Bulls forced out in Perth
A Ryan Cross try at the death for the Force denied the Bulls victory at Subiaco Oval on Friday as the home side won 15-14.
Last Updated: 04/04/08 9:41pm
A Ryan Cross try at the death for the Force denied the Bulls victory in a tightly fought match at Subiaco Oval on Friday as the home side won 15-14.
Two first-half tries from Springbok winger Bryan Habana saw the Bulls lead 14-3 when the teams swapped ends.
The Force came out firing in the second half and scored within a few minutes of the kick-off and then again in the dying minutes to send the Bulls back to South Africa without a win on their overseas tour.
The defending Super 14 champions were looking for their first win against foreign opposition this year and with two minutes to go were on the verge of saving some face, until Cross dived over in the corner.
Cameron Shepherd opened the scoring with a penalty after 15 minutes for the Force but the Bulls replied almost immediately when Habana went over on the other side of the park.
The Springbok flyer took a brilliant pass from Fourie du Preez and needed only half a metre of space down the touch-line to beat the Force defence.
It was a great effort from Habana who had taken a nasty bump on the head just seconds earlier and must still have been seeing stars when he touched down.
Habana was in business again just before the half-tome hooter when Pedrie Wannenburg bashed his way into some space and off-loaded to the winger who simply turned on the gas and left two Force defenders for dead.
Nail-biting
The home side fought right back when the teams returned. Nathan Sharpe carried the ball up before Matt Giteau stretched out an arm to put the ball over and bring the Force back into contention.
The next half an hour was largely forgettable as neither side could string together any sort a decent attacking play. It all came down to a nail-biting finish as the game could have gone either way in the last ten minutes.
The visitors repeatedly tested the patience of referee Steve Walsh, until it all became too much and he sent Deon Stegmann for an early shower.
Their numerical advantage in the last five minutes was just what the Force needed to send the Bulls home to think again - with Cross scoring the match-winning try.
The Bulls will be desperately disappointed, but when you consider that they have been on the receiving end of yellow cards in seven of their eight games, it's becomes clear that they only have themselves to blame for there spectacular downfall.
