Star-studded Bulls see off brave Western Province in Currie Cup clash
The Bulls put in a workmanlike performance to beat a brave Western Province team 48-23 in a Currie Cup match in Cape Town on Saturday evening.
Bulls coach Phiwe Nomlomo's side came into the match as heavy favourites after selecting a very strong team filled with a lot of quality and experience. While most of their United Rugby Championship players are resting or with the Springboks, they still managed to field seasoned pros such as Marvin Orie, Boeta Chamberlain and Sintu Manjezi.
Province, on the other hand, fielded seven debutants in their run-on team, including a few Blitzboks, who have been roped in to bolster their squad in the absence of their Stormers and Springbok players.
And it was clear from the first minute that Province were going to be under the pump, especially at set-piece time. The Bulls scored five of their six tries in the first half, dominating the collisions and getting penalties as Province tried to stop the bleeding.
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Captain Nama Xaba was also pleased with the performance, though he remained rooted in reality. 'We always want to strive for perfection but it is unrealistic to get there. Tonight's performance was excellent. We managed the first 20 according to plan and the mid-40. It took us forward. I'm proud of the guys.' Xaba pointed to the breakdown as an area for improvement. 'They put us under pressure there. The set piece was good. I can't complain about much. A week is a long time in rugby and we have to look to build on this.' For the Sharks it was another day to forget. 'We can't feel sorry for ourselves,' said downcast captain Nick Hatton. 'That was tough to take. Credit to the Bulls, They dominated the game. We got a tough lesson. 'A lot of the young guys showed some fight towards the end. We were outdone physically which was disappointing for us that we didn't stand up physically. 'It is a privilege to wear this jersey and we are not doing it justice at the moment. We are going to pick ourselves up. We are not going to feel sorry for ourselves and do what we need to do and stay in the fight. All we can promise is that we'll keep on fighting,' Hatton added.
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Western Province coach Labeeb Levy feels his players are starting to gel despite two losses on the trot in the Currie Cup Premier Division. Image: Backpagepix Western Province coach Labeeb Levy is hoping his Currie Cup charges can kick on and become an 80-minute team after they looked like they could cause an upset in the second half of Saturday's 40-19 away defeat to the Lions, before fading on the Highveld. The Joburgers led 21-12 at half-time at Ellis Park and extended their lead with another try early in the second half. Province stuck to their attacking game plan and came back at the Lions. Their third and final try of the match brought them within nine points of the home side in the 53rd minute, as they threatened to pull off a surprise result. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ 'I was happy at that stage of the game,' Levy said. 'It was 28-19 and we were actually on the attack, but then we lost a breakdown penalty and they came back and obviously scored again. 'We just kept telling the guys: just keep going, just keep fighting. Try to get that fourth try.' The tone for the match was set early on, with WP opting to run from their own 22. 'It was part of the plan — to be adventurous, to take the game to them, to strike first — and the boys got energy from it and obviously capitalised by scoring first. Just a few of the passes didn't stick, a few of the conversions didn't stick. But I'm happy for the boys,' Levy said at the post-match media conference. 'We asked them to come out fighting and they did. We scored first. We probably should have scored immediately after that, but then they scored.' It was ultimately a match of missed opportunities for the Province mentor, who is still searching for his first point of the season after two losses. Failure to convert several 22-metre entries into points harmed their cause on Saturday afternoon. 'In the second half we weren't as clinical as we could have been in the first. But we're a new team, a new group — we've only been together for about six weeks — so I'm massively proud of the boys,' he said. 'Conversion-wise there were opportunities we did not put away, but it's just that little bit of synergy that we're working on — getting combos together in training in order to convert those. We need to work on being a bit more clinical.
