Bonus point win to seal deal

Playing with tremendous positive intent, the Blue Bulls crushed the Free State Cheetahs in Bloemfontein at the weekend to leave them still in with a chance of making the Currie Cup semifinals.

They have to beat the Pumas at Loftus Versfeld on Friday night in their last round-robin fixture, with a bonus-point win all but ensuring their place in the last four.

And there was even more good news for the Bulls yesterday as it was confirmed they will enter the final stages of the competition with wing Travis Ismaiel (above) and flank Roelof Smit, who were both contenders for Springbok honours before injuries blew them out of contention, both available for selection once again.

Ismaiel’s return is timely because Ulrich Beyers, who has been the back-three replacement in recent weeks, has been ruled out of the Pumas clash with concussion.

The Bulls scored 10 tries in beating the Cheetahs 64-36 in what could well win a vote for the match of the tournament and they will want to bring the same clinical firepower to their meeting with the Pumas.

If they do, then the visitors will surely not be able to contain them, despite how evenly-matched the teams have been this season and how similar their records are. Both teams have won four and lost seven of their games, with the Blue Bulls having a points difference of -5 and the Pumas on -3.

The Bulls are one point ahead of the Pumas, though, and three behind the Golden Lions in fourth and four behind the Cheetahs in third, with those two teams playing each other on Saturday.

The Bulls have a much better points difference than the Cheetahs, however.