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Currie Cup result: Cheetahs survive Bulls fightback in Loftus try-fest
The Cheetahs produced a sensational attacking display before surviving a spirited second-half comeback from the Vodacom Bulls XV to claim victory in a Currie Cup classic at Loftus on Sunday.
The visitors blew the Bulls away in the first half, scoring seven tries to take a commanding 47-17 lead into the break. moryak.biz
The Bulls fought back strongly after half-time, but the Cheetahs had built enough of a cushion to withstand the hosts’ late charge, even after being reduced to 13 men for the final 10 minutes – to win a humdinger 62-52.
The bonus-point win takes the Cheetahs back to second on the log, behind Griquas on points difference, after five rounds, with the winless Bulls still rooted to the bottom.
Frantic first half
It was a frantic opening 40 minutes, with the Cheetahs crossing for their first try inside three minutes through winger Michael Annies, with flyhalf Jaco van der Walt adding the conversion.
The Bulls responded five minutes later when lanky winger Riyaad Bam crossed in the eighth minute, although the conversion was missed.
The Cheetahs quickly regained control, however, with centre Zander du Plessies scoring their second try in the 14th minute before Prince Nkabinde crossed three minutes later. Van der Walt converted both tries to stretch the visitors’ advantage.
The Bulls hit back in the 20th minute when hooker Siphosethu Mnebelele powered over, with scrumhalf Keagan Johannes adding the conversion.
But the Cheetahs continued to tear through the Bulls defence, with Annies grabbing his second try in the 24th minute.
Flank Kebotile Maake gave the Bulls another boost when he crossed for their third try, although the conversion was again missed.
But the final 10 minutes of the half belonged to the visitors as they ran in a further three tries through Nkabinde, captain Neels Voschenk and fullback Cohen Jasper.
Jasper added his second try shortly after the restart, with Van der Walt converting to stretch the lead further.
Lock Victor Sekekete then crossed in the 53rd minute, although Van der Walt missed the conversion.
The Bulls refused to surrender, however, with debutant Marnus Rademeyer scoring in the 56th minute. Johannes converted before replacement Brooklyn Newman crossed six minutes later, with the scrumhalf again adding the extras.
The hosts’ momentum was then boosted further when the Cheetahs were reduced to 13 men for the final 10 minutes after a yellow card and a 20-minute red card.
The Bulls capitalised on their numerical advantage as replacement loose forward Nizaam Carr, Rademeyer, and flyhalf Devon Williams all crossed, with Johannes converting.
But the deficit proved too large to overcome, with replacement fullback Tiaan Swanepoel kicking a penalty goal for the Cheetahs after the hooter.
BULLS XV – Tries: Riyaad Bam, Siphosethu Mnebelele, Kebotile Maake, Marnus Rademeyer (2), Brooklyn Newman, Nizaam Carr, Devon Williams. Conversion: Keagan Johannes (6).
CHEETAHS – Tries: Michael Annies (2), Zander du Plessis, Prince Nkabinde (2), Neels Volschenk, Cohen Jasper (2), Victor Sekekete. Conversions: Jaco van der Walt (7). Penalty: Tiaan Swanepoel.
This story was first published on sarugbymag.co.za. It is republished here with permission.
Nomlomo: Bulls lacked energy in first half
Vodacom Bulls XV coach Phiwe Nomlomo was disappointed with his side’s 62-52 defeat to the Cheetahs at Loftus Versfeld on Sunday despite a courageous comeback.
The Bulls trailed 47-17 at half-time before producing a vastly improved second-half performance to get back to within seven points, but ultimately suffered a fifth consecutive Currie Cup defeat.
“Disappointing once again,” Nomlomo said. “The game was nearly done in the first half. We did well to claw back as well as we did, but it remains disappointing.
“The shining light is how we expressed ourselves during the second half. We had a lot more intent; we were direct, moved the ball well and looked after our breakdown.
“All of a sudden, we handled everything we wanted to in the game, but 40 minutes later.”
REPORT: Cheetahs survive Bulls fightback in Loftus try-fest
Nomlomo was particularly concerned by the Bulls’ sluggish first-half display.
“We weren’t as accurate as we wanted to be during the first half. It looked like we lacked energy, which is unlike us, so those things were quite concerning.
“In the second half we changed it all together; that’s the part; it’s a mental game.”
The Bulls now face a short turnaround before hosting the Stormers XXIII in a north-south derby on Friday. The Cape side is also desperate for log points after losing 29-7 to the Pumas in Nelspruit on Saturday, a result that dealt another blow to their playoff hopes.
ALSO: Stormers, Bulls set for pre-season clash
“Again, it’s a quick turnaround from Sunday to Friday. We must get bodies as fresh as possible,” Nomlomo said.
“It’s going to be brutal. It’s a north-south derby, so it goes without saying that it will be another match full of intensity.
“It’s going to be fire. They’ll want to win here, and we’re desperate for our first win.
“They will want to keep their playoff chances alive, and we’ll be fighting to get a win, so it will be another humdinger for sure.”
Photo: Sydney Seshibedi/Gallo Images
The post Nomlomo: Bulls lacked energy in first half appeared first on SA Rugby magazine.
Ackers sees silver lining after All Blacks hiding
Johan Ackermann believes the Vodacom Bulls will take valuable lessons from their 50-19 defeat to the All Blacks as they build towards the new URC season.
The Bulls were beaten by eight tries to three at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday, but Ackermann was keen to focus on the experience gained by a group that had only recently returned to training following their extended URC campaign.
ACKERS: Bok duo made a difference
The Bulls coach admitted that more preparation time would have helped them close the gap on New Zealand, but believes the experience will ultimately benefit his players.
“If they can [make] this whole thing later, we could have had another three or four weeks, we probably would have given the All Blacks a better game for their preparation,” Ackermann said.
“But don’t take away what we got from it. I know I said it disrupted our pre-season, but after tonight I do know that we’ll take a lot out of the game in terms of what we can work on. As coaches, we’re excited about what we saw, and it’s great for the players to now know what it takes to play at that level. It’s an experience I think they’ll keep forever.”
ALSO: Ackers backs patient Boks to punish All Blacks
The Bulls now have a short window to turn those lessons into tangible improvements before their URC campaign begins.
They will have one warm-up match against the Stormers on 11 September before opening their European campaign against Zebre.
The players will get a week off before returning to training, with Ackermann identifying conditioning as the immediate priority.
POLL: Pick your Bok 10 to face All Blacks
“The boys have got a week off now and then we’re back, and then there’s, I think, three weeks before we play the Stormers and then there’s one week of fine-tuning and then into the URC,” he said.
“We’ve got a few weeks to get the guys ready. We’ll take a lot out of this game and work on that, but there are also one or two things we want to add in the next couple of weeks. The main priority will be our conditioning, to get our conditioning sorted.”
Photo: Johan Orton/Gallo Images
The post Ackers sees silver lining after All Blacks hiding appeared first on SA Rugby magazine.
Cheetahs survive Bulls fightback in Loftus try-fest
The Cheetahs produced a sensational attacking display before surviving a spirited second-half comeback from the Vodacom Bulls XV to claim victory in a Currie Cup classic at Loftus on Sunday.
The visitors blew the Bulls away in the first half, scoring seven tries to take a commanding 47-17 lead into the break.
The Bulls fought back strongly after half-time, but the Cheetahs had built enough of a cushion to withstand the hosts’ late charge, even after being reduced to 13 men for the final 10 minutes – to win a humdinger 62-52.
The bonus-point win takes the Cheetahs back to second on the log, behind Griquas on points difference, after five rounds, with the winless Bulls remaining bottom.
REPORT: Pumas outplay error-ridden Stormers
It was a frantic opening 40 minutes, with the Cheetahs crossing for their first try inside three minutes through winger Michael Annies, with flyhalf Jaco van der Walt adding the conversion.
The Bulls responded five minutes later when lanky winger Riyaad Bam crossed in the eighth minute, although the conversion was missed.
The Cheetahs quickly regained control, however, with centre Zander du Plessies scoring their second try before Prince Nkabinde crossed. Van der Walt converted both tries to stretch the visitors’ advantage.
The Bulls hit back in the 20th minute when hooker Siphosethu Mnebelele powered over, with scrumhalf Keagan Johannes adding the conversion.
But the Cheetahs continued to tear through the Bulls defence, with Annies grabbing his second try.
Flank Kebotile Maake gave the Bulls another boost when he crossed for their third try, although the conversion was again missed.
But the final 10 minutes of the half belonged to the visitors as they ran in a further three tries through Nkabinde, captain Neels Voschenk and fullback Cohen Jasper.
REPORT: Nine-try Griquas overrun Sharks
Jasper added his second try shortly after the restart, with Van der Walt converting to stretch the lead further.
Lock Victor Sekekete then crossed in the 53rd minute to make it 59-17.
The Bulls refused to surrender, however, with debutant Marnus Rademeyer scoring a try. Johannes converted before replacement Brooklyn Newman crossed soon after, with the scrumhalf again adding the extras.
The hosts’ momentum was then boosted further when the Cheetahs were reduced to 13 men for the final 10 minutes after a 20-minute red card to replacement hooker Marko Janse van Rensburg and a yellow card to Annies.
REPORT: Cavaliers claw back to skin Lions
The Bulls capitalised on their numerical advantage as replacement loose forward Nizaam Carr, flyhalf Devon Williams and Rademeyer all crossed, with Johannes converting.
But the deficit proved too large to overcome, with replacement fullback Tiaan Swanepoel kicking a penalty goal for the Cheetahs after the hooter.
BULLS XV – Tries: Riyaad Bam, Siphosethu Mnebelele, Kebotile Maake, Marnus Rademeyer (2), Brooklyn Newman, Nizaam Carr, Devon Williams. Conversion: Keagan Johannes (6).
CHEETAHS – Tries: Michael Annies (2), Zander du Plessis, Prince Nkabinde (2), Neels Volschenk, Cohen Jasper (2), Victor Sekekete. Conversions: Jaco van der Walt (7). Penalty: Tiaan Swanepoel.
Photo: Sydney Seshibedi/Gallo Images
The post Cheetahs survive Bulls fightback in Loftus try-fest appeared first on SA Rugby magazine.
Football: Arsenal remporte le Community Shield en surclassant Manchester City
Arsenal a envoyé un message fort à ses rivaux de Premier League en dominant largement (3-0) son dauphin du dernier championnat dans un Community Shield maîtrisé de bout en bout ce dimanche 16 août à Cardiff. Le champion d'Angleterre en titre, qui s'est offert son 18e trophée dans cette épreuve, n'a eu besoin que de 23 secondes pour trouver l'ouverture dans une défense de Manchester City, mal alignée, avec une passe en profondeur de Myles Lewis-Skelly pour Riccardo Calafiori. Les deux recrues Bruno Guimaraes et Christos Tzolis se sont parfaitement fondues dans la mécanique des Gunners, implacables et déjà au point, le second étant même passeur décisif deux fois, sur le deuxième but signé Kai Havertz (28e) puis sur celui de Martin Odegaard (48e). La formation de Mikel Arteta pourra aborder son premier match de championnat avec sérénité, vendredi contre Coventry, alors qu'une longue période d'adaptation attend le successeur de Pep Guardiola, Enzo Maresca, qui officiait pour la première fois en match officiel sur le banc de City.