Bulls 22
Hurricanes 50
KEY POINTS:
The Hurricanes showed power and pace to down the Bulls at Loftus Versfeld and claim their first Super 14 bonus points on the way.
For Hurricanes halfback Piri Weepu it was a sweet moment, the victory marking his 50th Super 14 match since first running off the bench against the Bulls in 2004.
"I knew after the first try inside five minutes that we had them," said Weepu, who blunted the Bulls' effort to work the short side. "We were feeling good in the set pieces and kept going and stuck to the game plan. From there it just opened up for us."
The Hurricanes hit the Bulls like a Wellington hailstorm.
Jimmy Gopparth broke the line to give Ma'a Nonu the opening he had been probing as he made a bruising 30m strike for the line just minutes into the game to start the Hurricanes on their journey.
Loose forward Chris Masoe, who has been a consistent performer throughout the season, scored in the 10th minute, followed by a Conrad Smith try in the 17th minute. Then came Nonu's second try, a nimble intercept, as he continued to break the Bulls' defensive line at will.
The Bulls got their game together and pressed the Hurricanes, the visitors falling foul of referee James Leckie as Conrad Smith and Jerry Collins were shown yellow cards within minutes of each other and just 10 minutes from the close of the first half.
With gaps in the Hurricanes line, Bulls No 8 Pierre Spies, who showed the most energy throughout, scored a try after the Bulls had been repulsed several times on the line by a stiff defence from just 13 players. Hooker Andrew Hore was notable, twice preventing the Bulls from grounding the ball.
Hurricanes assistant coach Aussie McLean was pleased with the performance of the forwards, particularly the solid front row where Tim Fairbrother was working the tight head until Neemia Tialata came off the bench midway through the second half.
"Our boys cleaned out all the rucks. It was a good effort."
Leading 28-10 into the second half, the Hurricanes parried the attacking efforts of the Bulls who suffered generally from poor tackling and handling errors on attack. Bulls skipper Fourie du Preez described his team's performance as "shocking" with slipped tackles and lost opportunities under the intense glare of the Hurricanes.
The scoring spree continued after a Gopperth penalty early in the half with a Hikawera Elliott try in the 63rd minute, and three minutes later Shannon Paku went in grinning for the fifth try.
Cory Jane capped a good game after setting up Paku to step through the Bulls' defence in the 70th minute to score a try that prompted a dispirited crowd to boo the Bulls.
The Bulls were spurred into action led by loose forward Wikus van Heerden who scored in the 73rd minute, setting tight forward Jaco Engels up for a brisk burst and a try in the final rally.
Hurricanes captain Rodney So'oialo was well pleased with the balanced performance, which included the strength of taking advantage from broken play and, more importantly, gaining the edge in the set pieces. "It was a good win," he said. "There are plenty of bumps and bruises and no new injuries."
- NZPA
