Bulls overpower Cheetahs in Loftus arm-wrestle

MATCH REPORT: The Bulls ended the defending champion Cheetahs’ winning start to their title defence.

Outscoring the visitors by three tries to one, the Bulls recorded a 25-13 Round Three win at Loftus Versfeld, in Pretoria, on Friday.

That leaves the Pretoria outfit one of just two unbeaten teams in the competition – the table-topping Lions the other.

The Cheetahs’ biggest issues were the frequent turnovers they conceded and the alarming penalty count (14) – with a yellow card for repeated infringements.

Dominating possession and territory, the Bulls also made the Cheetahs pay for their sloppy set pieces.

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Flyhalves Chris Smith and Ethan Wentzel exchanged early penalties, before No.8 Celimpilo Gumede powered his way over the whitewash for the first try – the Bulls’ forwards bringing their powerplay to the game. Smith made it 10-3 in the 12th minute, with the conversion.

Just after the quarter-hour mark, Wentzel narrowed the gap to four points (6-10).

It became a brutal arm-wrestle in which both teams appeared obsessed with physically overpowering the opposition, rather than outsmarting them.

That resulted in the error rate spiralling, with the Cheetahs, in particular, guilty – making only 75 percent of their tackles (missed 18), conceding eight turnovers and their set pieces functioning below 80 percent in the first half-hour.

On the stroke of half-time, Devon Williams put wing Henry Immelman over in the right corner, as the Bulls finally put enough phases together. Smith added the conversion to give the Bulls a 17-6 lead at the break.

The Bulls piled on the pressure early in the second half, but some ill-discipline gifted the Cheetahs an easy exit.

It did not put the home team out of their stride and on the 50-minute mark Williams produced another sweetly-timed pass to put Immelman over for his second try – the wing leaving the field immediately with a painful hamstring injury. Smith took too long with his conversion attempt – the referee ruled the kick out – 22-6.

It did not help the Cheetahs when Wentzel kicked a penalty out in the in-goal area, while attempting to set up a line-out near the Bulls’ line.

The visitors eventually got a try, just past the hour mark – with replacement Daniel Maartens getting the five-pointer, after some great skills by lock Carl Wegner in the build-up and the scoring pass from Wentzel, who also added the conversion – 13-22.

However, the Cheetahs were reduced to 14 men – with Maartens penalised for killing the ball at the ruck, following an official team warning to the visitors for repeated infringements.

An overzealous Cheetahs flank Jeandrè Rudolph handed Smith a shot at goal, which he slotted for a 12-point ((25-13) lead and just under 10 minutes remaining.

Try as they might, the Cheetahs could not get that score that would get them back into the game, or even a losing bonus point.

The scorers

For the Bulls
Tries: Gumede, Immelman 2
Cons: Smith 2
Pens: Smith 2

For the Cheetahs
Try: Maartens
Con: Wentzel
Pens: Wentzel 2

Yellow card: Daniel Maartens (Cheetahs, 65 – repeated infringements, killing the ball at the ruck)

Teams:

Bulls: 15 Devon Williams, 14 Henry Immelman, 13 Aphiwe Dyantyi, 12 Chris Barend Smit, 11 Stravino Jacobs, 10 Chris Smith, 9 Bernard van der Linde, 8 Celimpilo Gumede, 7 Merwe Olivier, 6 Nizaam Carr (captain), 5 Jannes Kirsten, 4 Sintu Manjezi, 3 Francois Klopper, 2 Joe van Zyl, 1 Dylan Smith.
Replacements: 16 Juann Else, 17 Alulutho Tshakweni, 18 Khutha Mchunu, 19 Abulele Ndabambi, 20 Nama Xaba, 21 Izak Burger, 22 Jaco van der Walt, 23 Cornal Hendricks.

Cheetahs: 15 Litha Nkula, 14 Cohen Jasper, 13 Munier Hartzenberg, 12 Ali Mgijima, 11 Prince Nkabinde, 10 Ethan Wentzel, 9 Marko Jansen van Vuren, 8 Teboho Mohoje, 7 Aidon Davis, 6 Jeandrè Rudolph, 5 Victor Sekekete (captain), 4 Carl Wegner, 3 Hencus van Wyk, 2 Marko Janse van Rensburg, 1 Schalk Ferreira.
Replacements: 16 Vernon Paulo, 17 Cameron Dawson, 18 Robert Hunt, 19 Pieter Jansen van Vuuren, 20 Daniel Maartens, 21 Neels Volschenk, 22 Jandrè Nel, 23 Reinhardt Fortuin.

Referee: Sean Muller
TMO: Egon Seconds

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