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WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — South Africa's Bulls extended their winning streak in rugby's Super 15 to five matches with a 23-17 defeat of New South Wales, supplanting the Waratahs in the top-six after the weekend's 16th round.
The Pretoria-based Bulls scored two tries in a five-minute spell either side of halftime to rise from seventh to sixth place on the championship table, tipping the Waratahs out of the top six for the first time this season.
Friday's win also kept alive the Bulls' hopes of defending their Super rugby title and left South Africa with three teams in the top six after the Cape Town-based Stormers beat the Melbourne Rebels 40-3 and the Durban-based Sharks beat the Cheetahs 23-18.
The Stormers, who finished the round in second place, were the only top-three team to win; the first-placed Queensland Reds went down 22-14 to the ACT Brumbies and the previously second-placed Auckland Blues were beaten 16-11 by the Waikato Chiefs.
The Reds held on to first place by only one point from the fast-rising Stormers, though the Waratahs' loss allowed Queensland to clinch first place in the Australian division. With two regular season rounds remaining, they hold an 11-point lead over New South Wales.
The Blues' third-straight loss left them only two points ahead of the Canterbury Crusaders in the New Zealand conference, pending their meeting with the Crusaders in Timaru next week. That match will decide which of tht two finishes top of the New Zealand group and gain automatic entry to playoffs.
In the South African conference, the Stormers lead the Sharks by six points and next week's opponent, the Bulls, by eight. Top place remains up for grabs as the Stormers finish the regular season with tough away matches against the Bulls and Cheetahs; the Sharks are away to the Lions and Bulls and the Bulls have home games against both of their main conference rivals on successive weekends.
Overall, four teams remain in contention for fourth to sixth places on the championship table. Six points currently separate the Crusaders, in fourth place, and the Waratahs in seventh. The Sharks remain fifth, the Bulls have risen to sixth.
The Waratahs finish the regular season with winnable home matches against the Otago Highlanders and ACT Brumbies. The Highlanders dropped to eighth place and out of playoffs contention with Friday's 21-14 loss to the Western Force.
The match with the Bulls compounded New South Wales' serious injury toll. Already without captain Phil Waugh, backrower Wycliff Palu, winger Drew Mitchell, prop Sekope Kepu and centres Rob Horne and Ryan Cross, NSW lost four players to injury inside the first 50 minutes on Friday.
At the same time, lock Kane Douglas was suspended for two weeks for a dangerous tackle while Pat O'Connor received no penalty after being sent off for a head butt.
"The Stormers, the Bulls and the Sharks have got all got to play each other over the next three weeks, so it just means we start to ride other teams results, which you prefer not to," Waratahs coach Chris Hickey said.
"If we can take care of our own games against the Highlanders and then the Brumbies I'm still reasonably optimistic that the other results may flow our way and get us into that top six spot."
The Stormers ran in five tries to beat the Rebels but captain Schalk Burger said defense was the key to winning three of its four matches in Australia and New Zealand.
"It was a good tour for us," Burger said. "We got three out of four wins, that's fantastic. So it's back to Cape Town for a couple of big local derbies against the Bulls and the Cheetahs.
"Our attack is something we have been improving on. We base ourselves around our defense and it's something that really gets the team going and we pride ourselves in it."
The ACT Brumbies, ranked 7-1 outsiders, ended the Reds' 12-match winning streak at home with the help of a spotless goalkicking performance from Matt Giteau. Giteau landed five penalties and the conversion of Stephen Moore's first half try to give the Brumbies only their third win of the season.
Brumbies captain Giteau kicked his final penalty after the fulltime siren, denying Queensland a bonus point for a loss by seven points or less. That decision angered Queensland captain James Horwill, as it may be critical in determining the Reds' standing at the end of the regular season.
Moore, who previously played for the Reds, audibly questioned Giteau's decision and was angrily told by Giteau to shut up. Brumbies backrower Isa Vaea was cited after the match for a dangerous tackle on Digby Ioane which saw the Reds and Wallabies winger carried from the field unconscious.
Thirty-eight year old former All Blacks captain Tana Umaga scored a brilliant first half try as Waikato upset neighbors Auckland in Saturday's New Zealand derby. Umaga's try gave the Chiefs a 7-6 lead after they had played into a strong wind in the first half. With the wind at his back, Waikato flyhalf Andrew Donald landed three second half penalties to clinch the win.
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The Pretoria-based Bulls scored two tries in a five-minute spell either side of halftime to rise from seventh to sixth place on the championship table, tipping the Waratahs out of the top six for the first time this season.
Friday's win also kept alive the Bulls' hopes of defending their Super rugby title and left South Africa with three teams in the top six after the Cape Town-based Stormers beat the Melbourne Rebels 40-3 and the Durban-based Sharks beat the Cheetahs 23-18.
The Stormers, who finished the round in second place, were the only top-three team to win; the first-placed Queensland Reds went down 22-14 to the ACT Brumbies and the previously second-placed Auckland Blues were beaten 16-11 by the Waikato Chiefs.
The Reds held on to first place by only one point from the fast-rising Stormers, though the Waratahs' loss allowed Queensland to clinch first place in the Australian division. With two regular season rounds remaining, they hold an 11-point lead over New South Wales.
The Blues' third-straight loss left them only two points ahead of the Canterbury Crusaders in the New Zealand conference, pending their meeting with the Crusaders in Timaru next week. That match will decide which of tht two finishes top of the New Zealand group and gain automatic entry to playoffs.
In the South African conference, the Stormers lead the Sharks by six points and next week's opponent, the Bulls, by eight. Top place remains up for grabs as the Stormers finish the regular season with tough away matches against the Bulls and Cheetahs; the Sharks are away to the Lions and Bulls and the Bulls have home games against both of their main conference rivals on successive weekends.
Overall, four teams remain in contention for fourth to sixth places on the championship table. Six points currently separate the Crusaders, in fourth place, and the Waratahs in seventh. The Sharks remain fifth, the Bulls have risen to sixth.
The Waratahs finish the regular season with winnable home matches against the Otago Highlanders and ACT Brumbies. The Highlanders dropped to eighth place and out of playoffs contention with Friday's 21-14 loss to the Western Force.
The match with the Bulls compounded New South Wales' serious injury toll. Already without captain Phil Waugh, backrower Wycliff Palu, winger Drew Mitchell, prop Sekope Kepu and centres Rob Horne and Ryan Cross, NSW lost four players to injury inside the first 50 minutes on Friday.
At the same time, lock Kane Douglas was suspended for two weeks for a dangerous tackle while Pat O'Connor received no penalty after being sent off for a head butt.
"The Stormers, the Bulls and the Sharks have got all got to play each other over the next three weeks, so it just means we start to ride other teams results, which you prefer not to," Waratahs coach Chris Hickey said.
"If we can take care of our own games against the Highlanders and then the Brumbies I'm still reasonably optimistic that the other results may flow our way and get us into that top six spot."
The Stormers ran in five tries to beat the Rebels but captain Schalk Burger said defense was the key to winning three of its four matches in Australia and New Zealand.
"It was a good tour for us," Burger said. "We got three out of four wins, that's fantastic. So it's back to Cape Town for a couple of big local derbies against the Bulls and the Cheetahs.
"Our attack is something we have been improving on. We base ourselves around our defense and it's something that really gets the team going and we pride ourselves in it."
The ACT Brumbies, ranked 7-1 outsiders, ended the Reds' 12-match winning streak at home with the help of a spotless goalkicking performance from Matt Giteau. Giteau landed five penalties and the conversion of Stephen Moore's first half try to give the Brumbies only their third win of the season.
Brumbies captain Giteau kicked his final penalty after the fulltime siren, denying Queensland a bonus point for a loss by seven points or less. That decision angered Queensland captain James Horwill, as it may be critical in determining the Reds' standing at the end of the regular season.
Moore, who previously played for the Reds, audibly questioned Giteau's decision and was angrily told by Giteau to shut up. Brumbies backrower Isa Vaea was cited after the match for a dangerous tackle on Digby Ioane which saw the Reds and Wallabies winger carried from the field unconscious.
Thirty-eight year old former All Blacks captain Tana Umaga scored a brilliant first half try as Waikato upset neighbors Auckland in Saturday's New Zealand derby. Umaga's try gave the Chiefs a 7-6 lead after they had played into a strong wind in the first half. With the wind at his back, Waikato flyhalf Andrew Donald landed three second half penalties to clinch the win.
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