By Lucky Vince Pienaar
➤ The win by the Bulls over the Bristol Bears in England cannot be overrated.
Jake White has been openly critical of Rugby South Africa’s ruling that the World Cup Springboks have to take leave. He was forced to field a team without Willie le Roux, Kurt-Lee Arendse, Canan Moodie and Marco van Staden, but perhaps he should trust his replacements a little more.
But the players on the field didn’t seem to notice.
Devon Williams, standing in for Willie le Roux at fullback, played the kind of game the Pumas fans in Nelspruit love him for. He was a real menace every time he touched the ball.
Jan Hendrik Wessels is a big man even for a hooker, and the way he outran the Bristol backs to score a long-range try, certainly puts his name on the list of potential Bok forwards.
But it was an old-fashioned Bulls team performance that left the Bristol Bears with a few things to worry about.
➤ Have the Gauteng Lions hit the wall? They scored first in a low-scoring match, but while they fought bravely, there was little evidence of the flair the boys from Johannesburg have been putting on display lately. In truth, they were simply outmuscled. They need to get back into shape smartly if they want to prove that this loss is a once-off.
➤ The spluttering Sharks managed to burst into life in Durban on Saturday as they overwhelmed French team Oyonnax. The win was expected, but it was very welcome.
Makazoli Mapimpi was having fun — getting more than his share of the ball and making good use of it. Common sense prevailed with Eben Etzebeth starting on the bench and coming on in the second half. It was still, unfortunately, a subdued performance.
➤ The Stormers, despite their dominance over the once-mighty Sale Sharks, spent too much time throwing the ball around and looking a little tatty. Confidence is one thing, arrogance is another. Something for John Dobson to think about.
➤ Sadly, the Cheetahs could not recover from bad defence early on and lost a match they should have won against Pau. In dreadful weather in Amsterdam, Holland, they made too many mistakes and they will have to put this uninspired performance behind them as soon as they can.
Bristol Bears (3 tries) 17-31 (4 tries) Bulls
Sharks (6 tries) 38-7 (1 try) Oyonnax
Montpellier (2 tries) 13-3 (0 tries) Gauteng Lions
DHL Stormers (4 tries) 31-24 (3 tries) Sale Sharks
Cheetahs (3 tries) 20-33 (3 tries) Section Paloise
Pictured above: Blue Bulls.
Image source: X
