Bulls beat stubborn EP Kings at Loftus Versfeld
After the Bulls on Friday initially got a fright from a relentless attack by the EP Kings, they later done enough to easily beat the team from the Eastern Cape.
The Blue Bulls are back on the winning track in the Currie Cup, but they had to work hard to eventually beat the beleaguered team from the EP Kings 49-35 on Friday night.
The men from the Eastern Cape started the game like a house on fire and before the Blue Bulls could realise what hit them, the EP Kings had scored two tries in only four minutes.
First up was hooker Mike Willemse, who got the ball in a move to the blind side after the very first kick-off and all he had to do was drop his shoulders and burst through to score.
Three minutes later, the Blue Bulls tried to catch up but a thoughtless pass by Tian Schoeman in the midfield was intercepted by EP Kings centre Burton Klaasen, who ran through to score under the posts.
The Blue Bulls only found their rhythm midway through the first half, and after a spate of attacks near the goal line Schoeman found a gap to go over.
A few minutes later, the Blue Bulls scored what could be described as the try of the match. It started in the Bulls’ own 22m area and after the ball was handled by the whole backline, Jamba Ulengo finished off the try.
This try gave the Blue Bulls a lot of confidence and while the EP Kings had to settle for two penalties by Kobus Marais in the next 10 minutes, the men in light blue scored another two tries.
Jannes Kirsten’s try was almost similar to Ulengo’s. Piet van Zyl attacked on the blind side of a ruck and Burger Odendaal ran almost 30m when he went through the gap. His pass landed on the ground but Kirsten was there to pick it up and he jogged through.
Bjorn Basson exploited a bad kick by one of the EP Kings’ backline players to score the bonus point try for the home team and, after half an hour’s play, the Blue Bulls looked to be in control of affairs.
Bad defence by the Blue Bulls however, gave the EP Kings the opportunity to score again just before half-time when fullback Johan Tromp went over in the corner. This try brought the half-time score to 28-25 in favour of the home team.
Photo: Blue Bulls
It was expected that the Blue Bulls’ form had to improve in the second half, but their opponents did not allow them to take control again for a long time.
After half an hour of tough play, it was the EP Kings that scored first in the second half via a very good try by Siviwe Soyizwapi.
The Bulls accelerated the pace slightly and tries by Odendaal and Ulengo gave them a nice lead.
However, the Nelson Mandela Bay boys were not ready to surrender. They fought back and with 10 minutes to go reserve hooker Martin Bezuidenhout scored their fifth try.
Unfortunately for the EP Kings team, the Blue Bulls immediately took control again and answered with a try of their own by Josh Stander.
SCORERS:
BLUE BULLS: 49. Tries: Tian Schoeman, Jamba Ulengo (2), Jannes Kirsten, Bjorn Basson, Burger Odendaal, Josh Stander. Conversions: Tian Schoeman (6).
EP Kings: 35. Tries: Mike Willemse, Burton Klaasen, Johan Tromp, Siviwe Soyizwapi, Martin Bezuidenhout. Conversions: Kobus Marais (2). Penalties: Kobus Marais (2).
TEAMS:
Blue Bulls: 15 Duncan Matthews, 14 Jamba Ulengo, 13 Burger Odendaal, 12 Dan Kriel, 11 Bjorn Basson, 10 Tian Schoeman, 9 Piet van Zyl, 8 Arno Botha (captain), 7 Jannes Kirsten, 6 Ruan Steenkamp, 5 Marvin Orie, 4 Rudolph Snyman, 3 Entienne Swanepoel, 2 Jaco Visagie, 1 Lizo Gqoboka.
Replacements: 16 Edgar Marutlulle, 17 Pierre Schoeman, 18 Jacobie Adriaanse, 19 Irne Herbst, 20 Hanro Liebenberg, 21 Andre Warner, 22 Joshua Stander.
Eastern Province Kings: 15 Johan Tromp, 14 Siviwe Soyizwapi, 13 Burton Klaasen, 12 Waylon Murray, 11 Sampie Mastriet, 10 Kobus Marais, 9 Ricky Schroeder (captain), 8 Christiaan de Bruin, 7 Sebastian Ferreira, 6 Vince Jobo, 5 David Antonites, 4 Tazz Fuzani, 3 Vukile Sofisa, 2 Mike Willemse, 1 Justin Forwood.
Replacements: 16 Martin Bezuidenhout, 17 Barend Potgieter, 18 Ettienne Oosthuizen, 19 Luke van der Smit, 20 Jacques Fick, 21 Minenhle Mthethwa, 22 Lungelo Goza.
Referee: Rasta Rasivhenge
Assistant referees: Lourens van der Merwe, Ruhan Meiring
TMO: Johan Greeff
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