Bulls power past Griquas in Kimberley

The Vodacom Bulls downed the Windhoek Draught Griquas 40-20 in Kimberley on Saturday afternoon to keep their faint Currie Cup playoff hopes alive.

The match's opening score came out of nowhere as Bulls scrumhalf Embrose Papier gathered a loose ball and burst clear without a defender in sight. He then breezed past wing Rosko Specman to dot down in the eighth minute.

Flyhalf Chris Smith knocked over the conversion as the Bulls laid down a marker for the contest.

The home team got on the board courtesy of a penalty from the boot of Lubabalo Dobela in the 14th minute. There was precious little action on either try line until the last 10 minutes of the half.

The visitors asserted themselves through a try from Johan Grobbelaar in the 30th minute before eighthman Elrigh Louw scored as the half reached its conclusion with the Bulls 19-3 in front.

The second half was a blistering affair with both defences slipping tackles leading to a treat for the crowd in attendance.

COMMANDING LEAD

First centre Harold Vorster burst clear which set up Grobbelaar to get his second of the day.

Griquas scrumhalf Johan Mulder poached an intercept try in the 44th minute to get the home team up and running.

TheBulls soared into a commanding lead after Marco Jansen van Vuren latched onto a kick in the 56th minute. The Bulls' fifth try of the match sealed the contest as the visitors showed their depth following their involvement in the United Rugby Championship playoffs.

Smith was enjoying himself with the kicking tee as he added the extras to make it 33-8 in favour of the Bulls.

The match lost a little bit of its spark as both sides rang the changes.

Centre Jay-Cee Nel was on hand to deliver the second try for the Griquas thanks to some fine interplay from the home team. They showed their skills before Nel ghosted through to score in the 65th minute.

The gap was reduced to 13 points as Stephan Smit bundled his way over from close range with five minutes to play.

Replacement forward Simphiwe Matanzima had the final say as he barged over the line as the Bulls moved to 38 points before Smith landed his fifth conversion after the final whistle.

SCORERS

Windhoek Draught GriquasTry: Johan Mulder, Jay-Cee Nel and Stephan Smit, Conversion: Lubabalo Dobela. Penalty: Lubabalo Dobela

Vodacom BullsTries: Embrose Papier, Johan Grobbelaar (2), Elrigh Louw, Marco Jansen van Vuren and Simphiwe Matanzima. Conversions: Chris Smith (5)