The Vodacom Blue Bulls won their third consecutive Absa Currie Cup game when they beat the Platinum Leopards by 28-20 in a scrappy game that only really got going after the break at the Royal Bafokeng Stadium in Phokeng on Friday evening.
The Blue Bulls could not replicate their good performance from a week ago against GWK Griquas and although they tried hard, they could not score a fourth try for a bonus point. Rather, it was the Platinum Leopards who crossed the team from Pretoria’s try line late in the match to close the gap on the score board.
Interestingly enough, the visitors’ three tries were all scored by forwards, Warwick Tecklenburg (flank), CJ Stander (No 8) and Werner Kruger (prop), where they clearly had the ascendancy.
However, Leopards backs George Tossel (fullback), Jovan Bowles (centre), Joubert Engelbrecht (centre) scored their three tries, perhaps indicating that the home team had the upper hand at the back, where the Vodacom Blue Bulls looked disjointed and just could not get going.
The Blue Bulls were stronger in the lineouts and scrums, but could not capitalise on this as unforced errors at the back cost them valuable attacking momentum. The Platinum Leopards did tackle like tigers, but they also conceded a number of penalties on defence.
Unfortunately for the visitors, their young flyhalf, Louis Fouche, had an off night with the boot, slotting only four out his nine kicks at goal. The Leopards’ kickers, Wesley Dunlop and Tossel, fared even worse and were successful with only two attempts from eigth kicks at the posts.
Scorers:
- Platinum Leopards – Tries: George Tossel, Jovan Bowles, Joubert Engelbrecht. Conversion: Tossel. Penalty: Tossel.
- Vodacom Blue Bulls – Tries: Warwick Tecklenburg, CJ Stander, Werner Kruger. Conversions: Louis Fouche (2). Penalties: Fouche (3).
Teams:
- Platinum Leopards: 15 George Tossel, 14 Hoffman Maritz, 13 Jovan Bowles, 12 Joubert Engelbrecht, 11 Vainon Willis, 10 Wesley Dunlop, 9 Whestley Moolman, 8 Morné Hanekom (captain), 7 Luvuyiso Lusaseni, 6 Siya Mdaka, 5 Brad Mockford, 4 Brendan Snyman, 3 Stefan Bezuidenhout, 2 Jacques Moller, 1 BG Uys. Replacements: 16 Marius Fourie, 17 Dewald Coetzee, 18 Roan van Heerden, 19 Robert Kruger, 20 Johan Laker, 21 Hennie Skorbinski, 22 Clayton Durand.
- Vodacom Blue Bulls: 15 Jurgen Visser, 14 Akona Ndungane, 13 Zane Kirchner, 12 Wynand Olivier, 11 Gerhard van den Heever, 10 Louis Fouché, 9 Jano Vermaak, 8 CJ Stander, 7 Arno Botha, 6 Warwick Tecklenburg, 5 Fudge Mabeta, 4 Flip van der Merwe, 3 Werner Kruger, 2 Gary Botha (captain), 1 Dean Greyling. Replacements: 16 Willie Wepener, 17 Rossouw de Klerk, 18 Gerrit-Jan van Velze, 19 Jono Ross, 20 Dustin Jinka, 21 Marnitz Boshoff, 22 Francois Venter.
Absa Currie Cup Premier Division Log
Pos. Team – P – W – D – L – PF – PA – PD – TF – TA – BPts – Pts
- MTN Golden Lions – 7 – 6 – 0 – 1 – 240 – 158 – 82 – 26 – 15 – 3 – 27
- DHL Western Province – 7 – 4 – 1 – 2 – 201 – 130 – 71 – 17 – 8 – 4 – 22
- The Sharks – 7 – 5 – 0 – 2 – 186 – 165 – 21 – 16 – 12 – 2 – 22
- GWK Griquas – 7 – 4 – 1 – 2 – 195 – 212 – -17 – 21 – 26 – 3 – 21
- Toyota Free State Cheetahs – 7 – 3 – 0 – 4 – 242 – 166 – 76 – 28 – 16 – 6 – 18
- Vodacom Blue Bulls – 7 – 4 – 0 – 3 – 171 – 188 – -17 – 18 – 20 – 1 – 17
- Ford Pumas – 7 – 0 – 0 – 7 – 138 – 241 – -103 – 15 – 28 – 5 – 5
- Platinum Leopards – 7 – 1 – 0 – 6 – 125 – 238 – -113 – 15 – 31 – 1 – 5
