28 Feb 2010

Bulls fight back from 17 points down to beat Waratahs and go top of Super 14 table

8:53 am on 28 February 2010

The Bulls overcame a 17-point deficit to beat the New South Wales Waratahs 48-38 in a thrilling Super 14 match at Loftus Versfeld.

The result moves the defending champions from South Africa to the top of the table with three victories from three matches.

The Bulls piled up a total of six tries after their Australian opponents had roared into a 17-point lead by the 10th minute.

As the match entered the final quarter the Bulls claimed a bonus point for notching four tries when right wing Gerhard van den Heever crossed the line.

The home team opened up a gap as centre Wynand Olivier burst through to score under the posts with 11 minutes left.

The Waratahs though refused to surrender and claimed a bonus-point try when replacement back Rob Horne broke from inside his own half before offloading to left wing Drew Mitchell for a converted try.

The Bulls wrapped up victory when replacement centre Jacques-Louis Potgieter gathered a kick from Steyn to score under the posts.