The Blue Bulls will play the Free State Cheetahs in the Currie Cup Final in Pretoria on October 31, after the Bulls edged Western Province 21-19 in a thriller at Newlands on Saturday.

In an epic contest, a game decided by inches and moments, it was seven Morné Steyn penalties that beat a Province team that scored the game's only try.

And the moment that decided it was when Fijian Sireli Naqelevuki came on inside the final 10 minutes to conceded the penalty that won the match for the Bulls — a high tackle, which was also his only contribution to the match.

However, it is a match in which both teams deserve plaudits for putting on a thrilling show. It may not please the purists, but a game that was worthy of a Final - let alone a semifinal.

And the Bulls, the Super 14 champions will host their second major Final of the year — all thanks to the boot of Steyn, who maintained a 100 percent record throughout the game. That followed on his series-winning performances against the British and Irish Lions, as well as the Tri-Nations.

The Bulls, with Bakkies Botha yellow carded in the first minute for an elbow in the face, showed their intent with two early Morné Steyn penalties — as Province faltered under pressure.

And the first scrum also turned into a penalty for the Bulls, as Wikus Blaauw went down under pressure. That became a line-out, a ruck and another penalty to the Bulls. Steyn made it 9-0 after 15 minutes.

And penalty number five against WP gave the Bulls another attacking line-out. But this time they failed to control the line-out throw. But it soon became penalty number six, as the Bulls dominated the breakdown. Steyn kicked — 12-0 after 18 minutes.

Province finally found some rhythm and in the 30th minute Joe Pietersen slotted a penalty to open his team's account.

But the penalties continued to mount against the home team and the referee had another chat to WP captain Luke Watson about his team's discipline.

Province were forced to make numerous tackles, but soaked up the pressure and launched a blistering counter to earn a penalty in the final minute of the first half. Pietersen slotted the penalty as the half-time hooter went and the Bulls took a 12-6 lead into the break.

The early second-half penalties went the way of WP, as the home team enjoyed some possession. One of those penalties, in the 51st minute, was slotted by Pietersen to narrow the gap to 9-12.

However, the next penalty went against Province in front of their posts, as the Bulls enjoyed a period of possession and territory. Steyn kept his 100 percent record intact to make it 15-9 as the final quarter approached.

However, Province countered from a turnover as the Bulls defence was found wanting and a great Frikkie Welsh grubber was pounced on by Gio Aplon in the Bulls in-goal area. The call went to the TMO, who awarded the try after a lengthy period and several replays. Pietersen slotted the conversion to give WP the lead, 16-15, with 18 minutes left on the clock.

However, from the restart WP conceded a scrum and the scrum became a penalty, with Steyn taking the lead back for the Bulls 18-16.

The next penalty, in 68th minute, went to WP fort offside deep inside the Bulls 22. Pietersen put the home team back in the lead — 19-18, with 12 minutes to go.

Province, now piling on the pressure, then forced a rare error out of Morné Steyn and the home team won a crucial line-out deep inside the Bulls 22 with less than seven minutes left on the clock. But Victor Matfield won a crucial steal for his team.

Fijian flyer Sireli Naqelevuki, on as a replacement, conceded a penalty in his first contribution in the game. And Steyn put the Bulls back in the lead with just over two minutes left in the game.

And the Bulls run down the clock — ensuring they will host the Cheetahs in the Final in Pretoria on October 31.

The scorers:

For Western Province:
Try: Aplon
Con: Pietersen
Pens: Pietersen 4
For the Blue Bulls:
Pens: Steyn 7
Yellow card: Bakkies Botha (Blue Bulls, 1 - foul play, elbow in the face) Teams:

Western Province: 15 Joe Pietersen, 14 Gio Aplon, 13 Juan de Jongh, 12 Paul Bosch, 11 Frikkie Welsh, 10 Peter Grant, 9 Dewaldt Duvenhage, 8 Luke Watson (captain), 7 Duane Vermeulen, 6 Francois Louw, 5 Andries Bekker, 4 Anton van Zyl, 3 Brok Harris, 2 Tiaan Liebenberg, 1 Wicus Blaauw. Replacements: 16 Deon Fourie, 17 JC Kritzinger, 18 De Kock Steenkamp, 19 Schalk Burger, 20 Ricky Januarie, 21 Matt To'omua, 22 Sireli Naqelevuki.

Blue Bulls: 15 Zane Kirchner, 14 Francois Hougaard, 13 Jaco Pretorius, 12 Wynand Olivier, 11 Bryan Habana; 10 Morné Steyn, 9 Fourie du Preez, 8 Pierre Spies, 7 Dewald Potgieter, 6 Deon Stegmann, 5 Victor Matfield (captain), 4 Bakkies Botha, 3 Werner Kruger, 2 Derick Kuün, 1 Gurthrö Steenkamp. Replacements: 16 Bandise Maku, 17 Rossouw de Klerk, 18 Danie Rossouw, 19 Pedrie Wannenburg, 20 Heini Adams, 21 Burton Francis, 22 Gerhard van den Heever Referee: Mark Lawrence Assistant referees: Jaco Peyper, Reuben Rossouw TMO: Michael Cupido By Paul Dobson, at Newlands
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