Free State Cheetahs (3) 34
Tries: Olivier, Jasper, Hartzenberg, Wegner, Paulo; Conversions: Wentzel (2), Fortuin; Penalty: Wentzel
Bulls (10) 34
Tries: Carr, Burger, Dyantyi (2); Conversion: Van der Walt (3), Chamberlain (2); Penalty: Van der Walt
The Free State Cheetahs and Bulls shared the spoils in a cracking Currie Cup encounter in Bloemfontein last night.
Despite the 34-34 result, both sides will be pleased with their performances – the Cheetahs for fighting back after being 21 points down; and the Bulls for remaining undefeated in the tournament. The Bulls, however, will still rue the fact that they let slip a first victory at Free State Stadium since 2018.
Both teams collected three points, which ensures the Bulls will remain top of the standings for the weekend, regardless of the results to follow today and tomorrow.
Bulls skipper Nizaam Carr opened the scoring after a high-paced first 10 minutes, but it was perhaps an indictment of the frantic arm-wrestle, that the next two scoring opportunities came off well-slotted penalties from Bulls flyhalf Jaco van der Walt and counterpart Ethan Wentzel nearly 20 minutes later.
Both sides struggled to round off their chances during the first 40, but it was arguably the hosts that were more guilty of not taking their opportunities.
The Bulls seemed to absorb their half-time talk with immediate effect. Quick-fire tries from Zak Burger and Aphiwe Dyantyi sped them towards an impressive 24-3 lead.
That, however, stung the Cheetahs into action as they scored two tries from exhilarating attacking moves, first through Friedle Olivier and then Cohen Jasper. Munier Hartzenberg was rewarded for a breathless display to score the hosts’ third try in six minutes and close down the Bulls lead to 24-22 with 20 minutes to play.
Carl Wegner completed the turnaround in the 63rd minute, the Cheetahs battering their way over the whitewash. Although Dyantyi would complete his brace, for a 31-27 lead, a powerful maul moments later swung the encounter back into the Cheetahs’ favour as hooker Vernon Paulo crashed over for their fifth try.
Replacement Bulls No 10 Boeta Chamberlain would level the scores in the 78th minute, Carr and Co eventually opting for the draw.
A significant development during the clash saw the return of Springbok utility-back Canan Moodie. The 21-year-old made a handful of runs in 60 minutes of play, including a line-break and try-assist for Burger.
The Cup, meanwhile, continues today with the Sharks travelling to Nelspruit to face the the Pumas (kick-off 3pm), followed by the Griffons hosting the Western Province at 5pm.
After a rocky start to the tournament, the Durbanites registered their first victory last weekend against the Lions in Johannesburg. Coach JP Pietersen credited a calmer approach and focus on getting the small details correct for the victory. The former Springbok has the luxury of selecting a nearly unchanged team against the Pumas.
“It’s good to have a bit of continuity this weekend,” said Pietersen yesterday.
“As a coach and as a team, you can always prepare better. Fortunately for us, we didn’t have a lot of injuries against the Lions and that did help us a lot with prep going into this weekend.”
“I don’t think there is pressure on this group,” he continued.
“They can express themselves and can grow. We can all agree that we can be better in our performances as a collective. There is definitely work where we can improve going into the Pumas game. We found a nice balance in the Lions game and the next question is, can the guys get some consistency?”
Much like the Sharks, the WP are also looking for their second victory. They return to Cape Town Stadium today to host the Purple People Eaters, who remain winless and rooted to the foot of the standings.
Elsewhere, the Lions will look to bounce back against Griquas in Kimberley tomorrow after a poor display at Emirates Airline Park against the Sharks. Mzwakhe Nkosi has made five changes to the side that lost to the Sharks.
“We are looking forward to making amends for our performance and result from last week and hopefully get back to winning ways,” said the coach, via a statement yesterday.
“It’s important that we put in a quality performance to obtain a good result. We were thorough in our review and were able to point out aspects of our game that let us down.”
That match is on tomorrow, with kick-off scheduled at 3pm.