A massive first half blitz that saw five tries and four yellow cards was enough to secure the Vodacom Blue Bulls a comprehensive 48-23 win over their arch-rivals DHL Western Province and give the Pretoria side the perfect start to their Carling Currie Cup campaign.
The Bulls pack dominated from the first whistle and despite a bit of a resurgence in the second half from WP, had done enough damage in that first half to ensure they walked away with all five points on offer.
Phiwe Nomlomo’s side celebrated captain Nama Xaba’s birthday in style, scoring six tries to two at a venue they don’t normally dominate as much as this, and were full value for their victory.
The Vodacom Bulls claim bragging rights in the North-South Derby 🐂🔵#SSRugby | #CarlingCurrieCup pic.twitter.com/lforcsaQi7
— SuperSport Rugby (@SSRugby) July 26, 2025
PERFECT KICKING RECORD FOR BOETA
No 8 Jeandre Rudolph and scrumhalf Zak Burger both scored a brace on the evening while flyhalf Boeta Chamberlain had a perfect kicking record of eight out of eight - with six conversions and two penalties behind his name.
The Bulls pack were unmatched, especially in that first half, as players such as Joe van Zyl, World Cup-winner Marvin Orie, Sintu Manjezi and Junior Pokomela all revelled in the amount of ball they got.
Manjezi was everywhere, while captain Xaba and Pokomela formed a dominant loose trio with Rudolph to which WP had no answer for.
BIG GAME FOR MAKATA AND VAN WYK
For the home side midfielder Damian Marcus and Sevens stars Sako Makata and Shilton van Wyk caught the eye, but they were on the back foot for a long time, while young flyhalf Kyle Smith looks like one for the future.
The game started with the Bulls maul making inroads at every lineout and forcing penalties from Western Province almost at will.
Marching forward, the Bulls hammered the WP line, and it wasn’t a surprise when first Van Zyl and then Burger found a hole to score and give the Bulls an early lead.
Every time the Bulls were on top though, they made crucial mistakes that gifted WP points - both from the kickoffs after the try.
The first was a blocking call and the second was when Stedman Gans played a ball that came off Henry Immelmann while being in front of him.
Both were put away by Smith for easy kicking points.
YELLOW CARDS
Inbetween the two tries Zane Davids was yellow carded for repeated infringements and WP got a bit of luck with a sensational intercept by Van Wyk, running 60 metres to score and take his side within a point when they were so badly on the back foot.
But the Bulls simply marched on. Manjezi added his name to the scoresheet in the 16th minute before disaster struck for WP.
Both locks - Gary Porter and Alex Groves - were yellow carded within two minutes of each other for repeated infringements as referee Shaun Muller got fed up with the consistent overstepping of the laws under pressure.
BONUS POINT ON HALF HOUR
Down to 13, Province conceded again - this time Rudolph going over from close range to give the Bulls a bonus point before the half hour was up.
Bonus point try 💥
— SuperSport Rugby (@SSRugby) July 26, 2025
The Vodacom Bulls capitalise on their two-man advantage 🙌
📺 Stream #CarlingCurrieCup on DStv: https://t.co/0P0NNhnwKw pic.twitter.com/c3qkLJE5Aa
But just as the WP locks were returning, the Bulls lost a player of their own, with Chris Barend Smit getting a yellow for deliberately knocking the ball out of the scrumhalf’s hands.
Smith got three more for WP with a penalty goal from the Smit infringement but the Bulls weren’t done.
Burger got his second try with a snipe around the ruck and Boeta Chamberlain added a penalty on the halftime mark to see the Bulls lead 38-16 at the break.
The second half saw a bit of a resurgence from WP, as they tried hard to run at the Bulls with the ball they got.
A switch in the midfield caught the Bulls napping and a four on one overlap saw Courtnal Skosan score in the corner.
It's a brilliant team try for DHL Western Province 🤩
— SuperSport Rugby (@SSRugby) July 26, 2025
Skosan finishes it off 👇
📺 Stream #CarlingCurrieCup on DStv: https://t.co/0P0NNhnwKw pic.twitter.com/oKKNFhV13s
HANDLING ERRORS STOPPED WP COMEBACK
Yet despite getting more ball and some powerful runs by Marcus and Sakata, handling errors and some excellent defence by the Bulls stopped the momentum time and again.
One excellent tackle by Chamberlain from a linebreak and a steal won a penalty on the line by replacement Phillip-Albert van Niekerk, and with that killed off any hopes of a long-shot comeback by Province.
The Bulls had the last say, Rudolph placing the ball over the line from the back of a ruck from inches away to get his second and end the scorer’s night, leaving the Pretoria side to head home with a successful start to their campaign.
DHL WESTERN PROVINCE - tries: Shilton van Wyk, Courtnal Skosan. Conversions: Kyle Smith (2). Penalties: Smith (3).
VODACOM BLUE BULLS - tries: Zak Burger (2), Jeandre Rudolph (2), Sintu Manjezi, Joe van Zyl. Conversions: Boeta Chamberlain (6). Penalties: Chamberlain (2).