Publications
Partners
Cape Town - The Bulls got their Australasian tour off to the worst possible start when they went down to the struggling Blues in Auckland on Friday.
The Blues won 23-18 after leading 16-13 at half-time.
The Blues scored two tries through fullback Lolagi Visinia and centre George Moala. Flyhalf Ihaia West was on target with both conversions as well as three penalties.
The Bulls replied with two tries of their own - both by centre Jan Serfontein. Flyhalf Handre Pollard added a conversion and two penalties.
The Blues picked up four points for their victory, but remained bottom of the competitive New Zealand Conference. They also stayed 13th in the Overall standings.
The Bulls picked up a single point for losing by seven or fewer points, and moved to the top of the South African Conference, and into second place in the Overall log.
In next weekend's Round 15 action, the Bulls travel to Rotorua to play the Chiefs (Friday, May 22 at 09:35), while the Blues host the Hurricanes in Auckland (Saturday, May 23 at 09:35).
Teams:
Blues15 Lolagi Visinia, 14 Ben Lam, 13 Francis Saili, 12 George Moala, 11 Melani Nanai, 10 Ihaia West, 9 Jamison Gibson-Park, 8 Steven Luatua (captain), 7 Brendon O'Connor, 6 Akira Ioane, 5 Josh Bekhuis, 4 Culum Retallick, 3 Charlie Faumuina, 2 James Parsons, 1 Tony Woodcock
Substitutes: 16 Keven Mealamu, 17 Ofa Tu'ungafasi, 18 Sam Pratley, 19 Will Lloyd, 20 Blake Gibson, 21 Jimmy Cowan/Jamie Booth, 22 Simon Hickey, 23 Matt Vaega
Bulls
15 Jesse Kriel, 14 Francois Hougaard, 13 JJ Engelbrecht, 12 Jan Serfontein, 11 Bjorn Basson, 10 Handré Pollard, 9 Rudy Paige, 8 Pierre Spies (captain), 7 Arno Botha, 6 Lappies Labuschagne, 5 Victor Matfield, 4 Flip van de Merwe, 3 Marcel van der Merwe, 2 Adriaan Strauss, 1 Trevor Nyakane
Substitutes: 16 Callie Visagie, 17 Dean Greyling, 18 Werner Kruger, 19 Jacques du Plessis, 20 Deon Stegmann, 21 Burger Odendaal, 22 Jacques-Louis Potgieter, 23 Travis Ismaiel
