Pumas humble Bulls at Loftus 

MATCH REPORT: The Pumas showed grit and determination to upset the Bulls by 41-7, outscoring the hosts six tries to one at Loftus Versveld in Round Three of the Currie Cup.

Both sides demonstrated enterprise and a willingness to take the initiative in the opening exchanges of the match, complemented by effective tactical kicking.

As the match progressed, the Pumas grew into the contest by the minute, and their slow poison approach got the hosts succumbing to their enterprising play.

The result temporarily elevated the Pumas from fifth place on the Currie Cup table to first ahead of the clash between the Sharks and Cheetahs.

*To recap all the action, CLICK HERE!

The Bulls got the upper hand in the tactical kicking battles when Stefan Coetzee kicked the ball out on the full in the seventh minute, but the Pumas stole the ball back in the line-out through Ruwald van der Merwe.

The Bulls dominated the territory battle, but handling errors were their Achilles’ heel as they made three errors in the opening 12 minutes.

A TMO check was called in the 12th minute, and it was confirmed that Cornel Smit was guilty of a croc-roll, which gave the Pumas a relieving exit from their half.

The Pumas made a statement moments later, winning a scrum penalty on the Bulls’ feed and opted for the line-out inside the Bulls’ 22 metre area.

The visitors formed a maul before playing the ball, but the Bulls defended strongly and won the penalty through a Pumas error as JJ Scheepers went off his feet at the breakdown.

Pumas wing Stefan Coetzee made a solid linebreak in the 19th minute, and the Pumas earned a penalty in the process for offside against Jeandré Rudolph.

Flyhalf Danrich Visagie stepped up and opened the scoring for the match in the 21st minute.

The Bulls conceded another penalty for not rolling away in the 23rd minute, gifting the Pumas another 22-metre entry into their half.

The Pumas attacked after forming a maul but conceded a second penalty for sealing the ball off while on the attack.

The Bulls finally opened their account after slick handling on the blindside as Katlego Letebele got the late replacement and debutant Riyaad Bam into space, who dotted down in the corner in the 28th minute, which Boeta Chamberlain converted.

A Pumas line-out overthrow worked out when Wian van Niekerk managed to scoop the loose ball up, and the Bulls conceded an offside penalty.

The visitors opted for the line-out and it paid off when Eduan Swart broke off the maul and ran in for the Pumas’ opening try in the 37th minute, almost untouched, which Danrich Visagie converted.

The Bulls had one final attacking opportunity inside the Pumas half, but Junior Pokomela couldn’t hold onto the ball, which signalled half-time.

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The Pumas earned a penalty for holding on seconds into the second half, which Danrich Visagie sliced right off the upright.

The visitors earned another penalty two minutes later at the breakdown and opted for the line-out inside the Bulls’ 22 metre area.

The forwards bashed it up for multiple phases before captain Willie Engelbrecht powered through two tackles and barged over the line for the second Pumas try of the afternoon in the 45th minute, which Visagie converted.

A strong maul by the Bulls moments later earned them a penalty for a side entry against JJ Scheepers and offside against Sampie Swiegers.

The Bulls, however, missed the kick to touch as it went over the dead-ball line.

A loose ball kicked ahead by the Bulls was cleaned up well by the Pumas before Ross Braude sniped down the blindside, chipped it ahead and regathered possession to set up Tiaan de Klerk for the Pumas’ third try in the 51st minute. Visagie’s conversion hit the uprights.

Back-to-back penalties to the Pumas provided Visagie to set up another line-out inside the Bulls’ red zone in the 60th minute.

The Pumas set a maul, and Ross Braude broke a tackle, but his offload to Stefan Coetzee didn’t go to hand, allowing the Bulls to get out of jail.

The Pumas, however, got a massive shove on and won the penalty on the Bulls’ feed before Ross Braude tapped it quickly and barged over the line for the Mbombela outfit’s bonus point try, which Visagie converted in the 63rd minute.

Ntsika Fisante sparked a counter-attack from his own half as the Pumas worked themselves into the Bulls’ 22 metre area, but replacement Lizo Gqobola stripped the ball in the tackle before the hosts won a penalty moments later.

The Bulls earned a penalty for contact in the air at the line-out on halfway as Chamberlain got the hosts a five-metre line-out.

The hosts formed the maul before going wide under penalty advantage, but it wasn’t needed as Cornel Smit dotted down in the 70th minute. The conversion was unsuccessful.

After the conversion, referee Morne Ferreira consulted TMO Archie Moko to check a possible infringement at the breakdown leading up to the try.

The try was disallowed as Chris Smit was deemed to play the ball on the ground, but they went back to the penalty advantage before Smit’s actions.

The Bulls went to the corner again and formed the maul before playing it to the backs. The Pumas held the Bulls up and forced the maul, subsequently winning the scrum feed.

The Pumas attacked and won a breakdown penalty in the 74th minute, which Visagie kicked for the line-out inside the Bulls’ 22 metre area.

The visitors put the cherry on top by bashing it up with the forwards before replacement Hanno Theunissen forced his way over the line in the 75th minute. Visagie was unable to convert.

The Pumas weren’t done yet, as Andre Fouche gathered a ball after a linebreak by Tiaan de Klerk to go over the line and put the final nail in the coffin in the 78th minute, which Visagie converted.

The Bulls had one final attack, but to no avail as a handling error ended proceedings and sealed a famous win for the Pumas.

Scorers:

For the Bulls:
Try: Bam
Con: Chamberlain

For the Pumas:
Tries: Swart, Engelbrecht, De Klerk, Braude, Theunissen, Fouche
Cons: Visagie 4
Pen: Visagie

Bulls: 15 Boeta Chamberlain, 14 Katlego Letebele, 13 Cornel Smit, 12 PA van Niekerk, 11 Riyaad Bam, 10 Jaco van der Walt, 9 Zak Burger (captain), 8 Jeandre Rudolph, 7 JJ Theron, 6 Junior Pokomela, 5 Marvin Orie, 4 Sintu Manjezi, 3 Jean Erasmus, 2 Juann Else, 1 Dylan Smith
Replacements: 16 Esethu Mnebelele, 17 Lizo Gqoboka, 18 Casper Badenhorst, 19 Jaco Grobbelaar, 20 Dylan de Leeuw, 21 Marco Ferreira, 22 Daimon O’Connel, 23 Chris Smit

Pumas: 15 Tino Swanepoel, 14 Stefan Coetzee, 13 Sango Xamlashle, 12 Wian van Niekerk, 11 Darren Adonis, 10 Danrich Visagie, 9 Ross Braude (vice-captain), 8 Willie Engelbrecht (captain), 7 Ruwald van der Merwe, 6 Ntsika Fisante, 5 Tiaan de Klerk, 4 JJ Scheepers, 3 Sampie Swiegers, 2 Eduan Swart, 1 Etienne Janeke
Replacements: 16 Jan-Henning Campher, 17 Zuki Sali, 18 Dewald Maritz, 19 Hanno Theunissen, 20 Andre Fouché, 21 Russwell Fredericks, 22 Tiaan Pretorius , 23 Dalvon Blood

Referee: Morne Ferreira
Assistant referees: Christopher Allison, Excellent Mnkomo
TMO: Archie Moko

Image credit: @Bulls