Bulls down Hurricanes at Loftus
Prop Pierre Schoeman crashed over for the winning try to clinch a pulsating 21-19 win for the new-look Vodacom Bulls over the Hurricanes on Saturday evening in Pretoria. The encounter at Loftus Versfeld was the Bulls' first match of the new Vodacom Super Rugby season.
In the earlier match in Johannesburg, exciting speedster Aphiwe Dyantyi scored two tries for the Emirates Lions in their 47-27 victory over the Jaguares. The young wing made a big impression on his debut last week and on Saturday he gave another lively display at Emirates Airline Park.
In the third fixture involving South African teams, the Waratahs managed to snatch the winning try after the final siren to defeat the DHL Stormers 34-27 in an action-packed morning clash in Sydney (SA time). The Cell C Sharks was not in action over the weekend.
New Vodacom Bulls coach John Mitchell got off to a winning start at Loftus and his youthful looking side displayed a fresh, attacking approach. The Pretoria outfit made a lively start and went into the break by leading the Canes 16-12.
The giant lock pairing of RG Snyman and Lood de Jager were particularly menacing in open play and splendid movement between the two resulted in De Jager's try out wide. And although the Hurricanes fought their way into the lead later on, it was the Bulls who rallied back when former Junior Springbok prop Schoeman charged over for the winning score.
The Jaguares lost to the DHL Stormers in the first round and on Saturday they made a fast start against the Emirates Lions, which resulted in two early tries. The Lions played better as the first half progressed and they finished the half 19-10 in front.
Warren Whiteley and his team controlled the second stanza as they build a commanding lead, while the Jaguares scored a couple of opportunistic tries (47-27).
In Sydney, both Springbok prop Steven Kitshoff and flank Kobus van Dyk scored their first tries of the competition as the Waratahs and DHL Stormers were locked at 17-17 at halftime. The two teams were also tied at 27-all at the sound of the final hooter.
However, the Waratahs pounced on a Stormers lineout mistake to score the winning try when Ned Hanigan dived over in the corner. The match was an exciting, all-out action affair with plenty of thrills but also plenty of errors on both sides (34-27).
In the New Zealand Conference, the Highlanders defeated the Blues 41-34 and the Crusaders won 45-23 over the Chiefs. The Rebels outclassed the Reds 45-19 in their Australian Conference match while the Sunwolves lost their home tie 32-25 to the visiting Brumbies.