BULLS UPSET CATS
February 22, 2003 - 3:16pm
Story by: AAP
Flyhalf Louis Koen kicked 29 points as Northern Bulls upset Golden Cats 34-26 in an all-South Africa Super 12 match.
It was a dream debut in Bulls colours for former Cat Koen, and for coach Rudy Joubert, a South African back from Welsh club Cardiff to try and lift the Bulls out of the doldrums.
The Bulls lost all 11 of their matches in the inter-provincial rugby union championship last year while the Cats only success came against their neighbours.
In a see-saw struggle watched by a 15,000 crowd basking in late afternoon sunshine at Free State Stadium in the central city, the Bulls surrendered a nine-point advantage to trail 17-12 at half-time.
But after Cats flyhalf Andre Pretorius stretched the lead through a penalty, the Pretoria-based outfit took command with Koen kicking three consecutive penalties to give the Bulls a lead they never lost.
Koen finished with a 100 percent record from seven place kicks - six penalties and the conversion of a try by veteran scrumhalf Joost van der Westhuizen under the posts.
The slightly built Bulls pivot was equally flawless with drop goal attempts, landing three out of three as the Bulls collected four points in an evenly balanced match.
His most vital kick came just before the final whistle, a long-range penalty from an acute angle that flew between the posts to give the Bulls an unsurpassable eight-point advantage.
Centre Gcobani Bobo and wing Friedrich Lombard scored first half tries for the Cats, a team based in Johannesburg and coached by Australian Tim Lane, assistant to South Africa coach Rudolf Straeuli.
Springbok Pretorius converted both tries and kicked four penalties in a mixed place kicking performance as he missed three relatively easy shots at goal.
Cats host NSW at the same venue next Saturday, the same day Bulls begin an Australasian tour in Napier against Wellington Hurricanes of New Zealand.
