The Bulls held on grimly for a thrilling 34-17 win over the Sharks in an action-packed Super 14 match played at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria on Saturday night.
The Bulls led 27-3 at the break and played such complete rugby that one would have been forgiven for writing the Sharks off after just 40 minutes.
But this Sharks team are made of stern stuff and they fought back superbly to have the Bulls reeling at 34-27 and minutes remaining. Only desperate defence from the home side saved them the embarrassment of a possible draw in the dying minutes.
The Bulls held on in the end to record a victory that keeps their slim play-off hopes alive. In scoring five tries, they earned a bonus point to go up to 33 log points — still four behind the fourth-placed Brumbies.
The Bulls had, in fact, secured a bonus point by the 28th minute as Gary Botha, JP Nel and Bakkies Botha (two) crossed the Sharks line.
The Sharks had a solitary Tony Brown penalty for their efforts in the first half. But such was the dominance of the home team, another four tries were expected in the second half.
But the Sharks had other ideas. They came out after the restart looking hungry and managed to claw their way back into the match. In fact, the crucial Bulls fifth try by JP Nel that came midway through the second half was completely against the run of play and courtesy of an intercept.
The Bulls now face the Crusaders on Friday night in another match they have to win to stay on track. The Sharks take on the Stormers in Durban on Saturday, but the match has little bearing as both are now out of the running. — Sapa