Goosen the general in Bulls victory over Pumas

MATCH REPORT: The Bulls have come away from Nelspruit with a valuable win over the defending champions, Pumas, in the Currie Cup on Saturday thanks to a tally of 14 points by Johan Goosen.

With this victory the Bulls edge a bit closer to a playoff spot as two more fixtures remain.

The Pumas opened their account early with two penalties goals, taking a 6-0 lead within the first seven minutes courtesy of Tinus de Beer.

After leading 14-9 at half-time through a try by David Kriel and Johan Goosen, the Bulls only managed to score one try in the second half, Kriel’s second on the night.

It was a massive defensive effort from both sides as the Pumas only managed to score one try after an hour of play through their elusive runner Devon Williams.

The sides exchanged penalties which saw the score move to 17-12 with 20 minutes left on the clock.

With the score level at 17-17 after Williams’ try, the Bulls took the lead again thanks to the try by Kriel, who had one of his games of the season.

A tough conversion kick by Goosen took the visitors to 24-17 as the sand in the hour glass ran out.

The Pumas remain in third spot on the log and the Bulls hover in the middle of the log in sixth place.

Scorers:

For the Pumas:

Tries: Williams

Pens: De Beer 3

For the Bulls:

Tries: Kriel 2, Goosen

Cons: Goosen 3

Pens: Goosen

Teams:

Bulls: 15 David Kriel, 14 Sibongile Novuka, 13 Stedman Gans, 12 Harold Vorster, 11 Marco Jansen van Vuren, 10 Johan Goosen, 9 Embrose Papier, 8 Elrigh Louw, 7 Nizaam Carr, 6 Marcell Coetzee, 5 Ruan Nortje (captain), 4 Ruan Vermaak, 3 Mornay Smith, 2 Johan Grobbelaar, 1 Gerhard Steenekamp.

Replacements: 16 Jan-Hendrik Wessels, 17 Simphiwe Matanzima, 18 Francois Klopper, 19 Charlie Ewels, 20 WJ Steenkamp, 21 Keagan Johannes, 22 Chris Smith, 23 Cornal Hendricks

Pumas: 15 Devon Williams, 14 Andrew Kota, 13 Diego Appollis, 12 Wian van Niekerk, 11 Etienne Taljaard, 10 Tinus de Beer, 9 Giovan Snyman, 8 Kwanda Dimaza, 7 Francois Kleinhas, 6 Andre Fouche, 5 Shane Kirkwood (captain), 4 Deon Slabbert, 3 Njabulo Gumede, 2 Corne Fourie, 1 Cameron Dawson.

Replacements: 16 Pieter Jacobs, 17 Dewald Maritz, 18 Simon Raw, 19 Malembe Mpofu, 20 Ruwald van der Merwe, 21 Lundi Msenge, 22 Brandon Thomson, 23 Jaco Labuschagne

Referee: Griffin Colby

Assistant Referees: Local

TMO: Archie Sehlako