Blue Bulls claim top spot

Welkom - The Blue Bulls have moved to the top of the log in the Northern Section of the Vodacom Cup after beating the Griffons 49-10 in the two sides encounter in the North West stadium on Friday evening.

The Bulls, who are out in front pending the Pumas game against the Leopards XV on Saturday, enjoyed a steady lead of 25-10 at halftime and snubbed the hosts of any points in the second half to not only beat the Welkom based side comprehensively, but also earning a bonus point for four or more tries in the process.

The Griffons took the early lead via the kicking boot of Franna du Toit, with his Bulls counterpart Tian Schoeman answering in kind shortly thereafter. The hosts looked good on the attack and a try by winger Vuyo Mboto in the 18th minute and a conversion by Du Toit helped the Griffons to a seven point lead.

But it would be the last time the Purple People Eaters would bother the scorers, with the Bulls taking control of the game from there on. Tight head prop Hencus van Wyk went on to score the visitors first try of the evening, before full back Clayton Blommetjies himself scored a fine try.

Bulls winger Sampie Mastriet also came into some points before halftime, with Schoeman kicking some good conversions and a penalty three minutes from the break to give the Bulls a deserving lead of 25-10 at the break.

Replacement winger Ryan Nell and Blommetjies scored in the first ten minutes after the break to put the game beyond the Griffons reach. The following 20 minutes thereafter both sides attacked at will, with the Griffons not finding a single gap and the Bulls seemingly happy to defend their lead.

The final ten minutes before fulltime the Bulls showed that they still had some grunt left with prop Van Wyk earning his second five pointer of the evening before Bulls centre Burger Odendaal rouned of a well deserved five pointer to put the Griffons to the sword.

Scorers:

Blue Bulls 49 (25): Tries: Hencus van Wyk (2), Clayton Blommetjies (2), Sampie Mastriet, Burger Odendaal, Ryan Nell. Conversions: Tian Schoeman (3), Joshua Stander. Penalties: Tian Schoeman (2).

Griffons 10 (10): Try: Vuyo Mboto. Conversion: Franna du Toit. Penalty: Franna du Toit.