Bulls charge past 'Tahs
The Bulls upset the Waratahs 16-13 in torrential rain and on a slippery surface at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria.
Last Updated: 03/05/08 5:28pm
The Bulls upset the Waratahs 16-13 in torrential rain and on a slippery surface at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria.
It was a classic 'old school' Bulls performance as the home side used the mammoth boot of Derick Hougaard and dominated the set-pieces to get the edge in a tightly fought battle.
The Waratahs dominated the first twenty minutes only to see the Bulls claw their way back into the game in the following twenty. The Waratahs lead 7-6 at half-time but a second-half try by hooker Derick Kuun swung the game in the Bulls' favour.
The Waratahs weren't about to lie down though and it took a drop-goal by Morne Steyn seven minutes from time to separate the teams.
Waratahs centre Rob Horne opened the scoring just before the ten-minute mark when Wynand Olivier made a dreadful attempt to tackle Wycliff Palu. The 'Tahs big number eight simply shrugged off the Springbok centre before off-loading to Horne who sailed over to put the visitors ahead.
Drop-goal
Hougaard, playing outside his namesake Francois, soon made his presence felt, producing a drop-goal after a quarter of an hour to put the Bulls on the scoreboard.
When Luke Burgess impeded Bryan Habana in his chase to get under a high ball, Steyn slotted the ensuing penalty and there was just one point in the game at 7-6.
In the closing stages of the half Steyn and Lote Tuqiri had opportunities to land penalties, however both went wide and the Waratahs into to the break with a narrow lead.
The Bulls started the second-half with a bang. The small crowd went wild as front rowers Gurthro Steenkamp and Derick Kuun had a rare opportunity to sprint in open territory. With the help of Olivier they put Kuun over and the home team moved in front for the first time.
Steyn's conversion took the Bulls out to a 13-7 advantage in the 44th minute and the game had quickly taken on a different complexion.
Beale landed a penalty to close the gap to three and shortly thereafter levelled the game at 13-all with a drop goal of his own. The Waratahs had their chances in the Bulls half, however it was the home side which always looked like scoring next.
Advantage
With advantage being played, Steyn missed a drop-goal in the 73rd minute, but when the ensuing free-kick was tapped and driven towards the posts, Steyn again dropped into the pocket and made no mistake with the drop-goal and the Bulls were back in front 16-13.
The final seven minutes saw both sides struggle to maintain possession or field position. When Pierre Spies rounded off a strong game by charging down Lachie Turner in the Waratahs in goal area the Bulls looked set to go further clear.
But they didn't manage to score from the five-metre scrum, leaving the Waratahs' to settle for a losing bonus point.
