Bulls beat WP for the last time at Newlands and move to top spot on Currie Cup log

The Blue Bulls on Friday night (July 30) took proper revenge against Western Province for the big hiding they suffered during the first round of the Currie Cup tournament last month with a team full of club players and juniors.

Marcell Coetzee and his teammates scored a bonus point 34-13 victory over the Capetonians on Friday night.

On June 19, the Blue Bulls had to scrape together a team that could take on WP at Loftus Versfeld, as the union’s best would play in the final of the Rainbow Cup tournament in Italy that same weekend.

Friday night’s match also gained historical value in another way when it was moved from the new Cape Town Stadium to Newlands, as the test match between the Springboks and the British and Irish Lions will be played there today (Saturday). As a result of this arrangement, the players, who had already said goodbye to Newlands at the end of the previous season, could play at this famous stadium for one last time.

WP started the game on a high note when scrumhalf Paul de Wet dived over under the posts within the first minute for the first try of the game after the Blue Bulls’ defence was caught asleep.

However, it would eventually be Province’s only try of the match. They did score two penalties after that, but could not score any points in the second half.

The main reason for this is probably that WP’s chances were severely hampered when their hooker, Scarra Ntubeni, received a red card just before half-time after a dangerous high tackle on the Bulls’ scrumhalf, Zak Burger.

However, the Pretorians had already dominated the game by that time and it is doubtful whether WP could have won the match even if they could have finished with a full team.

Two minutes after WP’s surprise try at the start, the Blue Bulls opened their own account with a try by left wing Richard Kriel.

The men in Light-blue indeed dominated most aspects of the game from the start and only desperate defence by the Capetonians prevented them from crossing the goal line no more than four times.

This convincing victory means that the Blue Bulls have now, halfway through the league phase of the tournament, moved up to the top spot on the Currie Cup log.