Bulls v W Province — fur will fly

LATE substitute, young No 9 Ivan van Zyl, became an unlikely hero for the Blue Bulls as the side booked their spot in the Currie Cup final against the Free State Cheetahs.

It took a last-minute try from the 21-year-old scrumhalf for the Bulls to come from behind to beat Western Province 36-30 in the semifinal at Loftus Versfeld last night.

Unlike in the one-sided earlier semi between the Cheetahs and Golden Lions, which saw the Free State side clinch a runaway victory, the Bulls were made to sweat and bleed for their victory.

Despite looking set to be on their way to a fifth consecutive final as the clock wound down, Province lost their grip on a possible domestic title only with a minute of play remaining when Van Zyl, who had replaced Springbok Rudy Paige, scored the winning try after the Bulls showed some cool heads as they advanced towards the opposition tryline.

It was certainly an expected north versus south derby between the two rivals which saw the pendulum sway both ways for most parts of the second half with the two sides exchanging the lead.

The hosts looked to dominate from the early stages of the game as they applied pressure immediately after the first whistle. They tested the Province defence, which held until the 10th minute as Springbok centre Juan de Jongh showed his defensive prowess.

But the Bulls, who patiently and persistently applied pressure as they attempted to break through, were rewarded in the 10th minute when winger Travis Ismaiel crossed over for the opening try of the match which gave the Pretoria side an early advantage.

It didn’t take long for the visitors to even things out. Loose forward Nizaam Carr replied with a fivepointer for Province a mere nine minutes after the Bulls had scored.

What Bulls head coach Nollis Marais had stressed in the build-up to the semifinal was the growth in his side since he took charge of the team for the first time in last year’s Currie Cup.

Roelof Smit, who nailed his role as a fetcher, and RG Snyman, the lanky and hard-working lock, asserted themselves and made their presence felt, showing maturity from the players they were when they featured in the Bulls’ campaign last year.

Thanks to a dominant breakdown performance by the Bulls, while both sides showed intent to implement an expansive game, the home side enjoyed a half time 16-10 lead.

In addition to Ismaiel’s first-half try, pivot Tian Schoeman added 11 points with his boot.

Despite Schoeman converting a penalty early in the second half and two from Province flyhalf Robert du Preez, the Cape side earned the lead for the first time in the 49th minute when Springbok Sevens star Werner Kok blitzed his way to the Bulls tryline for his side’s second try of the game.

Province showed their intent of securing a fifth consecutive final berth when they upped the ante in the second stanza, ensuring a tight and close contest between the two sides right up until the end of the last 40 minutes.

What will make this victory more special for the Bulls is that it is the first time since 2009 that they made it through to the final of the Currie Cup.

The Bulls will now travel to Bloemfontein where they will face the unbeaten Cheetahs, and a new domestic champ will be crowned.