Currie Cup result: WP beat Bulls in URC quarters dress-rehearsal

Western Province (or in a different competition the Stormers) beat the Bulls 31-7 in a round eight Currie Cup match played at the Cape Town Stadium on Saturday.

In a dress-rehearsal of next Saturday’s United Rugby Championship quarter-final between the third-placed Stormers and Bulls, who finished their URC campaign in sixth place, it was Western Province who would have taken the most out of this Currie Cup clash.

First half start

While there was not all that much different between thee teams, WP made the most of the possession they had and also delivered a strong defensive performance.

Bulls boss Jake White, while no doubt pleased with the amount of ball his team won and the fightback shown in the second half, will be somewhat concerned that his side battled to convert their possession into points.

It is though all set up for a thrilling URC last-eight game.

WP were the better team in the first half and deserved their lead at the break after tries by Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu and Dylan de Leeuw, who enjoyed a good game, the Bulls fought back well after the half-time break.

Replacement centre Harold Vorster scored midway through the period to give the Bulls hope, but being 17-7 down the men from Pretoria needed to score next to have a real chance of pulling off a shock win.

Two late WP tries

And, it wasn’t to be as home team backs replacement Damian Markus intercepted a Bulls pass to score his team’s third, and vital, try.

And at the death, wing Luke Burger also intercepted a pass to run in from distance for a fourth WP try, and a bonus point.

The win has moved WP up to fourth on the Currie Cup points table, while the Bulls remain in sixth place.