The Vodacom Bulls moved to the top of the South African Conference after their fourth bonus-point victory of the Vodacom Super Rugby season.
The team from Pretoria conceded as many tries as they scored in their 41-35 win over the Rebels in Melbourne, but after 80 minutes they were ahead on the score board, which saw them move to 42 log points, one more than the DHL Stormers, who enjoyed a bye this past weekend, reports SA Rugby Communications.
The Chiefs, who top the standings on 44 points, also got a full house of five log points from their victory by 34-21 over the MTN Lions in Pukekohe.
Back in South Africa, The Sharks and the Toyota Cheetahs recorded home victories, over the Highlanders in Durban (28-16) and the Force in Bloemfontein (17-13) respectively. Pat Lambie was the star at Mr Price Kings Park, where he scored all the points.
REBELS 35 (28) VODACOM BULLS 41 (31)
For a second successive match the Vodacom Bulls conceded five tries in Vodacom Super Rugby, but still emerged victorious.
The difference between their 41-35 victory over the Rebels in Melbourne on Friday, compared to last weekend when they edged the Brumbies at home, is that this time they also scored five tries, enough to take them to the top of the South African Conference.
And yet again the Vodacom Bulls’ Springbok flyhalf Morné Steyn was spot on with his goal kicking, slotting all seven his kicks at goal. In the end, two penalty goals by Steyn were the difference between winning and an embarrassing defeat in Melbourne.
Steyn got a personal haul of 21 points, including his first try of the season, to regain his place at the top of the list of points’ scorers.
It was only the third time in all of their 25 Vodacom Super Rugby matches that the Rebels got a try-scoring bonus point – they also did so last year at home against the Sharks and the Hurricanes.
While their defence was leaky yet again, the Vodacom Bulls certainly lifted their attacking standard considerably. Most of their tries were well set up and deserved reward for determined pressure play in the Rebels’ territory.
After the match, Rebels flank Luke Jones was cited for a dangerous tackle on Bjorn Basson. He was also given a yellow card on the field and the referee issued a white card. Jones was suspended for two weeks, up to and including Sunday 20 May 2012 (two scheduled Vodacom Super Rugby matches).
SCORERS:
REBELS – Tries: Rodney Blake, Cooper Vuna (2), Nick Phibbs, Gareth Delve. Conversions: Kurtley Beale (5).
VODACOM BULLS – Tries: Akona Ndungane, Bjorn Basson, Morné Steyn, CJ Stander, JJ Engelbrecht. Conversions: Steyn (5). Penalty goals: Steyn (2).
OTHER RESULTS – ROUND 11:
Hurricanes 35 Blues 19 (Wellington)
Brumbies 23 Waratahs 6 (Sydney)
Crusaders 15 Reds 11 (Christchurch)
SOUTH AFRICAN CONFERENCE
Pos Team P W D L PF PA PD TF TA BPts Pts
1Vodacom Bulls 9 7 0 2 311 206 105 33 21 6 42
2DHL Stormers 9 8 0 1 210 144 66 16 9 1 41
3The Sharks 10 5 0 5 230 234 -4 22 22 7 31
4Toyota Cheetahs10 4 0 6 277 287 -10 23 27 6 26
5MTN Lions 9 1 0 8 171 260 -89 15 29 2 14
TOP POINTS’ SCORERS:
Player Team Tries Conv Pen Drops Tot
Morné Steyn Vodacom Bulls 1 24 30 2 149
Johan Goosen Toyota Cheetahs 3 17 31 1 145
Aaron Cruden Chiefs 2 24 29 0 145
Beauden Barrett Hurricanes 2 18 25 0 121
Tom Taylor Crusaders 1 13 26 0 109
Christian LealiifanoBrumbies 0 17 25 0 109
Patrick Lambie The Sharks 1 14 25 0 108