Share

Cheetahs, Bulls ponder health

Rob Houwing, Sport24 chief writer

Cape Town – Points gained or points frittered away? Reasonably satisfied handshakes at the final whistle or more like that ill-desired kiss for your sister?

Those were the kinds of thoughts probably occupying the minds of the Absa Currie Cup protagonists in Bloemfontein on Saturday evening, where the Cheetahs and Blue Bulls played out a tense 22-22 draw.

It was just the second stalemate of the campaign, following a 26-26 result between Western Province and Griquas at Newlands on the opening weekend back in mid-July.

The outcome did see the Cheetahs stay in fourth spot and inch two points clear of neighbours Griquas, who had been comfortably beaten on Friday night by a Lions side still holding the top-of-table aces by five points from Province after both teams earned expected full houses this weekend.

But Naka Drotske’s charges would also have so rued allowing the Bulls a dramatic share of the spoils as late as the 82nd minute, when the unpredictable Louis Fouche nailed an impressively high-pressure, long-range penalty to square things up after the visitors had always previously trailed in the key encounter.

The Cheetahs must have felt, for the vast majority of the clash, that they had done enough to win, yet at least made some minor, log-points “progress” in their quest to make the semi-finals despite annoyingly surrendering two at the death.

Similarly nursing bittersweet thoughts, however, would have been the Bulls, who arguably needed a victory with greater urgency, considering their more parlous position in the semis chase – their own two points gained sees them still five points shy of a possible slot in the top four, and a massive 17 adrift of the unrelenting Lions now.

Also to chew on in the respective dressing rooms as the dust settled at Free State Stadium was that both teams have stiff fixtures next week: the Cheetahs entertain the third-placed Sharks in what is always a needle affair, while the Bulls host Province in the time-honoured north versus south slugfest.

Something for the Bulls to take heart from was that they showed enough ticker to get out of the proverbial jailhouse on Saturday: they had been an ominous 19-9 down with around half an hour to go and still making maddening basic errors or falling foul of referee Marius Jonker at the breakdown (their old bugbear) to impede their rhythm.
So not going home empty-handed was a decent enough outcome, coupled with the fact that a victory over WP at Loftus would enormously revitalize their quest for to reach the knockout phase.
That is because the Bulls’ ordinary-season run-in is more favourable on paper than most: while the Lions away remains a potentially nasty hurdle for them, they end their programme with matches against the Pumas, Griquas and Leopards respectively.

“Crisis”, then, can be a relative concept, and also a surprisingly short-lived one in sport.

Back on the Bloemfontein scrap, perhaps the most tormented individual afterwards would have been the Cheetahs’ Baby Bok flyhalf Johan Goosen, who had seemed a slightly surprising retention ahead of Sias Ebersohn -- but enormously justified Drotske’s faith in him on the day.

Apart from kicking flawlessly off the tee and rightly earning some “new De Wet Ras?” suggestions from veteran commentator Hugh Bladen as the youthful customer nonchalantly banged over one from 61 metres, Goosen was also responsible for the beautiful, clean break that led to the Cheetahs’ only try for substitute second-rower Wilhelm Steenkamp.

But this game was so infested with a “mixed fortunes” characteristic that it couldn’t have come as too much of a surprise that the man of the match was reluctantly forced from the field with cramp in the final quarter … when the Bulls’ rearguard action clicked into place.

Next week’s fixtures:
Friday: Leopards v Lions, Potchefstroom
Saturday: Cheetahs v Sharks, Bloemfontein; Griquas v Pumas, Kimberley; Blue Bulls v Western Province, Pretoria.
 
We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred
Who we choose to trust can have a profound impact on our lives. Join thousands of devoted South Africans who look to News24 to bring them news they can trust every day. As we celebrate 25 years, become a News24 subscriber as we strive to keep you informed, inspired and empowered.
Join News24 today
heading
description
username
Show Comments ()
Voting Booth
Should Siya Kolisi keep the captaincy as the Springboks build towards their World Cup title defence in 2027?
Please select an option Oops! Something went wrong, please try again later.
Results
Yes! Siya will only be 36 at the next World Cup. He can make it!
26% - 1223 votes
No! I think the smart thing to do is start again with a younger skipper ...
30% - 1419 votes
I'd keep Siya captain for now, but look to have someone else for 2027.
45% - 2152 votes
Vote
Editorial feedback and complaints

Contact the public editor with feedback for our journalists, complaints, queries or suggestions about articles on News24.

LEARN MORE