Bulle whacked in own backyard by WP whose pack aint anythinbg to shout about. Two wee props and two wee flankers and a 20 year old lock. I mean how pap are the bulle!
DHL Western Province soaked up everything the Vodacom Blue Bulls could throw at them before striking twice in exceptional fashion in the second half to score an inspiring 23-18 win in their Absa Currie Cup match at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday.
In the process Province underlined their status at the top of the log, and as favourites to take the title this year, extending their unbeaten run against the Bulls to more than two years now. (BULLE ARE NOW OFFICIALLY BUNNIES!!)
And while the Blue Bulls put up a much better performance than their 41-13 loss at Newlands a fornight ago, the loss leaves them with just one victory at the end of the first round of Currie Cup action from four games and in a deep hole if they want to try and make the playoffs of the competition.(tHEY HAD BETTER THINK ABOUT AVOIDING PLAYOFFFS FOR THE vODACOM cUP!!! bEST THEY SHIUP OUT AND PLAY IN THE PAP NZ LEAGUE! BWAHAHHAHAHAHAHA)
Coach Frans Ludeke will once again be blaming a lack of execution as five visits to the opposition 22 led to turnovers to Province when they were in good attacking positions as the Bulls short run of little confidence continues.
But in a game that was exciting from the opening whistle and where both sides looked to attack at every opportunity, the Bulls will feel rather aggrieved they didn’t get a win on their home ground and will watch as the pressure continues to ramp up on them.
Not so for Province, whose double strike just after the hour mark effectively settled the game, and had both their talisman Seabelo Senatla and Cheslin Kolbe playing prominent roles.
This while the Bulls struggled at flyhalf with a visibly nervous Joshua Stander struggling with his game, and the same predictability hampering their attacks. The one thing the Bulls could feel proud about was their scrums though.(Greyling hasd a very good game - he deserves another shot at wee ritchie?)
After conceding five scrum penalties at the hands of Western Province at Newlands, they were totally dominant in the setpiece, taking three penalties for their efforts.
After the Bulls butchered several scoring opportunities in the first half, and Nick Groom lost the ball over the line in the best Province attack, it was left to Kurt Coleman to slot the first points of the match in the 34th minute.
A few minutes later Stander missed an easy opportunity in front of the posts, and the Bulls had to be content to end the half behind on the scoreboard.
Dimitri Catrakilis added a second penalty early in the second half before the Bulls finally got some reward for their consistent attacks.
After a great break from Jesse Kriel (He is our reseve fullback - no question about it), who has grown in stature with every appearance, the recycled ball found a flying Jacques du Plessis, who bumped off Nizaam Carr with ease to run in for the Bulls opening try.
Tian Schoeman announced his arrival on the field with a penalty to stretch the Bulls lead to four points.
The joy was short lived as just before the hour mark Province ripped the game away from the Bulls from a pinpoint move from a lineout where Kobus van Wyk scored in the corner 9Nice winger thsi). The beauty of the move involved two inside passes, the crucial one from Jaco Taute to Seabelo Senatla before the speedster sent the ball to captain Juan de Jongh to unload Van Wyk into space to score.
Three minutes later it was Cheslin Kolbe who turned a nothing ball into something special as he ran cross field before finding Taute, who sent the ball to Senatla in space, and with the afterburners on there was little the Bulls could do as Senatla first burned Schoeman with a show and go, then bounced Kriel off in a tackle before Akona Ndungane finally ankle tapped him as he crossed the line for a sensational score.
It was a show of pace that was the difference between the sides, especially as it seemed the Bulls needed to labour for any points while Province could literally score from anywhere.
Schoeman brought the Bulls back within seven with a penalty but it was negated nine minutes from the end by a similar strike by Coleman, with the Bulls heading into the final moments of the game ten points behind.
They produced a beautiful flow of phases, from a lineout to three quick recycled balls before the pill was sent to Kriel in a skip pass, with the fullback popping the ball to Sampie Mastriet, who beat Van Wyk and then went over the line with a desperate Kolbe clinging to him.
Five points to go and the Bulls inexplicably kicked the ball away, but luckily won it against the throw in the lineout, setting up a massive final phase of play.
They attacked the Province line with glee, but eventually made a mistake as William Small-Smith knocked on in the final move to end the game, and hand Province a good victory.
By the way Dr Moz, Taute is only 23 years old and weighs in at 103kg. He had a pretty good game as well.
