The Blue Bulls secured their place in the semifinals of this year’s Currie Cup competition with a flawless 59-0 victory over Griqualand West at Loftus Versfeld on Friday night.
The defending Currie Cup champions were ruthless in their execution and demolished a Griqua pack that almost upset the Lions a week ago in Kimberley.
It was a monstrous effort, with the forwards dominating every set piece, and the backs getting a plethora of ball in space to execute their moves.
The outcome was never in doubt, and the execution began as early as the third minute when midfielder JP Nel, who was celebrating his 50th match in a light-blue jersey, watched his pack barrel up to the line and then came through at speed to go over for the opening try.
Gary Botha added a second six minutes later, as the Bulls had a series of pick and drives close to the Griqua line.
The backs then got into the game, with midfielder Wynand Olivier grabbing his fifth try of the season, dummying his way over to score under the posts untouched.
Akona Ndungane provided the highlight of the game by tiptoeing down the touch line, pretending to chip over fullback MJ Mentz before breaking inside and running through three attempted tackles to score.
Springbok lock Bakkies Botha showed that his three-week layoff had done him no harm with tries either side of half-time, and he was joined by a brace for Danie Rossouw later in the game.
The game did leave one massive unanswered question in South African rugby, though, with Griquas failing to answer just how to stop this Blue Bulls machine from claiming a fourth consecutive title. — Sapa