Fresh from their big comeback victory over DHL Western Province, the Vodacom Bulls can tcontrol of the Carling Currie Cup race as they travel to Bloemfontein this Friday to face the Toyota Cheetahs.
The Bulls are now the only unbeaten side in the competition after they came back from 27-3 down at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday to complete the double against Province, after beating them in the rain in Cape Town in the opening round of the season.
The performance of the Bulls, where they dominated the first half, but found themselves 24 points down, will be a concern to coach Phiwe Nomlomo, who rallied his troops to finally take control and score 47 points to post a massive victory in a high-scoring game at the end.
They now sit three points clear at the top of the Currie Cup log and if they are able to complete the double over the Cheetahs, the Bulls will be able to start looking to the playoffs and make plans there having one foot in the semifinals already.
Given their player base and loads of experience in the competition, the Bulls have set their sights on winning the competition, and while Saturday’s victory was far from perfect, Nomlomo will be happy that his side found a way to win.
Gumede ➡️ Dyantyi ➡️ Van der Walt 🔥
— SuperSport Rugby (@SSRugby) July 27, 2024
Bulls close out a tough game against Western Province with a spectacular try 💪 #CurrieCup pic.twitter.com/jntYiN2DnS
The 25 point haul from former Scottish international Jaco van der Walt was enough to give the team the points on offer and came as part of a seven try blitz that started just before halftime. The Bulls literally rose from the dead and found a way to win.
Nomlomo said afterwards the belief was there when the side went into halftime and no halftime hairdryer treatment was needed.
“The try we scored just before halftime was the game-changer. It was very calm in the changeroom at halftime because we spoke about a couple of things we needed to get right.
“There wasn’t massive chat or hanahana , it was solution-driven and that’s all it is. We learnt a lot. There’s a lot of teams in the competition that are talking about how young their squad is, as if they’re the only teams that have a young squad. We have youngsters that we want to come through, and it was beautiful for us because we wanted to put them in difficult situations.”
“And the biggest learning, for me, was that we can play and that we don’t have to wait until the second half to do it. We can be more brave in the first half.”
Nomlomo admitted he was “chuffed” that the side had found a way to win, a characteristic of sides that dominate competitions and will be hoping they take the momentum to Bloemfontein to continue their exceptional run in the competition.
The Cheetahs will be hoping they don’t have another second half slump after the lowly Novavit Griffons gave them an almighty scare on Friday in the weekend’s opening game, with the Bloemfontein side eventually winning 47-45 after leading 33-0 after 35 minutes in the game.
While it never seemed as if the Cheetahs would lose, the Griffons signalled that the days of easy points in Welkom may be over and will want to build on that performance this coming week when they travel to Cape Town to face Western Province.
Hollywoodbets Sharks XV coach JP Pietersen was all smiles on Saturday as his side recorded their first victory of the season, downing the previously unbeaten Fidelity ADT Lions side in their own backyard.
The Sharks were boosted by a number of Junior Springboks’ stars, including midfielder Jurenzo Julies who was sensational on his debut as the coastal side dominated the Lions in all facets of the game.
The Sharks get their first Currie Cup win of the season 🔥
— SuperSport Rugby (@SSRugby) July 27, 2024
They beat the Lions in Joburg 35-22 🙌💪 pic.twitter.com/d3JE3218bf
Juries scored in either half to announce his arrival on the senior stage and was joined by tries by Yaw Penxe and Reniel Hugo as the Sharks stunned their hosts, with only a late try making the scoreline look a bit more respectable.
Sunday’s action saw the Airlink Pumas put in a big shift thanks to 31-points from former Griquas star Clinton Swart as they dominated their rivals 66-26 in a one-sided game in Nelspruit.
The Pumas added to their big win in Kimberley earlier this season and left Griquas with a mountain to climb if they want to make the playoffs with just one victory in their opening four games.
By contrast the Pumas, despite their big loss against the Lions in round two, moved into third on the log and are good bets for a spot in the playoffs.
Griquas did manage to get a bonus point for four tries out of the fixture, but it was the only positive they could take from their trip to the Lowveld.
Results
Toyota Cheetahs 47 Novavit Griffons 45
Fidelity ADT Lions 22 Hollywoodbets Sharks XV 35
Vodacom Blue Bulls 50 DHL Western Province 34
Airlink Pumas 66 Suzuki Griquas 26
This weekend’s fixtures
Friday
Toyota Cheetahs v Vodacom Blue Bulls (17.00)
Saturday
Airlink Pumas v Hollywoodbets Sharks XV (15.00)
DHL Western Province v Novavit Griffons (17.00)
Sunday
Suzuki Griquas v Fidelity ADT Lions (15.00)