In Bloemfontein the Vodacom Blue Bulls opted to hunt tries throughout the match against the Toyota Free State Cheetahs to achieve the tough task of defeating the hosts with a bonus point and by eight points or more, while denying the Cheetahs a bonus point to keep alive their hopes of a semifinal berth. Such was their determination to achieve this they turned down several shots at goal and attacked instead, but the tenacious Cheetahs’ defence combined with a bunch of handling errors and turnovers by the visitors dashed their hopes of a victory. Cheetahs flyhalf Elgar Watts was particularly impressive as he created the first try by Robert Ebersohn and then kicked a penalty to hand his team a 10-0 lead. The Blue Bulls, however, fought their way back into the match with a try by prop Marcel van der Merwe shortly before half time.
Unfortunately for the visitors they were unable to build on this in the second half as the pressure got to the players, resulting in a comedy of errors, which left the team scoreless after the break. The Cheetahs, meanwhile, made the most of their attacking chances, with Watts scoring a stunning try after gathering an attempted chip by the Blue Bulls, while Springbok hooker Adriaan Strauss sprinted to the tryline to touch down for his team’s third try. This despite the Cheetahs’ being reduced to 14 men in the 73rd minute after replacement prop Schalk van der Merwe received a red card for a dangerous tackle on opposition fullback Jurgen Visser.
Scorers:
- Toyota Free State Cheetahs 22 (10) – Tries: Adriaan Strauss, Elgar Watts, Robert Ebersohn. Conversions: Watts (2). Penalty: Watts.
- Vodacom Blue Bulls 7 (7) – Try: Marcel van der Merwe. Conversion: Handr? Pollard.
Absa Currie Cup Premier Division log:
- Western Province – 37
- Sharks – 33
- FS Cheetahs – 26
- Golden Lions – 26
- Blue Bulls – 17
- Griquas – 11
Mxolisi Nxasana promises new dawn for NPA