Raging Bulls gore Hurricanes
Source: Agencies |
April 3, 2011, Sunday
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Print Edition
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THE Bulls put their Super rugby title defense firmly back on track with a hard-fought 26-14 win over the Wellington Hurricanes in Napier yesterday.
A late try from winger Francois Hougaard and a 21-point kicking masterclass from flyhalf Morne Steyne proved the difference as South Africa's Bulls took a 15-3 halftime lead and defended stoutly after the break at McLean Stadium.
Meanwhile, the Auckland Blues scored a pair of tries in each half and held off a dogged fightback by another South African team the Cheetahs for a 29-22 home win in Whangarei.
"I'm very happy about the win tonight," said Bulls skipper Victor Matfield. "We knew it wasn't going to be a nice open game, we had to grind it out and we did it well."
The win was the Bulls' fourth from six games in the southern hemisphere rugby competition while the struggling Hurricanes suffered their fourth loss.
Laser-sharp Steyn scored all of the Bulls' points in the first half, kicking a drop goal from 30 meters on a slight angle and repeating the feat from almost exactly the same position 10 minutes later to the derision of spectators.
The flyhalf's opposite number Daniel Kirkpatrick finally put his team on the board with a penalty kick four minutes before halftime.
In Whangarei, scrumhalf Sarel Pretorius scored two second-half tries to lead a brave Cheetahs' fightback before the Bloemfontein-based side succumbed to its sixth defeat in seven matches, leaving it at the bottom of the championship table.
Victory and a bonus point for four tries lifted the Blues to the top of the New Zealand conference.
"We're happy to take the five points, that's a positive out of it, but there's plenty to work on," Blues captain Keven Mealamu said.
In a late all-Australian clash, the expansion Melbourne Rebels, sprung a surprised by edging Western Force 26-25 in Perth.
A late try from winger Francois Hougaard and a 21-point kicking masterclass from flyhalf Morne Steyne proved the difference as South Africa's Bulls took a 15-3 halftime lead and defended stoutly after the break at McLean Stadium.
Meanwhile, the Auckland Blues scored a pair of tries in each half and held off a dogged fightback by another South African team the Cheetahs for a 29-22 home win in Whangarei.
"I'm very happy about the win tonight," said Bulls skipper Victor Matfield. "We knew it wasn't going to be a nice open game, we had to grind it out and we did it well."
The win was the Bulls' fourth from six games in the southern hemisphere rugby competition while the struggling Hurricanes suffered their fourth loss.
Laser-sharp Steyn scored all of the Bulls' points in the first half, kicking a drop goal from 30 meters on a slight angle and repeating the feat from almost exactly the same position 10 minutes later to the derision of spectators.
The flyhalf's opposite number Daniel Kirkpatrick finally put his team on the board with a penalty kick four minutes before halftime.
In Whangarei, scrumhalf Sarel Pretorius scored two second-half tries to lead a brave Cheetahs' fightback before the Bloemfontein-based side succumbed to its sixth defeat in seven matches, leaving it at the bottom of the championship table.
Victory and a bonus point for four tries lifted the Blues to the top of the New Zealand conference.
"We're happy to take the five points, that's a positive out of it, but there's plenty to work on," Blues captain Keven Mealamu said.
In a late all-Australian clash, the expansion Melbourne Rebels, sprung a surprised by edging Western Force 26-25 in Perth.
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