Blue Bulls trample Cavaliers
2008-07-19 17:52
Wellington - The free-running Bulls made it four wins out of five this season to race to 18 points and, depending on the result of the final match of the weekend, between the defending champion Cheetahs and the Sharks, the men from Pretoria will at the very least occupy second spot on the log come Sunday morning.
For the Cavaliers, who lost by 40 points to the Xerox Lions in Johannesburg last week, it was their third loss in five matches and they remain rooted to the bottom of the log despite a much-improved performance in front of their home fans.
It took the Bulls just seven minutes to open the scoring, when burly centre Marius Delport crashed over after good work by his forwards, in particular tireless captain Wikus van Heerden.
Flyhalf Morne Steyn, now the Bulls' undisputed number one pivot following Derick Hougaard?s decision to join his former coach Heyneke Meyer at Leicester, added the extra points without fuss.
Delport's centre partner, Springbok World Cup-winner Wynand Olivier, then darted over with a quarter of the game gone to extend the lead to 14-0 and give the good crowd precious little to shout about.
But the Bolanders rolled up their sleeves and fought their way back into the game when Springbok Sevens playmaker Renfred Dazel, playing on the left wing for the Cavaliers, displayed his stylish footwork to bamboozle Bulls fullback Tiger Mangweni and dot down in the corner for what was the try of the game.
Fullback Justin Peach then bisected the uprights to bring up 600 Currie Cup career points and, more importantly, halve the Bulls? lead with half an hour gone.
The Bulls, however, hit back just before the break when Steyn capitalised on some poor defending to dummy his way over the line from close range and make it 19-7.
To the delight of Springbok fans everywhere, scrumhalf Fourie du Preez made his long-awaited return to the playing field after recovering from a hand injury -- and the World Cup-winning No 9 showed just why he is rated the best halfback in world rugby.
Du Preez combined crisp service with safe hands under the high ball and a probing boot and, barring any further injury, he will surely be recalled to Peter de Villiers's squad for the home leg of the Vodacom Tri-Nations.
The Bolanders, although outgunned, showed great touches in broken play, with flyhalf Elgar Watts, Dazel and his Bok Sevens partner Stefan Basson working in tandem to make the most of the ball that came their way.
The second half was barely seven minutes old when the Bulls scored their bonus-point try through wing Akona Ndungane, courtesy of a full backline movement, but their expected runaway victory failed to materialise as the home side plugged their defensive leaks and scrapped manfully for possession.
The Cavaliers pulled back to 26-10 when Peach landed a penalty and, although they dominated the final quarter, the Bolanders just could not find a way through the Bulls? thick-skinned defense to put themselves within range of a well-deserved bonus point.
Scorers:
Boland Cavaliers 10 -Try: Renfred Dazel. Conversion: Justin Peach. Penalty: Peach.
Blue Bulls 26 -Tries: Marius Delport, Wynand Olivier, Morne Steyn, Akona Ndungane. Conversions: Steyn (3).