Burgeoning Cheetahs click as they run Bulls off their feet

The Cheetahs, realising their ambitions of playing a high-tempo, ball-into-gaps game, swept the Blue Bulls aside 34-28 in their Super Rugby match in Bloemfontein on Saturday night.

Franco Smith’s troops were simply dazzling in the first half, their impressive skills with ball in hand bringing them four tries for a commanding 28-14 lead.

The Bulls only managed to score once and relying on three Handre Pollard penalties to keep themselves barely in the contest.

While the Bulls seemed to have an at times ponderous focus on getting the tight phases right above all else, the Cheetahs just played and tore into their opposition from the start, constantly shifting the ball away from contact and also defending with intent.

The Bulls fixed their scrum in the first half, but their lineout was a shambles, although the first one was safely taken by lock RG Snyman.

But the Cheetahs attacked the ruck that followed as a unit with tremendous intensity, counter-rucking the visitors off the ball.

The resulting attacking move saw the Cheetahs surge into the 22 and brought seven points in the fourth minute as flank Uzair Cassiem passed inside to eighthman Paul Schoeman, who then found Clinton Swart.

That try, converted by flyhalf Fred Zeilinga, was met with a rapid response by the Bulls as lock Jason Jenkins roared through a hole.

Just because the Cheetahs scrum struggled did not mean they could not play rugby.

They recycled the ball before loosehead prop Ox Nche burst through on a short pass to find flank Tebohe Mohoje, who swivelled inside to score.

The Bulls closed the gap to 14-11 in the 22^nd minute through another Pollard penalty but the Cheetahs then turned on the style in a scintillating finish to the first half.

Just to prove the innovative nature of this Cheetahs side, they kicked to touch and it was wing Benjamin who took the lineout ball, quickly shifting it to lock Justin Basson, the maul rumbling over the tryline.

The Bulls fought back by forcing a lineout deep inside the Cheetahs 22.

But that throw was also lost and the Cheetahs, showing superb ball-retention and linking play, kept the ball alive all the way into the opposition 22 before Cassiem, who was a tremendous force, fed Mohoje for his second try.

Zeilinga stretched the lead to 31-14 with a penalty shortly after the break and it looked as if the Bulls were going to be slaughtered.

On a heavy field though, the Cheetahs eventually seemed to run out of gas, their incredibly high intensity finally catching up with them in the last quarter.

It was ironic that the Bulls could only score their second try when the ball actually went astray from one of their many, largely ineffective carries, replacement scrumhalf Piet van Zyl gathering and darting away to score.

Pollard had also been replaced by Tian Schoeman, who converted the try, and the Bulls threatened a dramatic late comeback when wing Jamba Ulengo finished clinically  for their third try, also converted by Schoeman.

But the Cheetahs managed to lift themselves in the closing minutes, the changes the Bulls had made up front leading to the weakening of their scrum, and a chance for Zeilinga to have the last word with a 74^th-minute penalty.

The Bulls were simply unable to match the skills of the Cheetahs and, unable to hang on to the ball, they understandably suffered from a big deficit when it came to possession and territory.

Point scorers: Cheetahs 34 (28) – Tries: Oupa Mohoje (2), Clinton Swart, Justin Basson. Conversions: Fred Zeilinga (4). Penalties: Zeilinga (2). Bulls 28 (14) – Tries: Jason Jenkins, Piet van Zyl, Jamba Ulengo. Conversions: Tian Schoeman (2). Penalties: Handre Pollard (3).

For more sport your way, follow The Citizen on Facebook and Twitter.