The Bulls stormed into third place on the Vodacom Super 12 log with an astonishing 75-14 victory over an outplayed and outmuscled Stormers outfit at a packed Loftus in Pretoria on Saturday afternoon.
The Bulls led 30-7 at halftime.
The Bulls ran in nine converted tries — six in an incredible final 28 minutes — to two by the hapless Stormers in a brilliant display that will considerably boost their confidence ahead of the semifinals.
The result saw the Bulls leapfrog the Hurricanes and into third place and set up what many feel is a softer semifinal against the Waratahs in Sydney next Saturday.
Stormers captain Neil de Kock was magnanimous in defeat. ”The Bulls played really well today and I hope they take this performance overseas and fly the flag for us,” he said at the conclusion of the match.
Bulls skipper Anton Leonard praised his team for their performance: ”We played really well and it was a great team effort.”
Indeed, there were several heroes for the home team, but flyhalf Morne Steyn and centre JP Nel were particularly outstanding. Steyn did not miss a kick at goal (13 from 13) all afternoon and finished with 35 points via nine conversions, four penalties and a try.
In the opening quarter of the match the home team played with a cohesiveness that belied their tummy troubles earlier in the week.
The pack dominated their opponents, while locks Victor Matfield and Bakkies Botha were towers of strength at the kick-offs and lineouts.
The Bulls knew that a loss by 19 points would drop them out of the semifinals, but by the same token a win by 25 points (with a bonus point) would move them to number three on the log.
With that in mind, the Bulls took the game to the Cape-based side from the first whistle and did not disappoint the capacity crowd as they raced into a 23-0 lead by the 24th minute.
The opening tries — by Bryan Habana and Akona Ndungane — were both set up by Nel as the Bulls punished the lacklustre Stormers.
The Stormers lost Breyton Paulse moments later, as the veteran playmaker limped from the field in the 26th minute — possibly his last contribution in a Stormers jersey and a sad end to a remarkable domestic career.
The next score though went to the visitors as Gus Theron scored a superb solo effort to pull the Stormers back into the game after 30 minutes.
The Bulls, however, were not yet done and Habana scored his second of the match — and ninth of the campaign — five minutes later to take his team into the break with a healthy advantage.
The Bulls turned up the heat in the second stanza. First Nel helped himself to deserved try in the 51st minute to cap a performance that would have made the national selectors take notice, if he was not already in their thoughts.
The Bulls rang the changes, but that only seemed to up the ante as further tries by Pedrie Wannenburg, Steyn, Ettienne Botha, Wessel Roux and Richard Bands consigned the Stormers to a record defeat and sent the Bulls soaring into the play-offs. – Sapa