Currie Cup: Manie Libbok dazzles as Blue Bulls prevail

These are tough economic times at Loftus Versfeld, but the Blue Bulls played like millionaires at times as they returned to the winning trail in their Currie Cup match against Griquas in Pretoria on Friday night.

But they may be wishing they were perhaps a bit more economical with their energy as they seemed to run out of puff in the second half, eventually scraping to a 44-42 win as they squandered a 41-21 lead after the first hour.

The Bulls did play with impressive intensity and tremendous freedom in building that lead, none more so than man of the match Manie Libbok.

That said, the fighting spirit of Griquas couldn’t be faulted.

They remained in contention right up to the final whistle.

Who was the star in this match?

The 20-year-old Libbok got his chance to start at fullback after Warrick Gelant withdrew from the match shortly before kickoff with a knee niggle.

He set the tone for his dazzling performance from the opening minute as he ghosted through the Griquas defensive line, and his tremendous footwork saw him complete a hat-trick of tries in the space of 19 minutes after he first dotted down in the 24^th minute.

He is one to watch.

Key moments and themes

• Despite the victory, the Bulls defence is still a major worry and, once the Currie Cup reaches its final stages, it is going to cost them dearly if it does not rapidly improve. The line speed is still haphazard, with players rushing up at different speeds, and too many soft one-on-one tackles are being missed. It is worth noting that Griquas outscored them six tries to five, and the difference for the home side was the three penalties kicked by Boshoff and Tony Jantjies.
• The Blue Bulls certainly hung on to possession much better than they have for most of the year, their handling was markedly better, and perhaps the expansive style they are trying to implement is finally starting to stick.
• The scrum was a vital component of the Blue Bulls’ win and that will please coach John Mitchell because they have had serious problems there for much of the recent past. Van der Westhuizen and Lizo Gqoboka started for the first time together and, given how well the scrum went, they should stay there for a while. Most times there was a scrum inside their territory, the Blue Bulls were able to release pressure by earning a penalty.
• Unfortunately, the Blue Bulls would lose a couple of those lineouts straight after kicking the penalties to touch, so that set-piece clearly still needs a lot of work, although hooker Marutlulle had a busy game in open play.

Point scorers

Blue Bulls: Tries – Manie Libbok (3), Rabs Maxwane, Dayan van der Westhuizen. Conversions – Marnitz Boshoff (5). Penalties – Boshoff (2), Tony Jantjies.

Griquas: Tries – Ederies Arendse (2), AJ Coertzen (2), Christiaan Meyer, Wandile Putuma. Conversions – Andre Swarts (3), George Whitehead (3).