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Pretoria - The Bulls scored a try at the death to beat the Crusaders 40-35 in a nailbiting fight from behind, despite being a man down.
Francois Hougaard's controversial second try after the hooter helped the Bulls home in a hard but error-ridden Super 14 match against the Crusaders at Loftus on Friday night to book themselves a home semifinal in two weeks time.
Once again the Bulls were behind at the break, and once again they were made to sweat by a side that had them at sixes and sevens early on but wilted in the last quarter.
With the score see-sawing throughout the second half, the Bulls were 35-33 behind and Morne Steyn was well set up after the final hooter for a drop goal which would have been his third of the evening.
It was, however, charged down - and from near the halfway line the ball was taken wide to the left. Bandise Maku ran hard and off-loaded to Hougaard.
What looked like a Bulls knock was adjudged to be a Crusaders hand by assistant referee Jaco Peyper. Hougaard picked up, raced through and Steyn converted to give the Bulls their 18th successive win at Loftus.
But it was much too close for comfort and a not very convincing win.
There were too many errors from both sides, and the Bulls should have done better against a team that lacked discipline too often.
In addition to some questions about the quality of their play, the Bulls also lost winger Gerhard van den Heever with a yellow card for a dangerous tackle. This could see him miss a match or two as there is little doubt that he will be cited.
The defeat, despite their two bonus points, has now put the Crusaders in a precarious position. Their play-off fate is no longer altogether in their own hands.
The non-tackling Bulls conceded three early tries, two of them after poor defence, and deservedly found themselves 19-9 down after 29 minutes. Poor options, with little stab kicks when men on the outside had a chance and a forward or two in the way of the backline when quick ball was needed, didn't help.
Steyn kept the Bulls in contact, however, with two penalties from within his own half and a well-struck drop.
It took quick thinking from Fourie du Preez after a tackle to realise it wasn't a ruck, playing it within his rights from what seemed the wrong side to send wing Francois Hougaard on an 80m run for a try after 32 minutes.
Steyn missed the conversion and a penalty but then slotted one to make it 19-17 after 38 minutes - and then the Bulls took a 24-19 lead on the hooter after a great try by Victor Matfield following more good work by Hougaard and then Gary Botha and Danie Rossouw.
After the break the visitors kept threatening with some effective inter-passing, but poor handling and marginally better tackling than in the first half kept them at bay until hooker Tii Paulo went over under the posts. The converted try put them in the lead at 26-24.
This was also the Crusaders' bonus point try - but their lead lasted only three minutes before another penalty by Steyn put the Bulls ahead again, 27-26.
In the tit-for-tat match it was then the turn of the visitors. Going through a number of phases unsuccessfully, Dan Carter opted to drop from right in front.
In a refereeing comedy Marius Jonker showed that the drop kick was over, ran to the halfway line and then had second thoughts. Only then did he decide to request TMO intervention with Crusaders captain Richie McCaw clearly upset about the proceedings.
The TMO gave the go-ahead, and the visitors were ahead again 29-27 after 60 minutes, only for Steyn to kick another penalty when the Bulls were unable to convert a sequence of phases into a try.
Van den Heever's tackle gave Carter an opportunity from about 53m out.
He struck it well, and at 35-33 with only two minutes to go, it seemed all over.
But Francois Hougaard sunk the Crusaders hopes with the match-winning try.
Scorers:
Vodacom Bulls - Tries: Francois Hougaard (2), Victor Matfield. Conevrsions: Morne Steyn (2). Penalties: M Steyn (5). Drop Goals`: M Steyn (2).
Crusaders - Tries: Brad Thorn, Andy Ellis, Shaun Maitland, Ti`i Paulo. Conversions: Daniel Carter (3). Penalties: D Carter (2). Drop Goal: D Carter.
Teams:
Bulls:
15. Zane Kirchner; 14. Gerhard van der Heever, 13. Jacques-Louis Potgieter, 12. Wynand Olivier, 11. Francois Hougaard; 10. Morné Steyn, 9. Fourie du Preez; 8. Pierre Spies, 7. Dewald Potgieter, 6. Deon Stegmann, 5. Victor Matfield (captain), 4. Danie Rossouw, 3. Werner Kruger, 2. Gary Botha, 1. Gurthrö Steenkamp.
Crusaders:
15 Colin Slade, 14 Sean Maitland, 13 Robbie Fruean, 12 Dan Bowden, 11 Zac Guildford, 10 Dan Carter, 9 Kahn Fotuali’i, 8 Kieran Read, 7 Richie McCaw (captain), 6 George Whitelock, 5 Chris Jack, 4 Brad Thorn, 3 Owen Franks, 2 Ti’i Paulo, 1 Wyatt Crockett.
Francois Hougaard's controversial second try after the hooter helped the Bulls home in a hard but error-ridden Super 14 match against the Crusaders at Loftus on Friday night to book themselves a home semifinal in two weeks time.
Once again the Bulls were behind at the break, and once again they were made to sweat by a side that had them at sixes and sevens early on but wilted in the last quarter.
With the score see-sawing throughout the second half, the Bulls were 35-33 behind and Morne Steyn was well set up after the final hooter for a drop goal which would have been his third of the evening.
It was, however, charged down - and from near the halfway line the ball was taken wide to the left. Bandise Maku ran hard and off-loaded to Hougaard.
What looked like a Bulls knock was adjudged to be a Crusaders hand by assistant referee Jaco Peyper. Hougaard picked up, raced through and Steyn converted to give the Bulls their 18th successive win at Loftus.
But it was much too close for comfort and a not very convincing win.
There were too many errors from both sides, and the Bulls should have done better against a team that lacked discipline too often.
In addition to some questions about the quality of their play, the Bulls also lost winger Gerhard van den Heever with a yellow card for a dangerous tackle. This could see him miss a match or two as there is little doubt that he will be cited.
The defeat, despite their two bonus points, has now put the Crusaders in a precarious position. Their play-off fate is no longer altogether in their own hands.
The non-tackling Bulls conceded three early tries, two of them after poor defence, and deservedly found themselves 19-9 down after 29 minutes. Poor options, with little stab kicks when men on the outside had a chance and a forward or two in the way of the backline when quick ball was needed, didn't help.
Steyn kept the Bulls in contact, however, with two penalties from within his own half and a well-struck drop.
It took quick thinking from Fourie du Preez after a tackle to realise it wasn't a ruck, playing it within his rights from what seemed the wrong side to send wing Francois Hougaard on an 80m run for a try after 32 minutes.
Steyn missed the conversion and a penalty but then slotted one to make it 19-17 after 38 minutes - and then the Bulls took a 24-19 lead on the hooter after a great try by Victor Matfield following more good work by Hougaard and then Gary Botha and Danie Rossouw.
After the break the visitors kept threatening with some effective inter-passing, but poor handling and marginally better tackling than in the first half kept them at bay until hooker Tii Paulo went over under the posts. The converted try put them in the lead at 26-24.
This was also the Crusaders' bonus point try - but their lead lasted only three minutes before another penalty by Steyn put the Bulls ahead again, 27-26.
In the tit-for-tat match it was then the turn of the visitors. Going through a number of phases unsuccessfully, Dan Carter opted to drop from right in front.
In a refereeing comedy Marius Jonker showed that the drop kick was over, ran to the halfway line and then had second thoughts. Only then did he decide to request TMO intervention with Crusaders captain Richie McCaw clearly upset about the proceedings.
The TMO gave the go-ahead, and the visitors were ahead again 29-27 after 60 minutes, only for Steyn to kick another penalty when the Bulls were unable to convert a sequence of phases into a try.
Van den Heever's tackle gave Carter an opportunity from about 53m out.
He struck it well, and at 35-33 with only two minutes to go, it seemed all over.
But Francois Hougaard sunk the Crusaders hopes with the match-winning try.
Scorers:
Vodacom Bulls - Tries: Francois Hougaard (2), Victor Matfield. Conevrsions: Morne Steyn (2). Penalties: M Steyn (5). Drop Goals`: M Steyn (2).
Crusaders - Tries: Brad Thorn, Andy Ellis, Shaun Maitland, Ti`i Paulo. Conversions: Daniel Carter (3). Penalties: D Carter (2). Drop Goal: D Carter.
Teams:
Bulls:
15. Zane Kirchner; 14. Gerhard van der Heever, 13. Jacques-Louis Potgieter, 12. Wynand Olivier, 11. Francois Hougaard; 10. Morné Steyn, 9. Fourie du Preez; 8. Pierre Spies, 7. Dewald Potgieter, 6. Deon Stegmann, 5. Victor Matfield (captain), 4. Danie Rossouw, 3. Werner Kruger, 2. Gary Botha, 1. Gurthrö Steenkamp.
Crusaders:
15 Colin Slade, 14 Sean Maitland, 13 Robbie Fruean, 12 Dan Bowden, 11 Zac Guildford, 10 Dan Carter, 9 Kahn Fotuali’i, 8 Kieran Read, 7 Richie McCaw (captain), 6 George Whitelock, 5 Chris Jack, 4 Brad Thorn, 3 Owen Franks, 2 Ti’i Paulo, 1 Wyatt Crockett.
