The Free State Cheetahs advanced to the Absa Currie Cup rugby final against the Lions when they beat the Blue Bulls 11-6 in Bloemfontein on Saturday.
The match, which was delayed for 30 minutes because of lightning, was played on a rain-soaked field. Earlier on Saturday, the Golden Lions upset the Sharks in Durban to advance to their first final since 2002, when they were beaten 31-7 by the Blue Bulls at Ellis Park in Johannesburg. The Cheetahs and Lions will meet in the final to be played in Bloemfontein on October 27.
The soggy underfoot evened out the odds, with the Cheetahs running on as favourites after losing only one of their 14 league matches, and accounting for the Blue Bulls twice in the process. The feared running of the home side’s backs was largely nullified by the teeming rain and wet field.
Their last win against the Blue Bulls, whom they have faced in the past three Currie Cup finals, was as recent as Friday a week ago when they beat the Bulls in Pretoria.
It was an emotional moment when the Bulls ran out, as they knew that a loss would mean the last appearance for seven of them who are either retiring or leaving for greener pastures overseas.
The Bulls, after conceding their first line-out, dictated the forward exchanges and the two flyhalves, Willem de Waal and the Bulls’ Derrick Hougaard, predictably played for territory.
Hougaard won the early battle when he kicked his second attempt after seven minutes but De Waal equalised six minutes later. JP Nel’s swinging arm — he seems to make a habit of it in important games and especially against the Free State side — saw De Waal defy the conditions to equalise with the experienced Blue Bulls centre in the bin. Hougaard obviously found the surface troublesome, and missed his second from three attempts.
With the players slipping and splashing their way about in the many puddles on the field, the first semblance of some running only came in the 23rd minute after Johan Roets, who had recently announced his retirement, had withstood two high balls from De Waal.
After the first 30 minutes the Blue Bulls were full value for their 6-3 lead, with Hottie Louw often prominent and Neil Powell, surprisingly selected ahead of JP Joubert at scrumhalf, proving his value in a tight game.
The two sides went into the break at two penalties apiece. with the scores tied at 6-6 and the pattern of territorial kicking seemingly set for the match.
Then the Bulls were desperately unlucky not to score after a great break by Roets, but a turn-over from their own line minutes after the restart found the visitors lacking players to defend, and Cheetahs flyer Eddie Fredericks finished off a sortie of 100m.
There was a little more of running the ball wide in the second half, and in this respect the Cheetahs looked slightly better than the Bulls, who made too many handling errors and turned over too much possession, although they generally controlled territory without much luck or finishing off their opportunities in the second half.
The win will see Cheetahs caretaker captain Hendro Scholts play his 100th match in the Currie Cup final. — Sapa