It was one of those Currie Cup classics, with both teams landing serious punches throughout.
But in the end, the Blue Bulls’ never-say-die spirit took them to the final with a 36-30 win over Western Province at Loftus Versfeld.
Replacement scrumhalf Ivan van Zyl scored with a minute to go to break WP’s hearts, while the Bulls’ other hero on Saturday night was flyhalf Tian Schoeman, who slotted eight out of eight kicks at goal for a 21-point haul and was appointed as the Man of the Match.
The Bulls will now face the Cheetahs in next Saturday’s final in Bloemfontein after Free State thrashed the Golden Lions 55-17 in the first semi-final on Saturday.
Province had clawed their way back from a 16-7 deficit in the first half to take the lead for the first time in the 49th minute through Werner Kok’s thrilling touchdown, with Du Preez adding the conversion for a 20-19 advantage with half-an-hour to go.
But after further tries by Jan de Klerk for WP and Jason Jenkins for the Bulls, it all came down to Van Zyl’s winning score at the death.
While there weren’t many big names on show, it was an old-style arm wrestle between the Bulls’ significantly bigger pack of forwards against a more mobile WP unit, while the Cape backline looked dangerous every time they had ball-in-hand.
The Bulls backs didn’t hold back either, with wings Jamba Ulengo and Travis Ismaiel carving holes out wide and up the middle. And it was Ismaiel who got on to the scoreboard early on when flank Roelof Smit surged forward, and the ball was moved quickly by Burger Odendaal to send Ismaiel over in the corner.
Province’s defence held on resolutely as the Bulls pack rampaged forward, with Juan de Jongh and Nizaam Carr making a huge impact. But WP were a bit hesitant in the first half when they got the ball, relying too much on scrumhalf Dewaldt Duvenage’s box-kicks and asking him to create gaps from the base of the ruck instead of entrusting flyhalf Robert du Preez to take charge.
Some of Duvenage’s play was telegraphed and made it easy for the Bulls to stop, with openside flank Smit having a field day as he slowed down WP’s possession and won a number of breakdown penalties and turnovers.
But the WP pack finally found their rhythm with an astonishing maul from the Bulls 22, and No 8 Carr fell over the line to level the score after 20 minutes.
Province coach John Dobson, though, would’ve been frustrated with some of the calls from referee Marius van der Westhuizen that went the Bulls’ way, and that allowed Schoeman to punish the visitors with the boot with three first-half penalties to build a 16-7 halftime lead.
But WP fought back to 16-13 in the first few minutes of the second half, and then came Kok’s wonderful five-pointer as captain Chris van Zyl intercepted a Bulls pass, and De Jongh kept it alive before timing his pass to perfection for Kok to race away.
Suddenly Province were 20-19 up, and after another Schoeman penalty, WP regained the lead following a five-metre lineout as lock Jan de Klerk showed good footwork to stop the defence and crash over in the 58th minute.
But the Cape side’s defence couldn’t hold out any longer, and it was Ulengo who broke open the game with an electric run that saw him link up with Ismaiel out wide, and the ball was recycled for lock Jason Jenkins to burst through around the fringe for a critical score.
And even after Du Preez banged over his third penalty of the night, it was almost inevitable that the Bulls would find a way to regain the lead in the last five minutes as Province were slipping too many tackles as the physical onslaught from the home side took its toll.
The Bulls adopted their slow poison of pick and go’s close to the line, and Van Zyl dotted down without any WP defender close to him to send the Bulls into their first final since 2009.
That was also the year they beat Province in the semi-final, and ironically enough, they had beaten the Cheetahs in the final – although it was at Loftus Versfeld.
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POINTS-SCORERS
Blue Bulls– Tries: Travis Ismaiel, Jason Jenkins, Ivan van Zyl. Conversions: Tian Schoeman (3). Penalties: Schoeman (5).
Western Province– Tries: Nizaam Carr, Werner Kok, Jan de Klerk. Conversions: Robert du Preez (3). Penalties: Du Preez (3).