Bulls break their duck against hapless Griquas

MATCH REPORT: The Bulls finally recorded their first Currie Cup win of the season.

Courtesy of some immense physicality by the pack, the Bulls marched to a comfortable 40-3 win over Griquas at Loftus Versfeld on Friday.

*To recap all the action CLICK HERE!!!

The Bulls headed into the fixture with four consecutive Currie Cup defeats. However, ended their misery in fine fashion.

The fixture was Jake White’s first official Currie Cup game in charge after Edgar Marutlulle’s demotion.

The Bulls, who featured the likes of Canan Moodie, Kurt-lee Arendse, Elrich Louw and Ruan Nortje in their starting XV, scored six tries.

The men from Kimberley failed to register a try and only managed to produce a George Whitehead penalty.

The hosts showed intent and kept the Griquas inside their own half in the opening minutes of the match.

And it was no surprise when the hosts were the first to draw blood. From a five-metre line-out followed by a couple of pick-and-drives, Ruan Vermaak stretched over the chalk for the five points. Chris Smith added the extras for the 7-0 lead.

Griqaus finally got into the Bulls and immediately got some points courtesy of a successful penalty kick by George Whitehead which was the last score the visitors.

It was not perfect from the Bulls, but it was a solid and morale-boosting display.

The blue machine was absolutely dominant, with Embrose Papier steering the attack. The Bulls used their forwards, before prop Mornay Smith bashed over the line, 12-3 after 20 minutes.

The Griquas went down to 14 men before, and the Bulls’ loose forward Cyle Brink drove over for his team’s third try. Chris Smith added the extras for the 19-3 lead.

Bulls showed an incredible counter-attack. From a knock by Johan Mulder, Kurt-Lee Arendse scooped up a loose ball before sending Papier on his way for the easy try, 26-3

The Griquas had possession in the final minutes of the break. They opted for line-out and looked really dangerous. However, a knock-on halted all the effort and the sides headed to the lockers with the Bulls 13 points clear.

Jake White’s men were ruthless. Another great break by Kurt-lee Arendse set up David Kriel for the five-pointer. Chris Smith added the extras for the 33-3 lead.

The Bulls pack rejoined the scoring. An inside ball from Ruan Vermaak found prop Gerhard Steenekamp, who still had a couple of metres to make and defenders to beat before he scored.

The Griquas created some chances before the final whistle. However silly errors halted all their hard work.

In contrast, the Bulls did enough to secure the win.

Man of the match: The Bulls pack certainly deserve praise, they were incredible and set the tone for the win. Kurt-lee Arendse and Canan Moodie were in fine form, with Arendse setting up two tries for his team. However, our nod goes to Bulls scrumhalf Embrose Papier. The No.9 delivered a solid performance.  He executed his box kicks well and was pivotal in the Bulls’ attack. He also scored a try.

The scorers:

For Bulls:
Tries: Vermaak, M.Smith , Brink, Papier, Kriel, Steenekamp
Cons: C. Smith 5

For Griquas:
Pen: Whitehead

Yellow card: Stephan Smit (Griquas, 27 – deliberate offside)

Teams:

Bulls: 15 Kurt-Lee Arendse, 14 Canan Moodie, 13 Stedman Gans, 12 Harold Vorster, 11 David Kriel, 10 Chris Smith, 9 Embrose Papier, 8 Elrigh Louw, 7 Cyle Brink, 6 Marco van Staden, 5 Ruan Nortje (c), 4 Ruan Vermaak, 3 Mornay Smith, 2 Johan Grobbelaar, 1 Gerhard Steenekamp.
Replacements: 16 Bismarck du Plessis, 17 Dylan Smith, 18 Francois Klopper, 19 Janko Swanepoel, 20 Nizaam Carr, 21 Keagan Johannes, 22 Johan Goosen, 23 Cornal Hendricks.

Griquas: 15 Lubabalo Dobela, 14 Rocko Specman, 13 Jay-Cee Nel, 12 Eddie Fouche, 11 Luther Obi, 10 George Whitehead, 9 Johan Mulder, 8 Carl Els, 7 Hanru Sirgel (captain), 6 Stephan Smit, 5 Albert Liebenberg, 4 Derik Pretorius, 3 Cebo Dlamini, 2 Gustav du Rand, 1 Eddie Davids.
Replacements: 16 Janco Uys, 17 Kudzwai Dube, 18 Janu Botha, 19 Michael Amiras, 20 Neil Otto, 21 Reagan Oranje, 22 Sango Xamlashe, 23 Sako Makata

Referee: Marius van der Westhuizen
Assistant Referees: Local
TMO: Christopher Allison