Bulls win in 'farcical' match

CRAIG SIMCOX/The Dominion Post

GOT IT: Karl Lowe catches the ball during the Bulls v Hurricances Super 14 Rugby match last night.

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The Bulls maintained their unbeaten Super 14 Rugby record with a 19-14 defeat of the Hurricanes that bordered on farcical in Wellington last night.

Australian referee Matt Goddard was the central figure at Westpac Stadium, dishing out five yellow cards and one red, while hammering the hosts in the penalty count.

It created a stop-start affair that suited the South Africans to a tee, with halfback Fourie Du Preez and first five-eighth Morne Steyn content to bomb away to good effect in swirling conditions, while Steyn landed 14 points with the boot.

A five-from-five record will see the Bulls extend their lead while the hosts will slip from fifth to mid-table by the completion of round six.

The Hurricanes failed to take advantage of dominance at the breakdown, made more basic errors and never came to grips with Goddard, losing the penalty count 13-3.

They were also outplayed in the final quarter when the Bulls were a man down, the visitors showing tremendous defence and spirit in the first match of a five-game tour.

Goddard sent Bulls flanker Deon Stegmann off in the 50th minute for what was a second yellow card offence, a lifting tackle on Hurricanes centre Conrad Smith.

All Black Smith landed on the back of his neck and was escorted gingerly from the field before undergoing hospital tests.

The other Bulls player sinbinned was flanker Pedrie Wannenburg, the first player to face Goddard's wrath, in the 20th minute.

Three Hurricanes saw yellow, second five-eighth Ma'a Nonu and flanker Scott Waldrom for professional fouls and lock Jason Eaton for rucking counterpart Bakkies Botha.

It reached the stage where nearly every penalty seemed to result in a sinbin, with the sideline official running multiple stopwatches on offenders.

The hosts often tried to drive over from close range but were defied time and again by blue defenders or handling errors. Revenge was sweet for the Bulls, who were hammered 50-22 by their opponents in Pretoria last year.

Since then they have gone on a nine-match winning streak, including last night's match, which improves a dreadful record on New Zealand soil.

Hurricanes captain Rodney So'oialo held his tongue when asked to assess Goddard's performance.

"We had a few exchanges there. The ref just has to go and see how he reffed the game tonight," he told media. "It was very frustrating to have so many penalties, especially when we were in try-scoring positions. "We're not too disappointed, even though we lost the game. We came away with a bonus point, which was very needed."

Du Preez cut a contrasting figure and played down Goddard's influence. "It probably went both ways so [Goddard] wasn't too bad. Every game is refereed differently so you just have to adapt," he said.

The Hurricanes now embark on a three-match road trip starting against the Lions in Johannesburg next weekend.

The Bulls travel up the road to face the Highlanders in Palmerston North, which will host Super rugby's first neutral venue match.

- NZPA