The Bulls scored 20 of their points in the first half, highlighting quite a dominant display in the opening 40. The Cheetahs seemed to dominate the scrum and lineout, but in the end the Bulls were too strong.
While it looks like it was quite a tight affair, the Bulls could have been further in front had it not been for some missed kicking opportunities by Tian Schoeman. The Bulls applied enormous pressure to the Cheetahs when number 8 Paul Schoeman was yellow-carded. From there, the Bulls scored two quick tries and ended up heading into the sheds 20-10 up.
Plenty of positives for both sides, with the Cheetahs putting in a strong performance away from home that they should be pleased with. Both teams have some issues with goal-kicking, however luckily for the Bulls that did not matter for them in the end.
Next weekend, the Cheetahs have the luxury of a bye, whilst the Bulls will play away from home – taking on the much-improved Kings.
Final score
Bulls 23
Cheetahs 18
The Bulls will look to move into the top three of the South African conference with a win against the Cheetahs. Join The Roar from 4:10am (AEST) for live score and blog.
Springbok Jesse Kriel returns to fullback for the Bulls, replacing injured, emerging star Warrick Gelant, who suffered a broken jaw in last weekend’s three-point win over the Sunwolves.
The injury is likely to see Gelant out of action for at least a month, which isn’t the best news for the men from Pretoria.
“With Warrick fracturing his jaw, I decided to use Jessie as he played well last year at fullback for the Bulls,” coach Nollis Marais said.
Gelant is an enormous danger, so this decision favours the Cheetahs. Scoring an average of 56 points combined across 16 clashes, statistics show that it is a free-flowing contest.
In other changes for the Bulls, winger Travis Ismaiel will start in jersey 14, as Jamba Ulengo moves to the other wing in the place of the injured Bjorn Basson. Additionally, Jan Serfontein will start at outside centre, and two new men, SP Marais and Pieter Labuschagne, enter the matchday 23 on the bench.
The Cheetahs will look to build upon their strong performance against the Brumbies at home in Round 5. For this reason, they have only made one change – rookie inside centre Nico Lee replaces Joubert Engelbrecht after he sustained an arm injury last weekend.
The Bulls have won 13 of their last 15 matches against the Cheetahs, however their last meeting resulted in a 42-29 win for the Cheetahs at this venue.
Can the Cheetahs do it again?
Prediction
The strength of the Bulls will be on show, and will be too strong.
Bulls by 12.
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