 for the remaining minutes but blew a couple of good scoring opportunities before Griquas’ task became more arduous when loose forwards Rohan Kitshoff and Mokuena were sin binned for ruck infringements within 30 seconds of each other.
The Bulls cranked up the heat and a 13-man Griquas simply had no resistance. Wannenberg scored after seven phases, and importantly he touched down under the posts. Francis was left with a simple conversion which secured the victory.
By Ryan Vrede
72 Comments
Pages: « 1 [2] Show All
15 Aug 2009, 17:13 pm
#49 wooden spoon: shut up wooden spoon!!!!! Prat
15 Aug 2009, 17:28 pm
don’t worry it will either be one of those 3, Lions or Cheetahs or Sharks battling it out with the Griquas for a semi spot. WP should make it this year and Bulls, so will be between the other 4 for the other 2 spots. Wooden Spoon just living up to his swat *** name. Kanko just scoring under the posts. This about the level of competition that Kanko excels in. Anything higher and he goes awol.
15 Aug 2009, 17:31 pm
#52 skopskiet: Agreed on Kanko.
15 Aug 2009, 17:37 pm
yeah loosehead, he’s a pretty good Cc player nothing higher, they should get another loosie in the bok squad, or when Schalk plays off the bench no place for Kanko in the 22
15 Aug 2009, 17:49 pm
#51 Transformation: Huh???
15 Aug 2009, 17:50 pm
#52 skopskiet: Sharks and the Bulls are the powerhopuses of SA rugby.
WP, Lions and Cheetahs are 2nd tier. The truth hurts.
15 Aug 2009, 19:02 pm
#21 skopskiet:
Ag please Skoppie, now you go and show your true colours. Mokuena is approaching 30, is an ex Sevens Bok captain and has been playing all the games in the CC, and in this match specifically was fringing illegally and playing negative spoiling rugby.
Potgieter comes back off an injury (broken wrist), has a hugely physical game in a team where the dynamics are completely different to Griquas, wins MOTM, and you want to make Mokuena a Bok. Which game were you watching?
15 Aug 2009, 19:04 pm
#57 catleya:
And as for leadership- fine leadership losing discipline when your team is already one man down, and you should be setting the example, to cop a yellow.
15 Aug 2009, 19:17 pm
#57 catleya: You must be one of the very few that do not see the value Mokuena brings to the game.I think he will not be out of place in the Bok team.Not so long ago fans were shouting for Terreblanche to be in the Bok team and it is no secret how old he is.And there are other examples.
I wonder how you would have reacted if somebody suggested Tiger Mangweni.
True colors indeed or not?
15 Aug 2009, 19:39 pm
#59 eric:
I’m not disputing Mokuena’s ability, but he has reached his ceiling and is rapidly approaching his sell-by date, whereas Dewald Potgieter isn’t even close to the apex of his potential.
By the way- have Terreblanche or Mangweni made it into the Bok set-up on the back of those cries. At least PdV is a realist.
It’s one thing raising your game way above par for special occassions. It’s another thing delivering on your potential week in and week out. My point is that while by no means lacking ability or commitment, players like Raubenheimer and Mokuena get away with murder week in and week out because they are allowed to by some very average refs.
I believe that Willie Roos probably had his worst game ever at the breakdown today, allowing the Griquas to slow down and spoil the Bulls ball the entire game. Worst is they are being coached to do so, because that is the only way a team like Griquas can be competitive.
15 Aug 2009, 19:59 pm
Bulls lucky these Griquas had the flu
15 Aug 2009, 20:06 pm
It is always better to be the lucky winners than the unlucky losers. In the end the Bulls scored four tries. The yellow cards were due to pressure by the Bulls
15 Aug 2009, 20:06 pm
Willie Roos was once again MOTM. Mokuena was hard done by the yellow card. Bulls probably deserved win in the end. The quality in the subs probably the big difference. Mokuena and Pottie enhanced their reputations but Hougaard is big and strong but takes ages to do his primary work of passing and kicking. I actually thought that his opposit number overshadowed him.
15 Aug 2009, 20:34 pm
#60 catleya:
agree with what you you say the breakdown was a f#ckshow and the griquas were lucky to make it as long as they did with 15 players, that said they showed a lot of character I would love to see them make the knockout stages…
15 Aug 2009, 21:02 pm
Ref + 10 Minutes + two yellow cards + a load of BS = Bulls win a bonus point game muhahahahahaha, what a joke to have to hide behind eish!
15 Aug 2009, 21:14 pm
#62 dWeePer: i was j/k dweeper, a win is a win
16 Aug 2009, 08:35 am
#64 gunther: I agree and have great empathy with the Griquas guys. I think they have really stepped up a gear. I just have a problem with it when spoiling negative tactics become part of a gameplan. I believe they have the ability to play a wide expansive running game and win most of their matches. Their coaching staff should rather look at getting their forwards to play positively towards the ball than trying to slow down play, and then they will come of age.
But good luck to the Bulls. They showed great character and restraint in the face of very poor reffing at the breakdown to pull this one through.
16 Aug 2009, 13:04 pm
Roos’s inconsistency was shocking. Abso-bloody-lutely shocking.
17 Aug 2009, 07:12 am
I agree, Roos was the main contender. Both teams were on official warning, but he awarded yellow cards only to Griquas, while the bulls qualified for at least one before the Griquas got theirs. I am not a Griqua supporter, but this fellow Roos is one of the worst referees ever to be used in CC matches. He had no clue as to what was going on at the rucks/mauls/breakdowns. He was merely guessing.
As far as I am concerned the bulls did not win the game. It was handed to them by an extremely incompetent ref, who are still being allowed on the field !
17 Aug 2009, 07:26 am
#69 oudste:
Yup, you should see this bloke when reffing WP. Shocking. I feel for the Griqua boys. Where’s a Piet Van Zyl when you need him?
17 Aug 2009, 07:43 am
Willie Roos should never again be allowed to officiate in any rugby match again not even as a television match official.
17 Aug 2009, 08:24 am
The wild onions were unlucky , they are playing with such confidence but you could see that the pure talent of the Bulls , lineouts and the collesion contest did shine through
Pages: « 1 [2] Show All
Have your say
You must be logged in to post a comment.