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Bulls' play-off chances slim

Johannesburg - Blue Bulls scored 92 points in their final league match of the South African Currie Cup season Friday but are unlikely to finish among the top four teams and play in the semi-finals.

The 23-time champions crossed the try-line 14 times in perfect mid-spring conditions at Loftus Versfeld to humiliate bottom-of-the-table Platinum Leopards 92-21 after reaching half-time 14 points ahead.

Former Springbok wing Bjorn Basson scored three tries and lock Juandre Kruger and number eight C.J. Stander two each as the Bulls became the biggest victors of the season, eclipsing the 80-16 win of Free State Cheetahs over Mpumalanga Pumas.

Victory gave the Bulls a four-point advantage on the table and a 13-point better points difference than fifth-place Western Province, who host the lowly Pumas at Newlands Saturday.

A bonus-point win or a victory by at least 14 points will lift 29-time title holders Province back above the Bulls and earn the Cape Town outfit an away semi-final against table-toppers Golden Lions next weekend.

Defending champions Sharks are one point ahead of Cheetahs in the race for second place and a home semi-final, but have the tougher final fixture against the Lions while their rivals entertain mid-table Griqualand West.

Fixture congestion means the Currie Cup -- the oldest domestic inter-provincial championship in the world - will be cut by two teams to six from next season, depriving the Leopards and Pumas of a survival route via promotion play-offs.

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