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Brenden Nel - SuperSport
Bloemfontein - It may have been another Lazarus act, but the Vodacom Bulls returned from the dead to storm back and beat the Toyota Cheetahs 25-23 in a nailbiting game at the Free State Stadium on Friday night.
After a mammoth performance both on attack and defence for the home side, they couldn’t sustain a 23-8 lead over the defending Vodacom Super Rugby champions, and eventually ran out of steam to a Bulls side that looked fitter and stronger at the end.
Coaches often talk about benches winning games, and for the Bulls this was particularly so, as sterling performances late in the game by Danie Rossouw in particular, supported by Flip van der Merwe and Derick Kuün tilted momentum in their favour and allowed their big name players to make a difference.
Those performances, along with some magic by their talisman Fourie du Preez, captain Victor Matfield and others, was enough to eventually squeeze back a lead against a brave Cheetahs side that came close but will be kicking themselves for the loss.
That they lost winger Phillip Burger to injury before the kickoff, and then lost inspirational captain Juan Smith early on and Frans Viljoen shortly afterwards, should have been their downfall.
Instead, the men from Bloemfontein rallied around the team, tackling like demons and forcing the Bulls backwards into mistakes with their aggression.
Ashley Johnson, as a substitute, stood head and shoulders above the rest, while Kabamba Floors tackled way above his weight limit.
Robert Ebersohn and Andries Strauss both were way above average and Waltie Vermeulen and Wilhelm Steenkamp showed their class in defence.
The Cheetahs though will rue the missed kicks by Naas Olivier, who missed 12 points at goal, as the difference between victory and defeat on a night when the margin of error was so close.
For the Bulls, their Lazarus performance will give them a lot of confidence, and will probably remind us that the difference between success and failure is a thin line. But it is a line that good sides know how to end up on the right side of and inevitably do.
With two away games behind them, and two victories in their pocket, it is easy to see why they are the defending champions.
There are also weaknesses though, and the Bulls have shown more than enough of them in the last two weeks to make one wonder how long they can sustain their own high standards.
Still its early days, and the Bulls were under the kosh from the start, much in the same way they conceded tries in the opening minute in the Currie Cup and Super 14 games last year against the same opposition.
This time though, they only conceded a penalty, but it was enough to signal the Cheetahs intent in a mammoth performance that will certainly make others stand up and take notice.
The Bulls hit back shortly afterwards, this time with an unconventional Bakkies Botha looming large on the wing to go over in the corner and give them their first points of the game.
For a while it seemed that the Cheetahs would lapse back into defence, but a telling few Bulls mistakes and they were back on attack, well rewarded when Strauss ghosted through a poor tackle by Bjorn Basson to score a great try and bring matters level.
Olivier grabbed a penalty before the break to put the Cheetahs ahead 11-8. But it was the second half that turned the game in the Cheetahs favour, as they came out of the changeroom storming, and scored twice to book a place on the way to victory.
First Robert Ebersohn twisted out of a tackle, and went over to extend the lead, and then Johnson burrowed over for a tv ref try, putting the home side 23-8 to the good and looking a decent bet for the victory.
But as many a team will tell, it takes more than this to beat the defending champions. After bating Steenkamp into a yellow card for repeated infringements, the Bulls took their time and applied their brand of slow poison.
It was telling that on the hour mark, as referee Craig Joubert sought a break in play, there were six Cheetahs players down with exhaustion, while the Bulls looked fresh and hungry to continue.
And so they did. With Fourie du Preez in command, and the forwards marshalling with the pick and go, it was just a matter of time before the dam wall would break.
It broke in pieces when Danie Rossouw went over, with the help of Kuün to score a try confirmed by the television referee.
Back in touch but still two scores adrift, the Bulls forwards shifted a gear, demolishing the Cheetahs scrum and letting Morne Steyn bring them within a try of the result.
Then, as the Cheetahs tried to get back on top, the big hand of Victor Matfield crept inbetween Ashley Johnson’s pass to Rayno Benjamin to prevent a try. Football followers may talk of Maradona’s “Hand of God” but Matfield’s paw was certainly a decider in this game.
Du Preez is a master on attack, and after marshalling 10 phases of attack, he sent Flip van der Merwe hurtling towards the defence, and then received the perfect pop pass back to dive over and put the Bulls level.
Steyn held his nerve with the conversion and the Bulls held theirs from the kickoff to ensure a victory, but one which will have come with a sigh of relief.
The Bulls will head to Pretoria knowing they came out of a dogfight and survived, but the Cheetahs will, like the Lions before them, continue to ponder what could have been.
Scorers
Cheetahs 23 – Try: A.Strauss, A. Johnson, R.Ebersohm; Conversions: N.Olivier, Penalties: N.Olivier (2).
Bulls 25 – Tries: J.Botha, FDu Preez, D.Rossouw; Conversion: M.Steyn (2); Penalties: M.Steyn (2).
Bloemfontein - It may have been another Lazarus act, but the Vodacom Bulls returned from the dead to storm back and beat the Toyota Cheetahs 25-23 in a nailbiting game at the Free State Stadium on Friday night.
After a mammoth performance both on attack and defence for the home side, they couldn’t sustain a 23-8 lead over the defending Vodacom Super Rugby champions, and eventually ran out of steam to a Bulls side that looked fitter and stronger at the end.
Coaches often talk about benches winning games, and for the Bulls this was particularly so, as sterling performances late in the game by Danie Rossouw in particular, supported by Flip van der Merwe and Derick Kuün tilted momentum in their favour and allowed their big name players to make a difference.
Those performances, along with some magic by their talisman Fourie du Preez, captain Victor Matfield and others, was enough to eventually squeeze back a lead against a brave Cheetahs side that came close but will be kicking themselves for the loss.
That they lost winger Phillip Burger to injury before the kickoff, and then lost inspirational captain Juan Smith early on and Frans Viljoen shortly afterwards, should have been their downfall.
Instead, the men from Bloemfontein rallied around the team, tackling like demons and forcing the Bulls backwards into mistakes with their aggression.
Ashley Johnson, as a substitute, stood head and shoulders above the rest, while Kabamba Floors tackled way above his weight limit.
Robert Ebersohn and Andries Strauss both were way above average and Waltie Vermeulen and Wilhelm Steenkamp showed their class in defence.
The Cheetahs though will rue the missed kicks by Naas Olivier, who missed 12 points at goal, as the difference between victory and defeat on a night when the margin of error was so close.
For the Bulls, their Lazarus performance will give them a lot of confidence, and will probably remind us that the difference between success and failure is a thin line. But it is a line that good sides know how to end up on the right side of and inevitably do.
With two away games behind them, and two victories in their pocket, it is easy to see why they are the defending champions.
There are also weaknesses though, and the Bulls have shown more than enough of them in the last two weeks to make one wonder how long they can sustain their own high standards.
Still its early days, and the Bulls were under the kosh from the start, much in the same way they conceded tries in the opening minute in the Currie Cup and Super 14 games last year against the same opposition.
This time though, they only conceded a penalty, but it was enough to signal the Cheetahs intent in a mammoth performance that will certainly make others stand up and take notice.
The Bulls hit back shortly afterwards, this time with an unconventional Bakkies Botha looming large on the wing to go over in the corner and give them their first points of the game.
For a while it seemed that the Cheetahs would lapse back into defence, but a telling few Bulls mistakes and they were back on attack, well rewarded when Strauss ghosted through a poor tackle by Bjorn Basson to score a great try and bring matters level.
Olivier grabbed a penalty before the break to put the Cheetahs ahead 11-8. But it was the second half that turned the game in the Cheetahs favour, as they came out of the changeroom storming, and scored twice to book a place on the way to victory.
First Robert Ebersohn twisted out of a tackle, and went over to extend the lead, and then Johnson burrowed over for a tv ref try, putting the home side 23-8 to the good and looking a decent bet for the victory.
But as many a team will tell, it takes more than this to beat the defending champions. After bating Steenkamp into a yellow card for repeated infringements, the Bulls took their time and applied their brand of slow poison.
It was telling that on the hour mark, as referee Craig Joubert sought a break in play, there were six Cheetahs players down with exhaustion, while the Bulls looked fresh and hungry to continue.
And so they did. With Fourie du Preez in command, and the forwards marshalling with the pick and go, it was just a matter of time before the dam wall would break.
It broke in pieces when Danie Rossouw went over, with the help of Kuün to score a try confirmed by the television referee.
Back in touch but still two scores adrift, the Bulls forwards shifted a gear, demolishing the Cheetahs scrum and letting Morne Steyn bring them within a try of the result.
Then, as the Cheetahs tried to get back on top, the big hand of Victor Matfield crept inbetween Ashley Johnson’s pass to Rayno Benjamin to prevent a try. Football followers may talk of Maradona’s “Hand of God” but Matfield’s paw was certainly a decider in this game.
Du Preez is a master on attack, and after marshalling 10 phases of attack, he sent Flip van der Merwe hurtling towards the defence, and then received the perfect pop pass back to dive over and put the Bulls level.
Steyn held his nerve with the conversion and the Bulls held theirs from the kickoff to ensure a victory, but one which will have come with a sigh of relief.
The Bulls will head to Pretoria knowing they came out of a dogfight and survived, but the Cheetahs will, like the Lions before them, continue to ponder what could have been.
Scorers
Cheetahs 23 – Try: A.Strauss, A. Johnson, R.Ebersohm; Conversions: N.Olivier, Penalties: N.Olivier (2).
Bulls 25 – Tries: J.Botha, FDu Preez, D.Rossouw; Conversion: M.Steyn (2); Penalties: M.Steyn (2).
