Rampaging Bulls trample Pumas
The Blue Bulls kept alive their Currie Cup hopes with a rampaging 37-6 bonus-point win over the Pumas at the Mbombela Stadium, in Nelspruit, on Friday.
Outscoring the home side by four tries to none, and leading just 10-6 at the break, the Bulls produced a clinical second half to outscore their hosts 27-0 in the second half.
The victory launched the Pretoria side into fourth place on the Currie Cup log, while the Pumas slipped further down the table to sixth place.
Wet conditions affected the overall flow of the match with a plethora of handling errors characterising the first half.
The Bulls managed to convert the pressure into points, while flyhalf Jacques-Louis Potgieter's place-kicking kept the scoreboard ticking over.
The Pumas took an early lead through a Justin van Staden penalty in the 13th minute, before Potgieter equalised.
Van Staden succeeded with another penalty goal shortly after the Bulls saw a promising attack inside the Pumas 22 fail, the result of a knock-on metres from the line.
However, the Bulls were soon rewarded for the pressure on the gainline, as towering flank Jacques du Plessis burst through for a try after bouncing a tackle, with Potgieter converting for a 10-6 advantage.
Two minutes after the second-half restart Potgieter landed a penalty conversion to give his side a seven-point cushion.
Buoyed by the lead, the Bulls played with more freedom and six minutes later industrious prop Dean Greyling scored his side's second try of the match.
Greyling's try was the product of an enterprising run by Burger Odendaal, who stepped his way past the Pumas defenders to take the gap and get his side close to the tryline.
Chasing the bonus point, the Bulls added their third five-pointer when Piet van Zyl picked and dove for the line, after replacement hooker Bongi Mbonambi was stopped five metres short. Potgieter added the extras.
The Pumas showed some positive signs of scoring their first try. Rosco Speckman appeared to have scored, but a review from the television match official found a knock-on earlier to deny the hosts.
The Bulls, however, would not be denied and with a minute remaining on the clock captain Deon Stegmann scored from the back of a rampant line-out drive for the bonus point.
Man of the match: Bulls inside centre Burger Odendaal that had a big influence on the match, as he had a major hand in one of the tries and asked serious questions of the Pumas' defence. However, our award goes to Bulls captain Deon Stegmann, who dominated at the breakdown and won a number of crucial penalties for his team.
The scorers:
For the Pumas:
Pens: Van Staden 2
For the Blue Bulls:
Tries: Du Plessis, Greyling, Van Zyl, Stegmann
Cons: Potgieter 3, Schoeman
Pens: Potgieter 3
Teams:
Pumas: 15 JW Bell, 14 Ruwellyn Isbell, 13 JW Jonker, 12 Stefan Watermeyer, 11 Rosko Speckman, 10 Justin van Staden, 9 Reynier van Rooyen, 8 Renaldo Bothma, 7 Jaco Bouwer, 6 Corne Steenkamp (captain), 5 Lubabalo Mtyanda, 4 Marius Coetzer, 3 Vincent Koch, 2 Frankie Herne, 1 Corne Fourie.
Replacements: 16 Francois du Toit, 17 DeJay Terblanche, 18 Uzair Cassiem, 19 RW Kember, 20 Dylon Frylinck, 21 Coenie van Wyk, 22 Jerome Pretorius.
Blue Bulls: 15 Ulrich Beyers, 14 Akona Ndungane, 13 JJ Engelbrecht, 12 Burger Odendaal, 11 Sampie Mastriet, 10 Jacques Louis Potgieter, 9 Rudy Paige, 8 Jono Ross, 7 Jacques du Plessis, 6 Deon Stegmann (captain), 5 Grant Hattingh, 4 Paul Willemse, 3 Werner Kruger, 2 Callie Visagie, 1 Dean Greyling.
Replacements: 16 Bongi Mbonambi, 17 Morné Mellett, 18 Nicolaas Janse van Rensburg, 19 Wiaan Liebenberg, 20 Piet van Zyl, 21 Tian Schoeman, 22 Jesse Kriel.
Referee: Jaco Peyper
Assistant referees: Rasta Rasivhenge, Sieg van Staden
TMO: Shaun Veldsman
