The Bulls turned around last week's shocking form to beat the Otago Highlanders 47-17 in the Super 14 on Saturday. Having lost 50-22 last week to the Wellington Hurricanes, the Bulls scored six tries to two against Otago at Loftus Versfeld, with fullback Zane Kirchner and winger Akona Ndungane each collecting two.
The Sharks put their unbeaten record on the line in their opening Australasian tour match of the Super 14 rugby series against the Hurricanes in Wellington on Saturday. The Durban-based team, along with table-topping Canterbury Crusaders, are the only two teams yet to taste defeat in the southern hemisphere provincial competition.
South Africa's World Cup winner Bryan Habana picked up where he left off last season to help the Bulls make a successful start to the defence of their Super 14 title. Habana, who was named as the IRB's world player of the year after a magical season in 2007, continued his fairytale run of form.
The early stages of the 2008 Super 14 competition could be especially challenging for the five South African franchises -- three of the teams have new coaches, and the training of all five has been affected to various degrees by the resting of their Springboks after the United Kingdom tour.
