'Gutted' Chiefs offer no excuses

BY DUNCAN JOHNSTONE IN SOUTH AFRICA

There were no excuses from the Chiefs and nor should there have been as they were absolutely thrashed by the Bulls in a one-sided Super 14 final in Pretoria.

The Bulls ran in eight tries for a record 61-17 win at Loftus Versfeld this morning (NZ time), making it the biggest winning score and margin in 14 years of Super rugby.

That gave them their second title and the Chiefs a lesson in finals rugby.

Mils Muliaina was disappointed that his side "didn't show up" for the title match after having played so well during the season.

"We weren't allowed to play by the Bulls. That was a world class performance and well done to them. They thoroughly deserved their win and title.

"They showed us how to play and we just couldn't get going. The Bulls have had a fantastic season and I wish them all the best for Springboks selection.

"I'm just gutted. We struggled to get back into the game after the start by the Bulls. We made a lot of mistakes and they capitalised on that.

"It wasn't through lack of trying, we just made mistakes and turned the ball over and they scored.

"That's probably the most gutting thing is that we made so many crucial mistakes and we got more desperate as the game went on which added to that. We were trying to force things a bit because we were trying to catch up.

"It's not the way we wanted to finish, not at all. It's a damn hard lesson.

"I don't know that it's the worst loss I've had (with the Chiefs) but the fact that it's a final makes it really hurt.
But we were beaten by a far better team in the final. Take nothing away from the Bulls ... they didn't let us play.

"We have to look to take something positive out of this ... no one probably expected us to get this far and to come here was always going to be a big ask. I'm just proud about the year on a whole. I think it's a good learning curve for us for next year. But it's a bitter pill to swallow right now."

The Chiefs lamented the way they weren't allowed back into the match as the Bulls hit back with three quick tries after Lelia Masaga had given the visitors hope with the opening try.

Chiefs coach Ian Foster was stunned and hugely disappointed.

"Clearly we were outgunned around the park," he said.

"They hit us with a real intensity in that first 15 or 20 minutes. They got some points up and after that it became very, very hard for us to get composure and get our game going.

"They scored a lot of points off our turnovers and that just came with the pressure they put us under."

The final might have been disappointing because of its one-sided nature but try telling the Bulls that or their 50,000 adoring fans who packed the stadium

Matfield thanked the supporters, without you we couldn't have done this.

"The last two weeks have been the best two weeks of my life," Bulls captain Victor Matfield, who was an inspirational figure for his team in both their semifinal win over the Crusaders and this demolition of the Chiefs where he played his 94th Super rugby match, said.

"We started working for this in November. It showed that if you work hard you'll get the result on the field. We had no injuries in the last few weeks and that helped."

He had a word of sympathy for the Chiefs, saying: "We all know how hard it is to travel and come all this way. The Chiefs had an awesome year."

The Bulls made a triumphant circuit of the ground and carried coach Frans Ludeke aloft at the end as he proudly held the Super 14 trophy

The big names starred for the Bulls with Matfield scoring one tries and halfback Fourie du Preez and wing Bryan Habana both getting two.

"We have a very special group of players. It's amazing to be part of an unbelievable team and we have laid the foundations for future generations of this team," Habana said.

"We knew the Chiefs would come a us and they scored that first try but we knew if we could keep our composure things would come good."

- © Fairfax NZ News