Share

Blue Bulls outwit Griquas in Kimberley

Kimberley - The Blue Bulls scored six tries in 46-32 win over Griquas in Kimberley on Saturday. The bonus point win mean that the Blue Bulls stay top of the Absa Currie Cup log. 

The Blue Bulls held on to their unbeaten status when they blew the Griquas away 46-32 in a hard fought Absa Currie Cup match at Griqua Park in Kimberley on Saturday, reports Rugby Week.

The Pretoria-based side scored six tries after a slow start to the match while their hosts had one less try to show for their efforts in front of their home crowd.

Accuracy kicking at goal proved to be a very decisive factor in the match and on that front young Tian Schoeman enjoyed a stellar afternoon in the Northern Cape.

Quick out of the blocks, the home side looked to assert their authority on the opening exchanges and their unforgiving approach was rewarded in the third minute of the match when wing Ntabeni Dukisa knocked over a penalty to give his side a three-point lead.

The Blue Bulls were equally impressive in their first real run of the afternoon, but conceded a turnover deep inside Griquas territory and were chased back thanks to a smart kick by Francois Brummer.

Brummer followed-up and ensured that an isolated Lappies Labuschagne received yellow carded in the seventh minute after the Blue Bulls captain desperately tried to stop the opposition from getting another turnover.

Griquas capitalised on the one-man advantage and after a few quick phases Dukisa scored the first try of the match.

The winger was unable to convert due to a blistering headwind, which meant that his side's lead was kept down to just eight points.

Dukisa had to watch as another shot of goal was blown away by the wind, but would extend his team's lead to 11 points in the 16th minute when he knocked over a penalty that was awarded closer to the target.

It took the Blue Bulls 20-minutes to get on the board through Tian Schoeman who slotted a penalty.

Schoeman had a chance to pull back three more points in the 27th minute but his shot hit the uprights.

The Blue Bulls flyhalf made up for the missed opportunity minutes later by producing a neatly-timed pass that would see Travis Ismaiel score his team’s first five-pointer in the 28th minute (11-10).

From there the floodgates opened.

First wing Jamba Ulengo put his side ahead on the half-hour mark when he outsprinted the Griquas cover defence where after centre Dries Swanepoel completed a good passage of play between forwards and backs further stretch the lead (24-11).

Swanepoel would score the bonus point try a minute before half-time and with Schoeman making no mistake with the conversion the men from Pretoria enjoyed a 29-11 lead at the break.

In similar fashion to the first-half, Griquas were again impressive during the opening exchanges and replacement Carel Greeff would eventually stretch over to make it 31-18 with 30 minutes remaining in the game.

The Griquas scrum was particularly impressive throughout the contest.

The Blue Bulls replied with a penalty by Schoeman, but Griquas scored the next try of the match when hooker AJ le Roux barged over.

A stand-out feature of the Bulls during the opening round of this year’s Currie Cup has been their accuracy on attack and Ulengo nullified Le Roux’s try just within minutes of the returning kick-off (41-25).

Riaan Viljoen ensured for an interesting finish to the match when he gave his team some hope with a try in the 71stminute, but by that stage the Blue Bulls were an unstoppable force.

The visitors would have the final say when replacement Louis Fouche scored two minutes from full-time to ensure that the Blue Bulls would join the Lions at the top of the log standings.

Scorers:

Griquas:
Tries: Dukisa, Greeff, Le Roux, Viljoen
Cons: Dukisa, Swart 2
Pens: Dukisa 2

Blue Bulls:
Tries: Ismaiel, Ulengo 2, Swanepoel 2, Fouche
Cons: Schoeman 5
Pens: Schoeman 2

Teams:

Griquas

15 Riaan Viljoen, 14 Sandile Ngcobo, 13 Michael van der Spuy, 12 Clinton Swart, 11 Ntabeni Dukisa, 10 Francois Brummer, 9 Tian Meyer (captain), 8 RJ Liebenberg, 7 Jonathan Adendorf, 6 Johan Wessels, 5 Hugo Kloppers, 4 Jaco Nepgen, 3 Ewald van der Westhuizen, 2 AJ le Roux, 1 Steph Roberts

Substitutes: 16 Martin Bezuidenhout, 17 Luxolo Koza, 18 Hilton Lobberts, 19 Carel Greeff, 20 Rudi van Rooyen, 21 Jonathan Francke, 22 Ruhan Nel

Blue Bulls

15 Warrick Gelant, 14 Travis Ismaiel, 13 Dries Swanepoel, 12 Burger Odendaal, 11 Jamba Ulengo, 10 Tian Schoeman, 9 Ivan van Zyl, 8 Arno Botha, 7 Jannes Kirsten, 6 Lappies Labuschagne (captain), 5 Marvin Orie, 4 Jacques du Plessis, 3 Werner Kruger, 2 Bandise Maku, 1 Dean Greyling

Substitutes: 16 Corniel Els, 17 Dayan van der Westhuizen, 18 RG Snyman, 19 Nick de Jager, 20 Andre Warner, 21 Louis Fouche, 22 Dan Kriel

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% - 1273 votes
No! I think the smart thing to do is start again with a younger skipper ...
29% - 1470 votes
I'd keep Siya captain for now, but look to have someone else for 2027.
45% - 2249 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