Currie Cup: Cheetahs and Bulls try-fest ends in draw

A helter-skelter opening few minutes eventually resulted in a Nizaam Carr try. The Bulls spread the ball wide on the counter, Strevino Jacobs broke the line and found his captain in support on the inside.

From there, an arm-wrestle ensued. The Cheetahs were left to rue a couple of chances where their hands let them down. Sensing a tough encounter, both captains opted for points from the tee when given the chance. The visitors would lead 10-3 at the break.

In the second stanza, the Bulls finally came to life with two quick converted tries. First, Springbok Canan Moodie glided through a gap in the midfield and Zak Burger ran a great support line to score. Minutes later, fullback Boeta Chamberlain put a delightful chip into winger Jacobs' hand, who found Aphiwe Dyantyi inside.

Not to be outdone, the Cheetahs would strike back with two tries of their own. First from No.8 Friedle Olivier, then a counter-attack with plenty of offloads would see fullback Curwin Jasper go over in the corner.

The hosts continued to throw the ball around and centre Munier Hartzenberg would scythe his way through for a third try. After the conversion, there were just two points in it as the game entered the final 20 minutes. The comeback was complete when veteran lock Carl Wegner crashed over from close range to put the Cheetahs in the lead.

The saw-saw nature of the contest continued as Chamberlian again executed a perfect kick-pass for Dyanti to get his second. Chamberlian's conversion gave the Bulls a four-point lead with eight minutes to play.

The derby continued to deliver as the hosts scored a try from the lineout maul and added the extras from the tee.

The Bulls won a scrum penalty on the halfway line with two minutes to play, and captain Carr pointed to the poles. Chamberlian obliged, slotting the penalty to tie the game up. From there, the Bulls accepted the draw when they eventually drilled the ball into the stands, remaining winless in the City of Roses since 2018.

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