The Vodacom Bulls’ recent revival continued as they secured a 39 / 20 victory over the Cheetahs in Bloemfontein on Saturday… moving them to 2nd in the SA Conference.

Handré Pollard was the visitors’ hero as he contributed 29 points via a try, 5 penalties, 3 conversions and a drop-goal. After last weekend’s morale-boosting win over the Sharks, Bulls coach Frans Ludeke will be delighted with the way his side dominated this game for large periods.

Joe Pietersen opened the scoring as early as the 4th minute via a penalty, after Deon Stegmann slowed the ball down cynically at a ruck, but the hosts soon suffered their first set-back when Raymond Rhule was sent to the sin-bin shortly afterwards for taking Jesse Kriel out in the air.

Pollard got the visitors’ 1st points from the kicking tee in the 13th minute after Danie Mienie was penalised for a scrum infringement and the Springbok pivot extended his side’s lead with a well-taken try 5 minutes later.

With the Bulls on the attack deep inside the home side’s 22, Pollard attacked the line at pace and after a show and go, which bamboozled 2 defenders, he crossed over for the 5-pointer.

He added the extras which gave the visitors a 10 / 3 lead and 10 minutes later slotted another penalty after Mienie was again penalised for illegal scrummaging.

Pietersen reduced the deficit with a successful 3-pointer of his own in the 28th minute but a try from Bjorn Basson, on the half-hour mark, after Victor Matfield and JJ Engelbrecht impressed in the build-up, restored parity for the visitors.

Pollard added the conversion and a penalty shortly before halftime, which meant the visitors held a comfortable 23 / 6 lead at the change-over.

The Cheetahs were quickest out of the starting blocks after the break and Rhule made up for his earlier indiscretion with a superb solo try. The speedster ran onto a pass from Tian Meyer, midway between the Bulls’ 10m line and their 22, shrugged off a Trevor Nyakane tackle and beat Kriel with a deft side-step before crossing over.

Pietersen slotted the conversion but the home side didn’t build on that effort and instead conceded further penalties, especially at the breakdowns. One such indiscretion by Oupa Mohoje was punished by another accurate place kick from Pollard in the 53rd minute.

The Cheetahs struck back with a well-worked try 5 minutes later, by Boom Prinsloo off a driving maul at a lineout deep inside the Bulls’ 22 and when Pietersen succeeded with the conversion, the hosts were back in the game as they were trailing by a mere 6 points.

If the Bloemfontein faithful thought the fightback was on, Pollard had other ideas. After slotting his 5th penalty in the 63rd minute, he took the wind out of the home side’s sails with a sweetly-struck drop-goal 2 minutes later.

The Bulls weren’t finished yet and there was still time for Jan Serfontein to power his way over for their 3rd try 10 minutes from the end, after a superb angled run which was the final nail in the Cheetahs’ coffin.

The Bulls could not nail down the 4th try for a bonus point, but will be happy that their season seems to be back on track in 2015.

Bulls coach Frans Ludeke lauded his side for their 2nd victory in this year’s Super Rugby competition, beating the Cheetahs convincingly by 39 / 20 at the Free State Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

The Bulls came under fire after losing in Round 1 of the competition, but good victories over the Sharks last weekend and now the Cheetahs, sees them in 2nd place in the South African conference and 5th on the Combined Log.

Against the Cheetahs, the Bulls could not manage a bonus point for 4 or more tries, but Ludeke was more than content with the victory and singled out the role his Springbok flyhalf Handré Pollard played in the team’s success.

“Handré has done really well and he is definitely one of our key players,” Ludeke said afterwards.

“He kicks really well at goal and has such good decision making capabilities that gets us on the front foot. He is also very good at creating space around him

“That makes it easier for the players around him to do their thing.”

Ludeke was also happy with the way his charges performed as a unit.

“We knew it was going to be difficult against the Cheetahs. We played well in the first half and put them under pressure.

“We let them back a little in the 2nd half, but we kept our cool and closed out the game.”

Cheetahs coach Naka Drotske, on the other hand, was not happy with his side’s performance, particularly after his team managed 2 consecutive victories over the last couple of weeks.

He admitted Pollard played a big role in their demise.

“We didn’t play well in the first half and the Bulls managed to put us under immense pressure,” Drotske said.

“To be that far behind at halftime wasn’t nearly what we wanted and that made it difficult in the 2nd half.

“Combine that with the type of game that Handré Pollard had and it was nearly impossible to come back.”

Despite the loss, the Cheetahs still find themselves in 3rd place in the South African conference and in 8th place on the Combined Log.

“We need to be better and this coming week we will definitely work on that,” Drotske concluded.