CAPE TOWN – Morne Steyn rolled back the years with a masterclass in flyhalf play to steer the Bulls to a 39-6 slaughter of the Stormers at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday night.
Only an impending Pretoria thunderstorm could stop the Bulls, with referee AJ Jacobs suspending the match in the 64th minute for safety reasons due to possible lightning, and the players did not return to the pitch.
The 36-year-old former Springbok pivot Steyn pulled the strings with ball-in-hand and his boot as the Bulls ran in five tries to register their second consecutive bonus-point victory.
Director of rugby Jake White has certainly found the secret to his team’s rhythm on attack, and now they are poised to claim the Super Rugby Unlocked title.
And at the top of that pyramid is Steyn, who mixed up his tactics with aplomb to dissect a disjointed Stormers.
The rain may have cut the game short but it could never dampen that power performance! 🔥 5 tries scored and not a single try conceded 💪 What an effort, what a team 🙌#BULvSTO#BullsFamily
— Official Blue Bulls (@BlueBullsRugby) October 31, 2020
Vodacom #SuperRugbyUnlocked pic.twitter.com/z6KH7rHpTu
The Capetonians fell into the trap of kicking almost every ball downfield in the first half due to the strong wind being at their backs, and the Bulls made full use of all the possession that came their way.
The Pretoria side varied their play cleverly and engaged the Stormers with ball-in-hand, and the visitors’ porous defence made it an easy night for the hosts.
The two No 10s, Steyn and Damian Willemse, exchanged penalties to make it 6-6 after the opening quarter, but the Bulls upped the ante in the 23rd minute when a lineout drive led to hooker Johan Grobbelaar scoring the opening try.
That was the catalyst that they needed to really take on the Stormers, and soon after they dotted down for the second time. In-form scrumhalf Ivan van Zyl broke beautifully from a scrum and evaded a number of tacklers, before the ball was quickly spread to centre Stedman Gans – which also featured a Steyn back-flip – to run it in.
The Stormers made good yards by rumbling up with their forwards in the early stages, but seemed to move away from that template by kicking their possession away, and the Bulls made them pay for their charity.
Electric wing Kurt-Lee Arendse sparked their next five-pointer following a multi-phase attack as he cut the Stormers to shreds, with Gans putting Van Zyl over.
Just a few minutes later, Steyn pulled off a superb left-footed chip which he re-gathered himself before finding lock Ruan Nortje on his inside for the fourth touchdown of the night.
At 32-6 down at halftime, the Stormers needed another miracle comeback like the one against the Pumas last week, and they showed more enterprise with ball-in-hand in the second half.
But they were frustrated by a few handling errors and breakdown penalties that halted any momentum.
The game was ended as a contest with half-an-hour to go, with Steyn’s second circus trick chip ahead chased by Gans, who kept his composure to grab his second.
And when referee Jacobs took the players off the field because the storm was seven kilometres away from the stadium, the Stormers would’ve breathed a sigh of relief, as their nightmare had ended early.
Points-Scorers
Bulls 39 – Tries: Johan Grobbelaar, Stedman Gans (2), Ivan van Zyl, Ruan Nortje. Conversions: Morné Steyn (4). Penalties: Steyn (2).
Stormers 6 – Penalties: Damian Willemse (2).
IOL Sport