The Vodacom Bulls led their fixture against Sanlam Boland for just more than an hour, but couldn’t maintain that advantage and finally succumbed 28-20 in their Carling Currie Cup match in Wellington on Sunday.
It was a bitter blow for the team in blue, who were hoping to get back to winning ways after last week’s defeat. Played amid a big sell-out home crowd, the action was high tempo from the start with the Bulls’ fast, aggressive defence key to keeping Boland out.
They, in turn, attacked with ambition and feasted on Boland errors. An early try by prop Jean Erasmus, who profited from good phase play, earned the Bulls their opening try.
They continued to probe, but with their accuracy wavering, left several points on the board.
When Jaco Grobbelaar scored in the 32nd minute it looked like the Bulls were on their way, but Boland refused to quit. Sinju Manjezi and Aphiwe Dyantyi were at the heart of much of the visitors’ play, but a lack of cohesion ultimately proved the undoing of the Vodacom Bulls.
The Vodacom Bulls’ Sintu Manjezi is stopped in his tracks, which was emblematic of Boland’s never-say-die approach.
A late first half try gave the Cavaliers a sniff and they prospered even more by scoring again after the turn. Suddenly, a 12-0 lead by Nama Xaba’s men was reduced to 15-14. Xaba himself extended that, but Boland wouldn’t be cowed. Even with two players in the bin, they kept coming, hitting the Bulls back and finding gaps in and around the edges.
Esethu Mnebelele’s yellow card late in the match illustrated the Bulls’ frustration, a situation worsened by Boland feeding off the festive crowd’s energy to score late and confirm a famous win.
BULLS SCORERS
Tries: Jean Erasmus, Jaco Grobbelaar, Nama Xaba.
Conversion: Boeta Chamberlain.
Penalty: Chamberlain.
