Currie Cup
Bulls outgun Griquas
2011-08-19 19:14
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Louis Fouche (Gallo Images)
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Pretoria - The Vodacom Blue Bulls got their Absa Currie Cup season back on track with a comprehensive 44-20 (halftime 32-3) victory over GWK Griquas at Loftus Versfeld on Friday.
The Bulls, who escaped with a 16-12 away win against the Pumas last week to begin their climb off the bottom of the Premier Division table, looked sharper from the outset here against a lucklustre Griquas outfit to register their third win from six matches.
They got onto the board as early as the fourth minute, when livewire scrumhalf Jano Vermaak, who must take a lot of the credit for the Bulls' revival since his 'defection' from the Lions, dived over after a quick penalty tap five metres out.
Vermaak was a constant menace and he naggingly probed for space all evening. More often than not, that space materialised and either the nuggety scrumhalf or one of his team-mates were only too eager to capitalise.
With Griquas, who beat the Leopards 32-18 last week to climb to third on the table, falling off tackles at regular intervals and the Bulls forwards winning the collisions with ease, young flyhalf Louis Fouché was given an armchair ride, scoring a try and kicking four conversions and two penalties for a personal haul of 19 points.
Indeed it was Fouché's calm head and assured kicking boots that gave his side an early 18-0 lead, with lock Juandré Kruger's corner-flag effort in the 26th minute making the small crowd wonder not whether their team would win, but rather by how much.
Griquas fullback Monty Dumond finally registered his side's first points with a penalty on the half hour, but no sooner had play restarted than the ball found its way down the line to left wing Bjorn Basson, who dotted down.
Basson's wing partner, Akona Ndungane, claimed the Bulls' bonus-point try on the stroke of halftime when a stray Griquas pass in their own 22 found its way into the hands of the injury-plagued former Springbok.
Things didn't get any better for the outgunned visitors in the second half, discarded Bok lock Flip van der Merwe crashing over within a minute of the restart to make it 37-3.
Griquas got their first try soon after when scrumhalf Sarel Pretorius, playing his first Currie Cup match of the season, robbed Vermaak from a scrum close to the Bulls' line to dive over.
Fouché kept the Bulls ticking along when he broke through with ease from a five-metre scrum to make it 44-10, before Griquas got their second from closer range via eighthman Jonathan Mokuena after good interplay with flyhalf Earl Rose.
Prop Lourens Adriaanse grabbed Griquas' third try with four minutes left when he reached over from even closer range following a string of rucks on the Bulls' line.
But the visitors' rearguard efforts to secure a bonus point did not pay any dividends against a Bulls side who had clearly taken their foot off the pedal, but who still defended with venom until the final hooter.
Scorers:
Blue Bulls 44 – Tries: Jano Vermaak, Juandré Kruger, Bjorn Basson, Akona Ndungane, Flip van der Merwe, Louis Fouché. Conversions: Fouché (4). Penalties: Fouché (2).
Griquas 20 – Tries: Sarel Pretorius, Jonathan Mokuena, Lourens Adriaanse. Conversion: Monty Dumond. Penalty: Dumond.