In charge: Morne Steyn
The Blue Bulls will host the Free State Cheetahs in the Currie Cup final after seeing off Western Province 21-19 in a pulsating semi-final at Newlands in Cape Town on Saturday.
It wasn't the drubbing most pundits predicted as the home side held their own, but the pure physicality of the visitors was just too much to take for the brave men in white and blue.
Goal-kicking was the order of the day for the Blue Bulls as Morne Steyn continued his place-kicking expertise with seven penalty shots at goal that ultimately killed off any hopes of a home final in the Mother City.
But just like the Free State Cheetahs did to the Sharks in the earlier semi-final, Western Province were close to repeating the same feat against the Super 14 champions, but came agonisngly short - much to the disappointment of the sold-out Newlands crowd.
It was an epic contest. North vesus South, the first semi-final between the two sides in Cape Town since 1989.
Western Province enjoyed the distinction of scoring the only try of the match and, late in the second half, they looked like they could score an upset win over the highly-fancied Bulls - but the Springbok marksman (Steyn) landed the decider three minutes from the end.
Knock-out clashes are all about using one's opportunities and Province had enough chances at the death to wrap up a berth in the final but it was not to be.
The Bulls suffered a first-minute setback when their lock Bakkies Botha was yellow-carded for dangerous play. However, playing with a man short did not prove costly at all and, in fact, the Bulls ran up a 6-0 lead in the space of two minutes after their Steyn banged over two penalties to punish Province's early indiscretions.
Province tried to bounce back from their poor start but they lacked penetration once they managed to take play beyond the half-way line. Poorly placed upfield kicks by fly-half Peter Grant, scrum-half Dewaldt Duvenhage and full-back Joe Pietersen did not help their cause either.
The Bulls, on the other hand, showed far more cohesion in their early drives but their moves broke down once they approached the Province 22m area.
They did manage to capitalise on their territorial advantage when Steyn doubled his side's score after 18 minutes with two further penalties.
Province continued to battle to get their game-plan off the ground but they did manage to reduce the deficit in the 29th minute through a penalty by Pietersen after they took play up to the fringes of the Bulls 22 metre area.
In the ensuing play, the Bulls really piled on the pressure and they pinned Province down in their 22 metre area but they failed to break down the stubborn but well-organised Province defence after an eight-minute passage of intense pressure.
Province finished the half strongly and for the first time in the match looked like scoring a try as they took the ball through several phases ahead of the break. Their efforts were worth a try but, in the absence of variation, they were thwarted just short of the Bulls' try-line.
They did, however, exact a measure of reward when Pietersen goaled a penalty a minute ahead of the break to make it 12-6.
This fiery display at the death of the first half saw Province return to the field stoked with fierce determination to take the game to the visiting Bulls. As a result Province ran hard at the Bulls' defence in early second-half play but again Province could not find a way to the try-line.
A 50th minute penalty by Pietersen raised a mighty cheer from the crowd, and this was the cue for the home side to persist with their adventurous approach in their efforts to topple the powerful Bulls line-up at only 12-9 down.
Six minutes later, Steyn again intervened with a penalty to open a six-point lead, but this failed to put a damper in the ranks of Province who briefly turned the match on its head with a 58th minute try.
Wing Gio Aplon outstripped the cover defence to pounce on a kick-ahead and Pietersen added the conversion to give Province the lead for the first time in the match (16-15).
The ding-dong battle on the scoreboard continued four minutes later when Steyn gave the Bulls the lead once more when he landed his sixth penalty of the match (18-16).
Still Province refused to lie down and with replacement loose forward Schalk Burger stealing the limelight with a few monster hits, the match was far from over.
Pietersen nailed a 68th minute penalty to restore the lead for Province at 19-18 and their game continued to thrive, much to the delight of the home fans who raised the roof with their traditional Province chant.
With about eight minutes playing time left, the Bulls seemed to be losing their edge as the Province pressure seemed to be taking its toll and the Bulls unable to break out of their half.
Time seemed to be running out for the Bulls as a succession of line-outs and scrums in their own half saw the clock running down.
Three minutes from the end, the Bulls did manage to transfer play into the Province half where the home side committed one error too many and Steyn hammered over a penalty some six metres into the opposition half to steal victory for his side.
The scorers:
For Western Province:
Try: Aplon
Con: Pietersen
Pens: Pietersen 3
For Blue Bulls:
Pens: Steyn 7
Western Province: 15 Joe Pietersen, 14 Gio Aplon, 13 Juan de Jongh, 12 Paul Bosch, 11 Frikkie Welsh, 10 Peter Grant, 9 Dewaldt Duvenhage, 8 Luke Watson (c), 7 Duane Vermeulen, 6 Francois Louw, 5 Andries Bekker, 4 Anton van Zyl, 3 Brok Harris, 2 Tiaan Liebenberg, 1 Wicus Blaauw.
Replacements: 16 Deon Fourie, 17 JC Kritzinger, 18 De Kock Steenkamp, 19 Schalk Burger, 20 Ricky Januarie, 21 Matt To'omua, 22 Sireli Naqelevuki.
Blue Bulls: 15 Zane Kirchner, 14 Francois Hougaard, 13 Jaco Pretorius, 12 Wynand Olivier, 11 Bryan Habana, 10 Morné Steyn, 9 Fourie du Preez, 8 Pierre Spies, 7 Dewald Potgieter, 6 Deon Stegmann, 5 Victor Matfield (c), 4 Bakkies Botha, 3 Werner Kruger, 2 Derick Kuün, 1 Gurthrö Steenkamp.
Replacements: 16 Bandise Maku, 17 Rossouw de Klerk, 18 Danie Rossouw, 19 Pedrie Wannenburg, 20 Heini Adams, 21 Burton Francis, 22 Gerhard van den Heever.
Referee: Mark Lawrence
Comments
brancelmare says...
It's just the begining for Morne Steyn. My opinion that it will be the greatest number 10 of all times.
Posted 20:42 18th October 2009
rugbyphile says...
If Naquelevaki or whatever his name is ever plays for Province again it is a real indictment on the selectors--he is fine against the minnows but hopeless against class opposition--there must be so much more available-- classy Steyn a matchwinner again-Spies awesome- amazimg Province defencePietersen is a real find too as is de Jongh, and Aplon close to being man of the match--how much depth does SA have--
Posted 02:47 18th October 2009
Solitude says...
Sireli Naqelevuki must have the most watertight contract in history. Something along the lines of if he can play then he must play and he may not be dropped from the team for x amount of years. I wonder how many times he has cost WP and the Stormers games.
When he first arrived in the Cape he managed to beat defenders. Now he is just slow, lazy and prone to tackle high. Like he did today. Sigh. Oh well we said that earlier in the year when he played for the Stormers and the year before that and we'll say it again next year.
Well done to the Bulls though. Morne Steyn is a machine.
Posted 21:04 17th October 2009