Bulls keep Stormers in sights
30 Jun 2012
RYAN VREDE reports on a match where the Bulls kept themselves in with a chance of winning the South African conference with a 40-24 victory over the Cheetahs at Loftus.
There is a reason the Cheetahs have a woeful Super Rugby record against the Bulls and it was evident once more at Loftus tonight. The Cheetahs were manhandled at the gainline, allowing the Bulls freedom to play a free-flowing brand of rugby that earned them a crucial bonus-point before half-time.
For the first 55 minutes the Bulls looked dangerous every time they drove into the Cheetahs’ territory, their strike runners giving them the momentum that allowed them to consistently force the Cheetahs to defend with an unset defensive line. From there they exploited the Cheetahs’ well documented defensive vulnerabilities or pressured them into costly errors.
The Cheetahs never looked capable of a telling rebuttal in that period, their tackle fight too weak to unhinged the well organised Bulls, and their tactical game lacking a kicker who could drive them down into good positions.
The Bulls opened the scoring through Pierre Spies after they rumbled up into the Cheetahs’ red zone, the No 8 driving over from close range. Dean Greyling was over in similar fashion soon thereafter, and the signs were ominous for the visitors even with just a quarter of the match played.
They had their opportunities but either lacked the composure to finish (often they isolated themselves as white-line fever took hold) or were undone by impressive scramble defence. The Bulls repelled them fairly comfortably, and then struck twice before half-time, Zane Kirchner crossing after a Morne Steyn bomb was spilt by Ashley Johnson, while Francois Hougaard strolled over after collecting a loose ball engineered by a powerful Bulls scrum. Morne Steyn banked his third conversion (the other struck the post) to give the Bulls a 26-0 going down the tunnel.
The Bulls would have been acutely aware that they had to guard against getting loose in their approach. It would have been the Cheetahs’ only path back into the contest, but they did well be reign themselves in when the temptation replace pragmatism with panache would have been strong.
The Cheetahs lost Andries Strauss to the sin bin in the 50th minute and the Bulls soon capitalised on their advantage, Werner Kruger rounding off a multi-phase move that depleted the Cheetahs’ defensive line, and Bjorn Basson mesmerising with an excellent solo effort.
The Bulls made a string of changes with a quarter to play and this affected attacking and defensive synergy, the latter resulting in the Cheetahs score thrice in eight minutes. However, the burst only served to entertain the crowd as the Bulls’ lead was too big for the visitors ever to harbour thoughts of a comeback. Henirich Brussow bulldozed down the touchline to score late in the piece but, again, it was no more than a consolation.
The Sharks await the Bulls at Kings Park on Friday, a match in which they will be tested infinitely more than what they were this evening. You suspect they would have to win that fixture to stand any chance of going into the last round in contention for the conference title (the Stormers will be favourites to beat the Cheetahs next week) and that fixture in Durban will be a good measure of their title credentials.
573 Comments
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1 Jul 2012, 22:39 pm
Where did that mohawked cockatoo disappear to? Surely he’s man enough to shake a couple of hands?
1 Jul 2012, 22:44 pm
Nah he’s cried off bit of a bad loser – good player tho a royal prima
1 Jul 2012, 22:45 pm
@>^..^< katman(katman)-550:
Indeed.
they needed Bryce lawrence out there today.
1 Jul 2012, 22:54 pm
@the artist formerly known as gunther(gunther)-553: Either of the Lawrences could have pulled this out the fire for them.
1 Jul 2012, 22:57 pm
death by a thousand passes.
1 Jul 2012, 22:59 pm
Spain is enjoying a golden era in sports. Soccer, Rafa Nadal, Alberto Contador, Fernando Alonso
1 Jul 2012, 22:59 pm
Yeah it’s pretty effective but not tge skill of brazillians – tho iniestas control frightening good – messi the best tho.
1 Jul 2012, 23:03 pm
Pity about their economy
1 Jul 2012, 23:05 pm
Cape Town – Stormers coach Allister Coetzee declared that his side’s match-winning effort against the animated Lions was “one of the best wins of the season” after his flu-hit squad held out bravely at Newlands on Saturday.
The Stormers won 27-17, after leading 13-3 at half-time.
Hours before kick-off, fullback Joe Pietersen, wing Bryan Habana and utility back Burton Francis were withdrawn due to illness, and then wing Danie Poolman, who originally did not feature in the match-day squad, was a first-half casualty. He was replaced by centre Marcel Brache, who was also destined to be a spectator.
Brache’s entry forced the Stormers to move their captain, Jean de Villiers, out to the wing and Coetzee admitted afterwards that it was far from ideal for the skipper to be so far removed from the action.
“It might not have been a crowd-pleasing performance but this was one of the best wins of the season in the light of what happened with the squad before the match,” Coetzee said.
“Last night [Friday] Bryan was still on a drip and three players were down with flu.
“It was an important win against a Lions side that a lot of people write off. But this Lions side was efficient and put us under pressure.
“This performance shows that we are improving as a team.”
Coetzee said Poolman picked up a hamstring strain and was likely to be out for 10 days, but lock Andries Bekker came through his comeback match without complications.
The Stormers next clash with the Cheetahs in Bloemfontein on Saturday.
1 Jul 2012, 23:09 pm
Improvement on what? The Big Choke is on it’s way. Want to bet
1 Jul 2012, 23:13 pm
@stormerforlife1(stormerforlife1)-559:
Not an easy game at Bloem either not matter what Bulls did in 1st half V Cheetahs
We need the 4 or 5 points
1 Jul 2012, 23:14 pm
@viewer(viewer)-560:
I think he means the squad. Players who would not normally start have played fairly well
1 Jul 2012, 23:18 pm
@CoachPete(CoachPete)-561: True.The way i see it we can’t even afford to lose with the Brumbies now also going for a top 2 position.Mind you we are not clear of the Bulls either.Hopefully the Sharks will give the pinkies a knock on Friday.
1 Jul 2012, 23:22 pm
With ten players out of the Stormers match 22 squad i can only agree with AC.This team as a whole has improved beyond recognition from previous Stormers teams.Well done AC!
1 Jul 2012, 23:25 pm
2 bonus points in 14 matches & only 5 teams have scored fewer points than the stormers.
Check the champion’s end of round robin phase points for total for each SR season since ’96 & see for yourself how often that team was in the bottom six for points scored
1 Jul 2012, 23:31 pm
12 Wins out of 14 and the guppies and pink cows fighting for their s15 lives on Friday?I know in whose position i would rather be.
1 Jul 2012, 23:37 pm
Fair enough
1 Jul 2012, 23:56 pm
Fourth spot on the log is key for the wild card teams because you host one knock-out fixture.
The Stormers have an easy last two matches (barring complacency)
2 Jul 2012, 01:29 am
@cab(cab)-557: iniesta for me is a genuis, even rooney in 2009 when man u got demolished by barca said ‘i don’t care who gets the ballon d’or andres iniesta is the best footballer’
2 Jul 2012, 01:53 am
@viewer(viewer)-567:
Sorry, but Stormerforlife is correct Its hard to knock a team that has one 12 of 14 beaten blue bulls twice and is at the top of SA conference They have earned it bonus points or not
2 Jul 2012, 06:01 am
Fridays battle is gonna be interesting. Who’s the referee? Jonker to save the pinkies again?
2 Jul 2012, 06:03 am
If the Sharks beat the Bulls its a done deal for the Stormers
So Sharkies…………………enhance your chances or throw the game and help the poor Bulletjies out?
2 Jul 2012, 16:26 pm
@Stompie till I die!!!!(phil72)-195:
Brussouw gained 108m running with the ball in hand against this pack of Springbok loose forwards. Spies and both Potgieters combined achieved the astonishing distance of 117m with ball in hand.
Brussouw never lost a single game against the All Blacks (4 games at stake) and was named MOTM on two occasions (Bfn & PE).
It appears that you have to small to be big- does it not?
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