Round 2: Bulls v Cheetahs

[Dumbo]

The Bulls last week played like confused rabbits, seriously.
I expect a lot from the Bulls and was shocked at the performance they put in (admittedly the Sharks played well but they just seemed to be no solid game plan to score tries).
However I think this week will be different, as fingers crossed they will start to work on their overall team play (with the focus on scoring tries).

Still don’t think this will be enough to beat the Cheetahs though as they seem to be getting better and better.

Cheetah’s by a few.

 

[Dumbo]

Bulls:
15 Johan Roets
14 Akona Ndungane
13 JP Nel
12 Wynand Olivier
11 Bryan Habana
10 Derick Hougaard/Morné Steyn
9 Fourie du Preez
8 Anton Leonard
7 Wikus van Heerden
6 Pedrie Wannenburg,
5 Victor Matfield ©
4 Danie Rossouw
3 Danie Thiart
2 Gary Botha
1 Wessel Roux
Replacements:
16 Chiliboy Ralepelle
17 Jaco Engels
18 Adriaan Fondse
19 Hilton Lobberts
20 Nicholas Eyre
21 Morné Steyn/Jacques-Louis Potgieter
22 Marius Delport

 

[BokMagic]

The Cheetahs line-up remains Rassie`s closely-guarded secret at this stage. This looks to be another hard-fought, forward-dominated, typical SA derby match, with the outcome more than likely determined by the various place-kickers.

Although I have a soft spot for the Cheetahs, and I really rate them this year, I reckon they`ll come up just short of the mark on this one. The Bulls will have the Loftus crowd to lift them, they`ll konw full well that losing 2 in a row in Bokland will put paid to their chances, and they won`t want to relinquish bragging rights over their current closest rivals in Bokland.

The Cheetahs have unpredictability on their side- at full strength, they can mix it with the strongest packs in the competition, yet also throw caution to the wind and the ball to the wings. In Floors and V D Merwe, they have 2 of the fastest back rows on show, and can play all types of rugby, depending on the opposition.

Should be pretty close, with home-ground advantage, and greater desperation, being the Bulls` greatest allies.

 

[Juggernaut]

CHEETAHS:

15. Tiger Mangweni
14. Philip Burger
13. Marius Joubert
12. Meyer Bosman
11. Ronnie Cooke
10. Herkie Kruger
9. Falie Oelschig
8. Kabamba Floors
7. Juan Smith [C]
6. Henro Scholtz
5. Corniel van Zyl
4. Darren Nell
3. Jannie du Plessis
2. Adrian Strauss
1. Ollie Le Roux

Replacements: 16 Richard Strauss, 17 CJ van der Linde, 18 Brian Vermaak, 19 Ryno van der Merwe, 20 Michael Claassens, 21 Alwyn Hollenbach, 22 Eddie Fredericks

 

[Bull]

Bulls won 24-20! Much better performance than last week with the Bulls scoring 3 tries to the Cheetahs 2. CJ van der Linde again scoring an excellent try.

Close game but I'm glad the Bulls won.

 

[BokMagic]

Excellent game by both teams- much better than last week`s error-ridden derby performances. Also good to see 3 fatties on the scoresheet- especially CJ`s try was one for the archives- seeing a prop running 25 meters to score under the sticks is a sight to behold!

Methinks the Cheetahs lost this one in the 2nd half line-outs, where the Bulls effectively shut them out completely- oh what the Cheetahs would do for a fit Barend Pieterse to contest with Vic Matfield in the line-outs yesterday.

Also good to see Phillip Burger coming into the sort of form he showed last season during the Currie Cup- this lad could still go far.

Overall, for the Bulls, it was good to see Du Preez and Matfield looking in decent form again, and the impact made by Richard Bands was awesome- hope the injury is not too severe. Adriaan Fondse getting back on again after injury was also good to see- this guy is proof of just how good the Pretoria 2nd row factory really is. In a few games` time, he`ll be able to step straight into Bakkies Botha`s huge boots IMO.