Bulls tame Lions, Cheetahs through

THE Blue Bulls reached a fourth consecutive Currie Cup final with a hard-fought come-from-behind 31-23 semifinal victory over the Lions at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday evening.

The Lions led 17-16 at the break, but should have been further ahead after outplaying the defending champions in most facets in the first 40 minutes. However, a try late in the half restored hope to the majority of the 47 311 fans packed into the stadium.The second half then saw a complete reversal as the Bulls stamped their mark on the game and the Lions were left to play catch-up.From the opening kick off the Bulls simply could not get their hands on the ball as the visitors completely dominated proceedings.The Lions were awarded an incredible four penalties in the first five minutes, one of which André Pretorius kicked through the uprights for an early 3-0 lead.He did, however, miss two other attempts at goal and a speculative long-range drop-goal inside the first ten minutes that, if successful, would have meant trouble for the home side.Meanwhile, Free State played a masterful tactical game to beat Western Province 16-11 at Newlands and advance to their second consecutive Currie Cup final.It was the second year running that they beat WP in a Cape Town semifinal and the match followed much the same.-News24However, a try late in the half restored hope to the majority of the 47 311 fans packed into the stadium.The second half then saw a complete reversal as the Bulls stamped their mark on the game and the Lions were left to play catch-up.From the opening kick off the Bulls simply could not get their hands on the ball as the visitors completely dominated proceedings.The Lions were awarded an incredible four penalties in the first five minutes, one of which André Pretorius kicked through the uprights for an early 3-0 lead.He did, however, miss two other attempts at goal and a speculative long-range drop-goal inside the first ten minutes that, if successful, would have meant trouble for the home side.Meanwhile, Free State played a masterful tactical game to beat Western Province 16-11 at Newlands and advance to their second consecutive Currie Cup final.It was the second year running that they beat WP in a Cape Town semifinal and the match followed much the same.-News24