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Bulls blow 19-point lead in their Loftus farewell to Morne Steyn
Saturday’s final Loftus Versfeld appearance for Morne Steyn, the soon-to-retire Bulls legend, had a sting in the tail. The round 14 Currie Cup fixture had been billed as The Last Kick, the last time that the soon-to-be 38-year-old would play at his home ground in Pretoria.
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The occasion seemed to be going to plan early on, Steyn kicking two conversions in the opening 15 minutes after he had received a rapturous pre-kick-off reception from the crowd. That helped the Bulls into a 19-point lead, but Jake White’s team went on to inexplicably squander that advantage.
The margin was down to five points by the interval, the Bulls not helped the red card brandished to No8 Elrigh Louw, and despite Steyn landing an early second-half kick to make the score 22-14, the hosts were trailing 22-28 when the legendary Springboks playmaker, who twice clinched Test victories over the British and Irish Lions, was replaced by Chris Smith on 54 minutes.
Bismarck du Plessis, the other legendary Springboks player making his final Loftus Versfeld appearance before retirement, was pressed into action on 60 minutes but his presence wasn’t enough to swing victory for the Bulls. Instead, despite applying copious pressure on the Cheetahs defence in the final minutes, the Bulls lost 27-31.
The four tries they scored and the four-point margin of defeat, however, secured them two match points, enough to finish in fourth position on the Currie Cup table and qualify the Bulls for next weekend’s semi-finals away from home, a game that Steyn and du Plessis will hope to play.
Insane numbers from Morne Steyn and Bismarck du Plessis ? pic.twitter.com/Kez1Cn9Z9Q
— SuperSport Rugby (@SSRugby) June 10, 2023
That semi-final will be in Bloemfontein after the Sharks failed to beat Western Province in the final fixture of round 14 on Saturday. The Cheetahs’ win earlier in the day had taken them to the top of the table.
Steyn’s farewell to playing at Loftus came at the end of his four-season second spell at the Bulls. He was originally with the franchise for nine years before spending seven seasons at Stade Francais in Paris prior to returning to South Africa in 2020.
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Comments on RugbyPass
To me TJ is clearly the best 9 in the competition right now but he's also a proven player off the bench, there's few playmaking players who can come off the bench as calm and settled as he is, Beauden can, TJ can and I doubt any of the scrumhalves in contention can, if they want to experiment with new 9s I want him on the bench ready to step in if they crumble under the pressure. The Boks put their best front row on the bench, I'd like to see us take a similar approach, the Hurricanes have been doing similar things with players like Kirifi.
30 Go to commentsROG has better chance to win a WC if he starts training and make himself eligible as a player. He won’t make the Ireland squad but I reckon he may get close with Namibia (needs to improve his Afrikaans) or Portugal. Both sides had 1000:1 odds to win the RWC in 2023 which is an improvement on ROG’s odds of winning a RWC as a coach. Unlike Top 14 teams, national teams can’t go shopping and buy the best players - you work with the available talent pool and turn them into world beaters.
2 Go to commentsthat backline nope that backline is terrible why would you have sevu Reece when he’s not even top 5 wingers in the comp why have Blackadder when there’s better players no Scott barret isn’t an automatic the guy is more of a liability than anything why have him there when you have samipeni who’s far far better
30 Go to commentsAh, good to find you Nick. Agree with everything about Cale. So much to like about his game
49 Go to commentsNot too bad. Questions at 6, lock and HB for me. The ABs will be a lot stronger once Jordan and Roigard return. Also, work needs to be made to secure Frizzell back for next season and maybe also Mo’unga; they’re just wasting time playing in japan
30 Go to commentsOn the title, i wonder for many of those people it is a case something like a belief in working smarter, not harder?
1 Go to commentsForget Sotutu. One of those whose top level is Super Rugby. Id take a punt on Wallace Sititi Finau ahead of Glass body Blackadder.
30 Go to commentsI’m a pensioner so I've been around a bit. My opinion of SBW is he is an elite athlete and a great New Zealander and roll model. He has been to the top and knows what he's talking about. To all the negative comments regarding SBW the typical New Zealand way, cut that tall poppy down.
17 Go to commentsI'm not listening to a guy moralise over others when this is the guy who walked out mid season on Canterbury RLFC when he had a contract with them, what a hypocrite. Those praising him are a joke.
17 Go to commentsI’d put Finau at 6 instead of Blackadder but that’s the only change I’d make. Can’t wait to see who Razor picks.
30 Go to commentsTamati Williams, Codie Taylor, and Same Cane? Not sure about Hoskins Sotutu at test level. Wasn’t that impressive last season. Need a balance between experience and talent/youth.
30 Go to commentsInteresting insight. Fantastic athlete, and a genuine human being.
17 Go to commentsThey played at night in Suva last weekend and it’s an afternoon game forecast for 19 degrees in Canberra this weekend. Heat change is a non issue.
1 Go to commentsWishing Rosie a speedy recovery
1 Go to commentsObscene that SA haven’t been knocking
1 Go to commentsChances of Blackadder being injured seem too high to give him serious consideration. ABs loosie combination finally looked good with 2 committed to tackling and clearing rucks in the centre and Ardie roaming. Hoskins/Ardie together would force one of them into where they don’t excel and don’t get to use their talent, or require a change in tactics. If we continue to evolve last years systems I would take Papali’i and Finau at 6 and 7 (conceding that Blackadder will be injured) and Ardie at 8.
30 Go to commentsArdie’s preferred position 7? Where do they get these writers from? I've no idea where he's playing in Japan, but the previous two seasons he wore the 7 jersey exactly twice.
17 Go to commentsNot good to hear Ulster described as “financially troubled”. Did not think it was getting to that level. I would hope the Irish system of spreading players of talent away from Leinster would kick in now. Better to have a Leinster fringe player with Ulster or Connacht, then getting only a few games a season in Dublin. 10, for example, would seem to be a case for spreading the talent. I would not be at all adverse to a SA man coming in as head coach/DR. Ludeke is worth trying. Certainly got a long and impressive coaching career at this level…..149 games in SR, then Japan, 30 years experience. And Ulster’s ledger of successful SA coaches and players is on the positive side. Is talk of Ruan Pienaar interested in coming back as a coach…..could be a good combination with Ludeke. And Pienaar and family would have no settling in to do, one would judge. He loved life in Ulster when there, by all reports.
1 Go to commentsSome thoughts to consider here, Sam. Thanks
2 Go to commentsI think he is right, SBW is respected in RSA. The guy who never stood up is a worm. Sseems lots of NZ SBW hate, you do the crime do the time.
17 Go to comments