BULLS wing Henry Immelman beats the tackle of Cheetahs counterpart Cohen Jasper to score the first of his two tries at Loftus Versfeld on Friday. BackpagePix
BLUE Bulls coach Phiwe Nomlomo was frustrated by his side missing out on a bonus point, but was still pleased with a 25-13 victory over defending Currie Cup champions the Free State Cheetahs in Pretoria last Friday.
The hosts had scored their third try in the 51st minute through right wing Henry Immelman, but despite numerous opportunities to grab a bonus-point fourth, they were unable to cross the whitewash again at Loftus Versfeld.
That saw the Bulls miss out on top spot as the Golden Lions, who beat Griquas by the identical scoreline on Friday, have a slightly better points difference, with both sides on 13 log points.
Star No 8 Mpilo Gumede, who produced another barnstorming performance, went the closest as he was held up over the tryline in the 67th minute, and there were other chances inside the Cheetahs’ 22 that the Bulls were unable to convert.
But Nomlomo chose to look on the bright side of a still impressive triumph that saw the forwards recover from a shaky start to create front-foot ball for the backs.
Gumede dotted down first in the 12th minute, with Immelman producing a fantastic finish by shrugging off three defenders to score in the corner just before half-time, and added another five-pointer early in the second half.
“Every point counts... we all know that. However, the most important thing for us was to make sure that we had a good start at home,” Nomlomo said.
“I think we achieved that, so that’s a massive bonus. Anything else over and above that... Remember, this is a classy Cheetahs side.
“It’s not like it was just always going to be easy. I think I’m quite chuffed with what we did out there.
“A bonus point would be great, yes! It is (good that the Bulls could create try-scoring chances), which is why I jokingly said that a bonus point would be great, because we need to start converting those now.
“We are in a good place if we are feeling how we are feeling (disappointed about missing out on the bonus point) after a good win against the Cheetahs.
“We are going to have to convert those, and then we will become the ruthless team that we want to be.
“The beauty about it is that we are scoring tries when we get there (into the 22), and once or twice when we are not.
“For me, it’s about patience and (being) calm... We’ve just got to exercise a bit more calm when we’re there. And again, we are getting there because we are playing well, and we know exactly what we are supposed to do.
“Once we get that right, we are going to bury some teams, that’s for sure.
“In terms of cohesion, we are not where we want to be. We are slowly, slowly getting there, and the more we play with and spend time with each other, on and off the field, I think we are going to have something special here.”
Nomlomo confirmed that the Cheetahs game was the last Bulls fixture for flyhalf Chris Smith, who will join French club Oyonnax, which is likely to see Jaco van der Walt start at No 10 in Saturday’s clash against Western Province at Loftus (5.15pm kick-off).
But the Bulls will be sweating on the fitness of Immelman, who left the field with a hamstring issue after scoring his second try.
Points-Scorers
Bulls 25 – Tries: Mpilo Gumede, Henry Immelman (2). Conversions: Chris Smith (2). Penalties: Smith (1), Jaco van der Walt (1)
Cheetahs 13 – Tries: Daniel Maartens. Conversions: Ethan Wentzel (1). Penalties: Wentzel (2)
Weekend’s Results: Lions 25-13 Griquas, Bulls 25-13 Cheetahs, Sharks XV 21-31 Pumas, Griffons 15-64 Western Province
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