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By Ashfak Mohamed 
16h ago
CAPE TOWN – It’s not often that a bunch of Bulls with five Springboks get pushed around, but that’s exactly what happened in Bloemfontein on Friday night when the Cheetahs scored a well-deserved 19-17 Unlocked Super Rugby win.
The pregame talk was about the return of Bulls captain Duane Vermeulen from an injury that was supposed to bring a tough lead to the forwards, but never happened for Jake White’s team at Free State Stadium.
However, that’s a bit of an unfair reflection of the Cheetahs, who earned the win the hard way. The Hawies Fourie charges are eternally known as a team that runs the ball from everywhere and has little appetite for defense and tough stuff.
But on Friday night, they rolled up their sleeves and took the fight to their most illustrious opponents, and they won the battle fairly. He showed greater hunger in the race for possession, winning the games and not allowing the Bulls to gain any foothold in the physical matches.
Big number 8 Jasper Wiese, flanks Junior Pokomela and Andisa Ntsila, as well as blocking Carl Wegner led the Cheetahs’ assault as they dropped players like Vermeulen, Trevor Nyakane and Marco van Staden.
Hooker Reinach Venter set the tone in the first minute when he claimed a ruck loss from a blowout from Nyakane, and the visitors’ task became more difficult after five minutes when defender Gio Aplon, who had just overtaken a pair of defenders, left the field. with a knee injury after being tackled by rival Clayton Blommetjies.
Just when the Bulls seemed to put together some phases with the ball in hand, a mistake crept in and they lost possession or conceded a penalty.
The home team also lost a vital cog in their set-up when captain Ruan Pienaar also came away with a knee injury, but around the same 15th minute, high-ranking midfielder Tian Schoeman put his team 3-0 up with a penalty.
Morné Steyn managed to level the score in the 23rd minute, but the Cheetahs finally found their attacking rhythm soon after. A well-crafted move saw right wing Malcolm Jaer create the overlap on the left, and Rosko Specman stepped forward to increase the lead to 10-3.
Schoeman scored a second penalty for a 10-point lead at halftime, and it seemed like a long way back for Pretoria’s men.
It’s physical out there 😳 We enter the sheds 10 points less, we expect a great second half from the boys 💪![CDATA[]]> 🔥 #BullsFamily#BULvCHE
Vodacom #SuperRugbyUnlocked pic.twitter.com/P0ijrHKQCc– Official Blue Bulls (@BlueBullsRugby) October 16, 2020
The Cheetahs’ backs rallied in the second half, with Blommetjies, Frans Steyn and Jaer keeping the defense guessing, while Schoeman turned the pressure on points with three more penalties to make it 19-6 with 20 minutes to go.
The Bulls worked hard to get back into the game, with Steyn and replacement running back Chris Smith knocking down two 3s and a thrilling 10-minute finish at 19-12.
The Bulls made camp inside the Cheetahs 22 in the dying moments, and from a five-meter lineout, rookie hooker Joe van Zyl came off a maul, but Smith couldn’t connect the conversion at an angle for the tie.
Final whistle!
Toyota Cheetahs 19 – Vodacom Bulls 17@ToyotaSA #CHEvBUL
Vodacom #VodacomSuperRugbyUnlocked@VodacomRugga– Toyota Cheetahs (@CheetahsRugby) October 16, 2020
The Cheetahs had done the hard work, and they held on to a worthy win, while White will have to mull over an unconvincing performance for the second time in a row.
Point scorers
Cheetahs 19 – Test: Rosko Specman. Conversion: Tian Schoeman (1). Penalties: Schoeman (4).
Bulls 17 – Test: Joe van Zyl. Penalties: Morné Steyn (3), Chris Smith (1).
@AshfakMohamed
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