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Blue Bulls dominate Kavaliers

Saturday 19th July 2008

Kicking Bull: Star performer Morne Steyn

The Blue Bulls continued their impressive run in the Currie Cup on Saturday by easily beating the Boland Kavaliers 26-10 in Wellington to head back to Pretoria with five points.

The Blue Bulls out-scored their hosts four tries to one in clinical display to confirm their status as favourites to make the Currie Cup Final in October.

All eyes were on Springbok scrum-half Fourie du Preez who was dusting off the cobwebs after a long lay-off due to a hand injury. Facing Boland could not be considered the toughest test of his form, but his service was certainly crisp and accurate and he will head back to the capital feeling satisfied he has made the first step to winning back a place in the Springbok squad.

Boland were giving away almost 5kg per man in the scrums but managed to compete well, even winning a tighthead early on. The hosts also were looking good on attack but let themselves down with some haphazard line-out throwing and by missing a truck load of tackles.

Blue Bulls centre Marius Delport opened the scoring with a close range try to cap off sustained pressure from the visitors after eight minutes.

Delport's centre partner Wynand Olivier, who has been in rich vein of form, scored the Blue Bulls' second on the 20-minute mark with some classic running. Ever since being overlooked by the Springboks selectors Olivier has raised his game and has been the spark that has ignited the Pretoria side's back-line this year.

The blue juggernaut was gaining momentum but the Kavaliers weren't ready to lie down. Wing Renfred Dazel showed off his Sevens skills to step around Tiger Mangweni and score for the home side. Full-back Justin Peach slotted the conversion to score his 600th Currie Cup point and make the score 14-7.

The Blue Bulls would strike again before half-time though. As was the case with their first try, the blue clad back-line profited from some sloppy Kavaliers defending as Morne Steyn scored to leave the Boland mid-field rosy cheeked.

The home side mounted a sustained attack in the closing minutes of the first half but were unable to convert their possession into points and the teams headed for the sheds with the Blue Bulls leading 19-7.

Despite having had a solid game, Mangweni was replaced by Zane Kirchner at full-back for the second half and Kirchner was immediately on hand to provide the final pass to Akona Ndungane who scored the Blue Bulls bonus point try shortly after the break.

The Blue Bulls backs were showing some slick handling. That their first four tries had come from numbers 10, 12, 13 and 14 was testament to the enterprising rugby they've played this year and influence of new backs coach Pieter Rossouw.

Peach kicked a penalty for Boland to make the score 26-10 but the home side need more than just three pointers if they were to get back into the game. They must be commended however for not conceding any points while down to fourteen men when flank Henley du Plessis was in the sin bin for a dangerous tackle.

The Kavaliers got by with a little help from the TMO who denied Wikus van Heerden a try on the basis of inconclusive evidence - for the second time.

You certainly could not fault the Kavaliers for lack of effort as they had the Blue Bulls stuck in their own half for much of the second period. The visitors backed up their tries with a near seamless defensive display and shut down Boland's repeated attacks with apparent ease.

The writing is on the wall for the rest of the sides in the Currie Cup. If you want to raise the trophy, you'll have to get the better of the Blue Bulls, which be no easy task.

The scorers:

For the Blue Bulls:
Tries:Delport, Olivier, Steyn, Ndungane
Cons: Steyn 3

For Boland Kavaliers:
Try: Dazel,
Con: Peach
Pen: Peach

Yellow cards: H. du Plessis (Boland - 53rd minute - dangerous tackle), Maku (Blue Bulls - 80th minute - repeated hands in the ruck)

Blue Bulls: 15 Tiger Mangweni, 14 Akona Ndungane, 13 Marius Delport, 12 Wynand Olivier, 11 John Mametsa, 10 Morne Steyn, 9 Fourie du Preez, 8 Pedrie Wannenburg, 7 Wikus van Heerden (c), 6 Deon Stegmann, 5 Wilhelm Steenkamp, 4 Francois van Schouwenburg, 3 Rayno Gerber, 2 Derick Kun, 1 Jaco Engels.
Replacements: 16 Bandise Maku, 17 Werner Kruger, 18 Juandr Kruger, 19 Jacques Burger, 20 Francois Hougaard, 21 Burton Francis, 22 Zane Kirchner.

Boland: 15 Justin Peach, 14 Stefan Basson, 13 Piet van Zyl (c), 12 Dewey Swartbooi, 11 Renfred Dazel, 10 Elgar Watts, 9 Marnus Hugo, 8 Dries van Schalkwyk, 7 Henley du Plessis, 6 Whalied Heyns, 5 Bradley Mockford, 4 Frikkie Spies, 3 WP Nel, 2 Peter Wium, 1 Jean Botha.
Replacements: 16 Clemen Lewis, 17 Janro van Niekerk, 18 Andries Human, 19 Cecil Kemp, 20 Zolani Mofu, 21 Neil Papier, 22 Kobus Meintjies.

Referee: Pro Legoete
Touch judges: Gareth Lloyd-Jones, Linston Manuels
Television match official: Shaun Veldsman