Brits, Van der Merwe bury the hatchet after Super fist fight

The Blue Bulls' Schalk Brits and the Sharks' Akker van der Merwe buried the hatched pretty quickly after their Super Rugby fist fight that saw both of them being red-carded on Saturday. 

Super Rugby's leading points scorer, Handre Pollard slotted a 79th-minute penalty Saturday to secure a 19-16 away win for the Bulls over the Sharks in an error-riddled South African showdown.  

Pollard also kicked four penalties for a 14-point match total and 96 for the season, 32 more than second-place Hayden Parker from the Tokyo-based Sunwolves. 

The result confirmed the dominance of the Bulls over the Sharks with eight victories and a draw from the last nine matches between them in the southern hemisphere competition. 

But the outcome in Durban spoilt a special day for Sharks and Springbok prop Tendai Mtawarira, who made a record-equalling 156th Super Rugby appearance for a South African. 

The record was held by retired Bulls hooker Adriaan Strauss and Mtawarira, popularly known as 'The Beast', can break it next Friday when the Sharks play the Lions in Johannesburg.

It was also a sad day for veteran Bulls hooker Schalk Brits, who was sent off for the first time in a 17-year senior career spanning South African and English clubs.

He was red-carded, along with rival hooker Akker van der Merwe, after they exchanged punches following a maul 17 minutes into the second half.

While the two players were jovial after the game, both could still face additional sanctions over their on-field conduct. 

The game itself will be a candidate for the worst Super Rugby match of the season with endless stoppages owing to handling errors and foul play in hot, humid conditions.

The victory placed three-time champions the Bulls fifth in the combined standings, seven points behind leaders and title-holders the Crusaders.  

Sharks are one place and one point below the Bulls, but two home defeats already this season against South African rivals could come back to haunt them. 

"We could have won this match -- we had sufficient scoring opportunities to do so," admitted Sharks centre and official man-of-the-match Lukhanyo Am.

(Additional reporting by AFP)