The Bulls had to rely heavily on resolute defence to keep the Cheetahs away from their  goal line for the biggest part of the SuperRugby contest at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria on Saturday night.

Eventually the Bulls won this tough but unattractive game by 23-18.

From quite early in the match, it was clear that the Bulls were intent on taking the Cheetahs on with their forwards and that the outcome of this game would be decided up front.

They did put the Cheetahs under pressure from the beginning by forward driving play from anywhere in the visitors’ area.

However, with Lood de Jager and Free State’s loose trio at the forefront, the men from Bloemfontein fought back. The Cheetahs were especially resilient at the breakdown.

The Bulls nevertheless managed to cross the goal line twice with driving malls and their two young locks each had an opportunity to finish. First RG Snyman fell over and midway in the first half Jason Jenkins was the last man to stand up with the ball in his hands.

When Jamba Ulengo finished an exciting movement of the Bulls for their third try, one got  the idea that the home team had taken control of the match.

However, a very good try by Sergeal Petersen brought the Cheetahs back into the picture and at halftime the score was 20-10 in the favour of the Bulls.

The Cheetahs’ management team has clearly done their homework. After halftime, the Free State boys changed their game plan by accelerating the pace of the game. The longer the match progressed, the more difficult it became for the Bulls’ forwards to keep up.

The home team’s players increasingly struggled to build momentum, as they had to play second fiddle in a few aspects, especially in the scrums.

The Cheetahs used the scrums as an attacking platform and started throwing the ball around.

After halftime, only brilliant defence saved the day for the Bulls.

The Cheetahs never stopped attacking. With their tight forwards getting the upper hand and an abundance of possession, the men from Bloem could change things around and they were suddenly in the attacking role.

When Cheetahs hooker Torsten van Jaarsveld finished off after a driving maul, the gap in the scores began narrowing and the pressure on the Bulls increased.

Adriaan Strauss and his men, however, must be given credit for the way they kept the Cheetahs off the goal line. They managed to push through and thanks to two late missed kicks by Cheetahs fly half Niel Marais, the Bulls remained leaders on the scoreboard.

That said, the Bulls’ kicker Tian Schoeman himself missed a few times with his goal kicking.

Bulls: 23 Tries: RG Snyman, Jason Jenkins, Jamba Ulengo. Conversions:

Tian Schoeman (1). Penalties: Tian Schoeman (2).

Cheetahs: 18 Tries: Sergeal Petersen, Torsten van Jaarsveld.

Conversions: Niel Marais (1). Penalties: Niel Marais (2).

Yellow Card: Paul Schoeman