Piet van Zyl grabbed a brace as the Vodacom Bulls defeated the Cheetahs 30-13 in their first pre-season match in Polokwane on Saturday.
After a drab first half, the Bulls burst into life in the second, running in three tries against a lacklustre Cheetahs outfit.
The Bulls had gone in leading 9-6 at half-time courtesy of Jacques-Louis Potgieter's third penalty on the hooter, as the boot of Joe Pietersen had kept the Cheetahs in the hunt.
Both teams would've been pleased to have come through the match unscathed, while Springbok flank Arno Botha got 30 minutes of action for the Bulls after nearly a year out with a knee injury.
Next up for the Bulls will be a trip to London to face Saracens, while the Cheetahs will face the Stormers at Newlands next weekend, where they will be boosted by the return of Springboks Willie le Roux and Oupa Mohoje from injury.
Bulls – Tries: Piet van Zyl (2), Duncan Matthews. Conversions: Tian Schoeman (3). Penalties: Jacques-Louis Potgieter (3).
Cheetahs – Try: Francois Venter. Conversion: Francois Brummer. Penalty: Joe Pietersen. Drop goal: Joe Pietersen.
Bulls – 15 Jesse Kriel, 14 Travis Ismaiel, 13 JJ Engelbrecht, 12 William Small-Smith, 11 Jamba Ulengo, 10 Jacques-Louis Potgieter, 9 Rudy Paige, 8 Hanro Liebenberg, 7 Lappies Labuschagne, 6 Deon Stegmann (c), 5 Marvin Orie, 4 Jacques du Plessis, 3 Werner Kruger, 2 Bandise Maku, 1 Trevor Nyakane.
Subs (from): Callie Visagie, Morné Mellett, Dayan van der Westhuizen, Nicolaas Janse van Rensburg, Grant Hattingh, Roelof Smit, Nardus van der Walt, Arno Botha, Piet van Zyl, Tian Schoeman, Dan Kriel, Ulrich Beyers, Duncan Matthews, Jürgen Visser.
Cheetahs – 15 Coenie van Wyk, 14 Raymond Rhule, 13 JW Jonker, 12 Francois Venter, 11 Sergeal Petersen, 10 Joe Pietersen, 9 Sarel Pretorius, 8 Willie Britz, 7 Tienie Burger, 6 Jean Cook, 5 Francois Uys (c), 4 Lodewyk de Jager, 3 Coenie Oosthuizen, 2 Torsten van Jaarsveld, 1 Danie Mienie.
Subs (from): BG Uys, Ewald van der Westhuizen, Maks van Dyk, Stephan Coetzee, Carl Wegner, Carel Greeff, Armandt Koster, Tian Meyer, Francois Brummer, Clayton Blommetjies.
Photo: Gerhard Duraan/BackpagePix
