Bulls beat Cheetahs 30-25 in Super Rugby
The Bulls restored their advantage in the 18th minute.
BLOEMFONTEIN (AP) - The Bulls consolidated their grip on the South African conference and moved closer to an automatic Super Rugby semifinal berth when they beat the Cheetahs 30-25 on Saturday.
Although the Pretoria-based side was in control throughout the match and never trailed their opponents, late tries by Riaan Smit and substitute Trevor Nyakane secured a losing bonus point for the Cheetahs and gave the scoreline a hint of equality.
The home side remained in touching distance for the majority of the game, but Jano Vermaak s try in the 63rd minute gave the Bulls a 30-13 lead and put the game beyond doubt.
The result moved the Bulls up to second in the overall Super Rugby standings, while the bonus point was enough to put the Cheetahs in fifth.
It took the Bulls just eight minutes to find the tryline as some powerful running and slick passing set up Werner Kruger, but the Cheetahs were level five minutes later as a moment of brilliance from Willie le Roux saw the winger collect his own chip to score under the crossbar.
The Bulls restored their advantage in the 18th minute when Deon Stegmann scored off the back of a rolling maul, before Smit and Morne Steyn landed penalties to leave the visitors 17-10 ahead at halftime.
A cagey start to the second half saw Smit narrow the gap to four points, before Steyn answered with two further penalties to take his points tally for the season past the 200 mark.
When Vermaak gathered an awkward pass to register his fourth try of the campaign there appeared to be no way back for the Cheetahs.
However, the hosts hit back as Smit capitalized on some silky passing from Robert Ebersohn, and Nyakane s try was controversially awarded by the television match official.
With barely a minute remaining there was not enough time for the Cheetahs to press for the win, but the bonus point allowed them to leapfrog the Crusaders in the overall standings.
