Stampeding Bulls overwhelm Chiefs in Super 14 final
Bulls overwhelm Chiefs in Super 14 final
The Bulls overwhelmed the Chiefs 61-17 in the Super 14 final at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria on Sunday (EST), recording a record winning margin after conceding the first try of the match.
The Bulls scored four tries en route to a 34-7 half-time advantage, and they crossed the line a further four times in the second half to send the majority of fans in the 52,000 crowd home in raptures.
The Bulls' margin eclipsed that in the 2001 final, when the Brumbies outclassed the Sharks to win 36-6 in Canberra.
"The gods were with us in recent weeks, and our success proves that hard work off the field is rewarded on it," Bulls captain Victor Matfield said.
"A special thanks must go to our coach Frans Ludeke."
Chiefs skipper Mils Muliaina was gracious after one of the most shattering experiences of a long career littered with Test appearances for New Zealand.
"Bulls thoroughly deserved their win by showing us how to play, and boast fantastic supporters," Muliaina said.
"We did not turn up this evening, which was such a pity for those who travelled so far to back us."
The Chiefs soaked up fierce early pressure before taking a seventh-minute lead when fly-half Stephen Donald fielded a kick from Bulls fullback Zane Kirchner and set up wing Lelia Masaga to score a converted try under the posts.
The score stunned the home crowd, but the silence lasted just two minutes before scrum half Fourie du Preez took a tap penalty close to the Chiefs line and barged over for a try that was converted by fly-half Morne Steyn.
Du Preez struck again soon, snapping up a pass after centre Wynand Olivier had dispossessed Chiefs hooker Aled de Malmanche and darting down the right touchline to cross for another try converted by Steyn.
The Bulls were playing like men inspired, not giving Chiefs a second to settle, and they scored their third try, in the 15th minute, when wing Bryan Habana pounced on a grubber kick and raced away for a try that Steyn converted from the touchline.
Steyn, the scorer of four drop goals in the semi-final triumph over the defending champions, the Crusaders, dropped another one, and the Bulls led by 17 points midway through the first half.
Steyn then kicked a penalty, and Donald missed one, before 2007 world player of the year Habana crossed the line again in the final minute of the opening half after an intercept.
Steyn's conversion gave the home team a 34-7 lead.
Muliaina was first player to score in the second half, demonstrating good handling skills, acceleration and power to go over under the posts.
Donald kicked his second conversion, but the Bulls responded again inside two minutes, with Steyn, the leading Super 14 points scorer this season, ahead of Donald, slotting a simple penalty to maintain his 100 per cent goal-kicking record in the match.
Donald kicked a penalty before the Bulls bagged their fifth try, the inspirational Matfield diving over a mass of players to touch down.
Steyn missed with a goal kick for the first time in the final, his conversion hitting a post.
Olivier and No.8 Pierre Spies then scored tries, with Steyn converting the latter, for the Bulls to move 54-17 ahead entering the closing stages.
And there was still time for another try, replacement forward Danie Rossouw crossing the line and fly-half Burton Francis, a late entrant in place of Steyn, converting.
TRIES Bulls
Fourie du Preez 10m
Fourie du Preez 12m
Bryan Habana 16m
Bryan Habana 41m
Victor Matfield 58m
Wynand Olivier 69m
Pierre Spies 73m
Danie Rossouw 80m
TRIES Chiefs
Lelia Masaga 7m
Mils Muliaina 46m
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Bulls: new golden era?
They have provided the most magical day in South African Super rugby history … and the “incredi-Bulls” may well sniff further glory ahead.
That is a thought worth savouring as Pretoria – and much of the rest of the country – goes dilly in the wake of the Bulls’ romp to a 61-17 victory over the Chiefs in Saturday’s high-octane Vodacom Super 14 final at Loftus.
It was eight tries to two and that is a quite awesome statistic against a gritty New Zealand outfit who were certainly left punch-drunk at times but had their own moments, albeit only that, and did not make massive concessions in pride.
