Bulls win thriller in Kimberley
CURRIE CUP REPORT: The Blue Bulls got back to winning ways in this year’s Currie Cup with a thrilling 45-40 win over Griquas in Kimberley on Saturday.
The visitors scored seven tries in the match, while Griquas crossed the whitewash on five occasions and they got a seven-point Penalty try.
The Blue Bulls lost their captain Hanro Liebenberg before the game due to Illness. It meant Nic de Jager shuffled to No.8, with Jano Venter moving from the bench to No.7.
However, the late changes did not seem to trouble the Bulls in the first half when they built up a lead of 21 points before Griquas staged a fightback.
The Bulls opened the scoring in the sixth minute when scrumhalf Andre Warner had an easy dot down on over the Griquas tryline after some great build-up play from his teammates. Manie Libbok stepped up for a difficult conversion and he added the two points.
The visitors dominated play, but it was the home side who scored next when prop Nicolaas Oosthuizen crashed over for a try after Griquas stole the ball near the Bulls’ tryline from a line-out. George Whitehead added the extra two points with the conversion.
However, it did not take long for the Bulls to regain the lead when a swift and aggressive attack inside the Griquas half led to a try for Franco Naude.
The Bulls got their third try in the 23rd minute when Jaco Visagie went over after a powerful driving maul from the visitors. Libbok added another two points with the conversion.
The home side struggled to find any rhythm and a few moments later they were further behind after Duncan Matthews sprinted downfield after an intercept before the ball found its way to JT Jackson, who finished off an easy score.
There was some hope for Griquas in the 36th minute when Andre Swarts managed to get over the line after some sustained pressure inside the Bulls’ 22.
Things then got better for the home side just before half-time when they were awarded a Penalty Try after the Bulls illegally brought down a maul near the tryline. Matthews was also given a yellow card for his role in that play.
At half-time the Bulls led 28-21.
The Griquas then completed their comeback five minutes into the second half when Eital Bredenkamp ran in four his team’s fourth try, which Whitehead converted.
It got even better for Griquas a few minutes late when Bulls hooker Jaco Visagie was shown a yellow card for an early tackle.
Riding on that momentum Griquas took the lead for the first time of the game with Swarts going over for his second try of the game and the Griquas’ fifth.
However, Griquas’ seven-point lead was cut down to just two points in the 56th minute when Edgar Marutlulle went over for the Bulls from a driving maul. Before that Griquas lock Pieter Jansen van Vuren was given a yellow card for foul play.
The Bulls then regained the lead in the 64th minute when Jano Venter was put into space in the Griquas’22 to run in for a great try.
Things got worse for Griquas straight after the restart when replacement scrumhalf Ivan van Zyl finished off some great interplay from the Bulls to run in for a try.
But Griquas ensured that there would be a thrilling finish when AJ Coertzen gave his team a fighting chance when he scored a try in the 75th minute after some great running rugby.
There was time for one last attack for the home side, but they couldn’t find the winning score.
Man of the match: Jano Venter was a menace with ball in hand throughout the 80 minutes and fully deserves the award. Special mention must also go to flyhalf Manie Libbok who was dangerous on attack. For Griquas, centre Andre Swarts was one of the standout performers
The scorers:
For Griquas:
Tries: Oosthuizen, Swarts 2, Penalty Try, Bredenkamp, Coertsen
Cons: Whitehead 4
For Blue Bulls:
Tries: Warner, Naude, Visagie, Jackson, Marutlulle, Venter, Van Zyl
Cons: Libbok 5
Yellow cards: Duncan Matthews (Blue Bulls, 40 – repeated infringements); Jaco Visagie (Blue Bulls, 48 – cynical play, early tackle); Pieter Jansen van Vuren (Griquas, 55 – foul play, dangerous tackle)
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Teams:
Griquas: 15 AJ Coertzen, 14 Ederies Arendse, 13 Kyle Steyn (captain), 12 Andre Swarts, 11 Enver Brandt, 10 George Whitehead, 9 Christiaan Meyer, 8 Conway Pretorius, 7 Sias Koen, 6 Eital Bredenkamp, 5 Pieter Jansen van Vuren, 4 Sintu Manjezi, 3 Nicolaas Oosthuizen, 2 Khwezi Mkhafu, 1 Devon Martinus
Replacements: 16 Wilmar Arnoldi, 17 Ruan Kamer, 18 Wandile Putuma, 19 Jonathan Janse van Rensburg, 20 Zak Burger, 21 Christopher Bosch, 22 Tythan Adams.
Blue Bulls: 15 Divan Rossouw, 14 Duncan Matthews, 13 Franco Naude, 12 JT Jackson, 11 Jade Stighling, 10 Manie Libbok, 9 Andre Warner, 8 Nic de Jager (captain), 7 Jano Venter, 6 Ruan Steenkamp (captain), 5 Eli Snyman, 4 Hendre Stassen, 3 Trevor Nyakane, 2 Jaco Visagie, 1 Matthys Basson.
Replacements: 16 Edgar Marutlulle, 17 Dayan van der Westhuizen, 18 Ruan Nortje, 19 Thembelani Bholi, 20 Ivan van Zyl, 21 Tinus de Beer, 22 Dylan Sage.
Referee: Egon Seconds
Assistant referees: Jaco Kotze, Nico Schmahl
TMO: JJ Wagner
