Bulls fire, then fade
25 May 2012
RYAN VREDE reports on a 28-22 victory for the Chiefs over the Bulls that leaves the three-time champions with little breathing room if they are to secure a home play-off.
The Bulls were acutely aware of the importance of victory in the context of their conference challenge, but they failed to negotiate a determined second half effort from the Chiefs, after being dominant for the opening half. They will hope the Sharks beat the Stormers in Durban tomorrow and also bank on teams close to them on the overall log dropping points. There is no panic just yet – they’ve finished strongly in recent years after coming off tour – but they cannot afford to drop many more points.
When their execution of their game plan is on point (which it was in the first half) few sides in the tournament could live with the Bulls. However, their inability to sustain their effort through 80 minutes cost them, as did numerous spurned opportunities early in the match.
There are still questions about Francois Hougaard’s kicking game, but tonight it was adequate. His shortcomings in this regard were made up for by Morné Steyn and Zane Kirchner’s competency in this facet of play. Their high kicks and a committed chase had the Chiefs’ back three looking like they were fielding grenades. This is an area the Hamilton franchise must address urgently if they are to be serious title contenders.
Once in the Chiefs’ 22m the Bulls were a mix of efficient and disappointing. Steyn banked two penalties and a drop goal and a try from Bjorn Basson, who profited from poor defence from Lelia Masaga, gave the Bulls a deserved 16-8 lead at the break.
On defence, such was the power and accuracy of their gainline challenge that the Chiefs were made to look toothless. Their primary strike runners – Sonny Bill Williams included – seldom posed a threat. Indeed the Bulls would have been disappointed at the margin of their lead at that point, the Chiefs’ only try coming courtesy of an Akona Ndungane error and their aforementioned wastefulness in good positions lending further weight to this assertion.
Steyn and Aaron Cruden traded penalties after the break, but the Chiefs, galvanised by the injection of quality impact players, gradually found the momentum and synergy they lacked in the first 40. The Bulls remained resolute but their resistance waned going into the final quarter when Cruden found wing Asaeli Tikoirotuma with an inside ball that left him with a clear route to goal. Cruden added the extras for a lead that was short-lived, Steyn edging his side ahead with his fourth penalty of the match.
Then the turning point, and this time another Bulls error inside the Chiefs’ 22m cost them dearly. The hosts turned over possession and ran the ball 70m before earning a lineout. A quick feed caught the Bulls’ defensive line unset, and Williams exploited this, surging through a gap then offloading to put Same Cane clean through. Cruden sunk the conversion and the Bulls just never looked like they had the capacity for a telling rebuttal thereafter.
752 Comments
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25 May 2012, 10:57 am
@PrickBoks going South(PrickBoks going South)-147: F*king sheep-shagging whinger
25 May 2012, 10:57 am
@PrickBoks going South(PrickBoks going South)-147:
cry me a river you canadian twat
25 May 2012, 10:57 am
Vd Merwe dropped it on the line
25 May 2012, 10:59 am
Alot of infringements let go by the ref tonight. Both sides guilty of it. Nice try chiefs.
25 May 2012, 10:59 am
wow
amazing rugby
25 May 2012, 10:59 am
Flippie aint a Bok.
25 May 2012, 10:59 am
@greentea(greentea)-149:
talk about whinging,you havent even lost the game yet you loser.
25 May 2012, 10:59 am
SBW…..player
25 May 2012, 11:00 am
@Michael(mikeybrass)-151: Doubt he’s a Kiwi or Aussie. Probably a papsak toting, tic devouring local.
25 May 2012, 11:00 am
Result of Flip’s unforced error. Try Chiefs.
Damn.
25 May 2012, 11:00 am
damn this is a good game of rugby!
25 May 2012, 11:01 am
Come rolling maul
25 May 2012, 11:01 am
the P’ulls will bring out the filth knowing the cheating Yappie ref will turn a blind eye.
25 May 2012, 11:02 am
bulls playing good rugby, but chiefs got the x-factor!
25 May 2012, 11:02 am
No worries. 3 drops and Pienks will have this in the bag.
25 May 2012, 11:03 am
@PrickBoks going South(PrickBoks going South)-163:
keep trolling buddy.
25 May 2012, 11:04 am
does that ugly P’ull in 15 think he’s Campo ?!
wrong
25 May 2012, 11:04 am
When the chips are down, Hougaard moves to the right wing position but plays as a 2nd receiver
25 May 2012, 11:04 am
BEAUTIFUL SADISTIC TACKLES
25 May 2012, 11:05 am
@PrickBoks going South(PrickBoks going South)-163:
you should change your nick to PinkBulls going South.
Coz if you look at the log you’d realise its the yella ozzies making up the numbers.
25 May 2012, 11:06 am
# 163…whine grizzle and screetch. Stop being a girl. It’s not a book club, it’s a man’s sport doodums.
25 May 2012, 11:08 am
steyn you chop.
then again, jano is slower than mcleod at clearing rucks.
cmon bulls cmon!
25 May 2012, 11:09 am
Bulls playing desperate rugby when all they have to do is plug the corners and win the line outs as they have all night. Schwalger is nt the best line out thrower.
25 May 2012, 11:09 am
last chance now bulls, lets see what you can do.
25 May 2012, 11:12 am
My team is the reigning Super Champion.
The 2nd Aussie team to win the Super comp.
The nation at the bottom of the Super log is Yappieland.
You’re making up the numbers.
25 May 2012, 11:12 am
i cannot believe what mark lwrence just did there.
25 May 2012, 11:12 am
Well done Chiefs
25 May 2012, 11:13 am
No-one tried harder for the Pulls than Lawrence. MOM on a losing side.
25 May 2012, 11:13 am
Well done Chiefs.
Must win games against the Stormers and Sharks coming up for my boys.
Had you offered me a haul of 11 points before this tour started Id have taken it though.
25 May 2012, 11:13 am
Fark. Hard luck Bulls, pity I couldnt stream the match coz of my bloody internet but sounds like a cracker. They’ve had a hell of a season already, way better than many of us expected.
25 May 2012, 11:13 am
Great game, well done Chiefs, commiserations Bulls. Now praying the Blues get over the Highlanders with our All Blacks benched, great.
25 May 2012, 11:14 am
We can’t the ref this time he’s one of yours.
25 May 2012, 11:14 am
We can’t blame the ref this time he’s one of yours.
25 May 2012, 11:16 am
game over bad luck bulls.
no disgrace losing in nz imo.
25 May 2012, 11:16 am
@PrickBoks going South(PrickBoks going South)-175:
Hang on to that, it might comfort you in the dry spell coming..
Boks and SA teams to dominate world rugby in the foreseeable future!
25 May 2012, 11:17 am
Great game, well played both teams.
Chiefs!
25 May 2012, 11:20 am
@greentea(greentea)-183:
what a **** jockey,bad loser even worse when you win.What a twat.But i suppose you already know that,your mum would have told you.
25 May 2012, 11:20 am
Nice touch from Spies in the aftermatch interview, makes Matfield look like a caveman.
25 May 2012, 11:25 am
@slavedriver(slavedriver)-187:
when a SAFFA sides loses the blame is immediately placed on the aus/kiwi ref, I was simply saying this time you can’t blame the ref, perhaps you got beaten by a better team
25 May 2012, 11:26 am
@wpjoulekkading(wpjoulekkading)-185: bloody hope not youse struggle to score tries,i don’t want to watch a boring kick fest.
25 May 2012, 11:26 am
Great game to watch. Well done Chiefs – just too good at the end there.
I must say I have grave doubts about Hougaard as Bok scrummie. He is SO SLOW. All that hand waving and looking around, he really does seem uncertain. Beginning to think FdP coming out of retirement is a good idea…
25 May 2012, 11:31 am
@SpiesIsWorthless(SpiesIsWorthless)-156: Flippie, nor Chilliboy, nor Akona, nor Spies, nor Kirchener, Nor JJ Engelbrecht, nor Wynand – yet here we are – feck!
25 May 2012, 11:31 am
@PrickBoks going South(PrickBoks going South)-175: Yip and you are the reigning champion of dose on this site. Fark off you sack of sh it.
25 May 2012, 11:32 am
@niknaks(niknaks)-191: fdp is the original “arm waiver” nobody does it better than him!
25 May 2012, 11:33 am
Houston we have a problem.
25 May 2012, 11:35 am
@niknaks(niknaks)-191: Hougaard fast destroying the rep he has built up for himself. The turnover in the beginning of the second half on the Chiefs line was because he stood there farking around (again) instead of clearing the ruck. Result was a three pointer to the Chiefs 4 min later and the momentum swung to the Chiefs.
Well done to them for the win but there are some question marks starting to appear regarding FH……
25 May 2012, 11:35 am
@Transformation(Transformation)-194:
Fair point. I’d still have him in the team over Hougaard though. Perhaps best I’m not a selector then1
25 May 2012, 11:38 am
@KWAGGA ROBERTSE(KWAGGA ROBERTSE)-196:
He’s still a little green at 9, needs more time there. He’ll get there in the end.
25 May 2012, 11:39 am
damn…!!
been in meetings all day…
sorry to hear bulls lost…
tough luck to them and their fans… sincerely… but the fat lady hasn’t even arrived at the theatre let alone warm up her voice…
plenty of games left…!! bulls to bounce back… bouncing a few teams along the way…
25 May 2012, 11:39 am
To be honest and this is really starting to irritate all hell out of me. SA teams are clueless on attack. When we do have possession we immeditaley default to the new hen over an egg situation lengthening the ruck too stupidity and back, and stand there doing that for 5-10 seconds cos no.one wants the ball because there is no attack and no plan to attack and no idea how to attack – so at the end of the day no-one really wants the ball. Total lack of confidence. From the scrumhalf down. Vermaak was jogging around in circles at one stage and just passed to the first guy he saw – wether that guy was about to be taken out or not. There is no rugby acumen at present and no desire to get the ball and run with it. No slinky backline moves, nothing more than crash into the defender and try to recycle – and in doing so often gift the turnover. Its utterly utterly pathetic. Ive been watching the Bok team do it for 3+ years now and almost every Super rugby team in Sa has the same disease. Bulls and Stormers being the primary examples. Even the game breakers of before like Aplon, Houghaard, Habana etc are looking like headless chickens of late. The only people I have been seeing attacking well and with rugby acumen have been Houghaard on occasion, Goosen, Lambie, Habana on occasion, Ebersohn most definitely and Joe Pietersen EVEN MORE SO. In my opinion the Bok backline would be very poor without the inclusion of Pietersen and Ebersohn at least on the bench. Its an epedemic we need to rectify immediately.
Chiefs were slavering at the mouth at the prospect of getting the ball and having a run – what the MO3R is wrong with US????!!!
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