The Bulls beat the Cheetahs 51-34 in an action packed night in Bloemfontein.
The Cheetahs made the perfect start, a great chase to the kick-off from Jongi Nokwe resulting in the Cheetahs finding space out wide for speedster Lionel Mapoe. Nevermind I thought ref Jonathan Kaplan missed a blatant knock on from Nokwe.
This is a champion Bulls side however, and there is never any panic in the ranks. It was simply get the game plan going, hold the ball through a few phases and let the points accumulate.
The first half was reasonably even in the opening exchanges, with both sides carrying the ball through the phases well and looking to go wide once they had crossed the advantage line.
The Bulls produced some great backline touches, and worked the space beautifully for Jaco Pretorius to score his first try in Super rugby for the Bulls.
Jongi Nokwe then showed his awesome acceleration from a standing start, and it was only a brilliant desperate tackle from Deon Stegmann that prevented the try. It could have been a defining moment in the match.
Morne Steyn then stepped his way beautifully through the Cheetahs defence at the other end of the field and the Bulls had started to pull ahead.
At half-time the Bulls had a handy 23-14 lead.
A penalty just after half-time brought the Cheetahs within 6 points, before the Bulls blew the Cheetahs away with 2 magic tries.
First Wynand Olivier burst through some weak tackles to put Gerhard van den Heever away down the left flank, and then Danie Rousouw produced the deftest left footed chip kick to put Zane Kirchner away for a magical try. It shows the confidence and range of skills exhibited by the Bulls forwards and is a great sign for the remainder of the season.
To the Cheetahs credit however, they came back with two tries of their own to put the Bulls under great pressure. With the gap reduced to 6 again, it was anybody’s game.
The Bulls showed why they are defending champions as their composure and execution sealed the game quite comfortably in the final quarter.
This was not after one of the most dramatic moments on a rugby field however. The lights in Bloemfontein went out, resulting in a delay and the match being completed with semi-darkness on one side of the field.
In the end a 6 try to 3 victory was quite comprehensive, and the Bulls showed they will be a major force again this year. They are the first team to pick up the 4 try bonus point, and appear to have embraced the new law interpretations.
Interestingly the Cheetahs much vaunted scrum was made to look ordinary by the Bulls who have worked hard with Balie Swart in the off-season. The signs look great for the Bulls, and I expect the Cheetahs to get better, but they may still struggle to get many wins!
Cheetahs 34
Tries: Lionel Mapoe, Jongi Nokwe, Juan Smith
Coversions: Naas Olivier (2)
Penalties: Olivier (5)
Bulls 51
Tries: Jaco Pretorius, Morne Steyn, Zane Kirchner, Gerhard van den Heever, Wynand Olivier, Penalty Try
Conversions: Morne Steyn (5), Jacques-Louis Potgieter
Penalties: Steyn (3)
