Bulls topple Hurricanes

CRAIG SIMCOX/Dominion Post

TIGHT GAME: Hurricane Hosea Gear sandwiched between Bulls players Wynand Olivier and Pedrie Wannenburg.

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Welcome to the Matt Goddard Show. Five yellow cards, one red, umpteen penalties and a stop-start game that ebbed and flowed around the referee's shrill symphony of whistle. Oh yeah, and a meritorious Super 14 victory by the Bulls.

It's a shame really that everyone will be talking about Goddard's pathetic and pedantic display with the whistle in this match, for it was a fabulous effort by the South Africans as they took care of the Hurricanes 19-14 to underline their title credentials.

The Bulls' scored only one try to their hosts' two, but they were thoroughly deserving victors as they defended splendidly, played much the smarter game and showed all sorts of ticker to survive the 50th-minute red card handed out to flanker Deon Stegmann.

At the same time the powerful men from the high veldt also highlighted some serious deficiencies in the Canes game that saw them squander a numerical advantage for the entire final quarter. Only a late try to Jason Eaton salvaged a bonus point for the Kiwis, and really it was all they deserved.

It was impressive stuff from the Bulls who played to their strengths, rumbled away up front, chased the high ball splendidly and tackled with ruthless efficiency. With a  fifth straight victory from as many matches, the 2007 champions go straight to the top of the table, with 22 points, where they look like they'll take some shifting.

By contrast the Canes sink back into the bunch mid-table, with 15 points from their five matches, and will wonder, despite the horrendous refereeing performance, how they weren't able to make more of the fairly healthy number of promising opportunities they were able to create.

Their conversion rate was almost as god-awful as Goddard's officious performance.

Really, the DVD from this match should be sent immediately to the IRB. This is the reason the stands are half empty and the TV ratings are down. No game of rugby should be hijacked like this one was from the 30 men out on the field trying to entertain and take part in a contest.

Goddard was clearly determined to imprint himself upon the breakdown, and his succession of yellow cards (four all told, three to the Canes, one to the Bulls) showed a complete disregard for the contest. It was telling when he told Ma'a Nonu after distributing the first of his sinbinnings "You're not slowing my ball down".

My ball? Someone needed to tell the Aussie that he was only there to referee.

It's why Canes skipper Rodney So'oialo admitted at the end that it was all rather perplexing.

"We had a few exchanges there and the ref just has to go and see how he reffed the game tonight," said So'oialo. Not well, would have to be the overwhelming verdict.

The first half was, predictably, a fairly dour affair with the Hurricanes scoring the only try of the spell but trailing 7-9 at the break courtesy of the three penalty goals slotted by Morne Steyn. Still, it could have been worse, with the competition's leading scorer missing two other chances to extend the visitors' lead even further.

Tamati Ellison scored the half's only try nearly a dozen minutes in with a brilliant incursion that saw him bamboozle the Bulls' defence for close to the only time in the match.

And Goddard's card count? One to Nonu and one to Stegmann, both for ruck infringements.

The Bulls levelled the try tally just past a quarter of an hour into the second half, and it was a beaut. From a lineout near halfway the South Africans attacked splendidly with a set move that featured plenty of deception in midfield and had big No 8 Pierre Spies prominent in the setup.

Quick ball had the Hurricanes defence shot as the Bulls moved left and in the context of things Wynand Olivier's slightly forward pass to JP Nel for the finish was not the worst thing Goddard missed in the spell.

That put the visitors out to 19-7, an advantage they held comfortably until Eaton's late score from a ruck just short of the line. By then the Bulls had long since clinched the win and happily conceded the score that meant a lot more to the Canes than it did them.

The second-spell card count? Two more yellows for the New Zealanders (Scott Waldrom off his feet and Eaton for rucking) and the red to Stegmann when he dumped Conrad Smith on his head, forcing the influential midfielder from the field. That was a crucial departure for the Canes as they missed his calm and stedy presence.

Really at the end of this we should be praising the Bulls, led splendidly by a typical Bakkies Botha powerhouse display but featuring input right through their ranks.

But somehow it's doubtful the critics will get much past Goddard's awful display. That's a shame.

Hurricanes 14: Tamati Ellison, Jason Eaton tries; Piri Weepu 2 cons.

Bulls 19: JP Nel try; More Steyn 4 pens, con. Ht: 7-9.

- © Fairfax NZ News