The Northern Bulls rose four places to second place in the Super XV standings after an ugly 17-10 victory on Saturday against fellow South Africans the Coastal Sharks.
Leading competition points-scorer this season Handre Pollard kicked four penalties for the winners to take his tally to 120 and right wing Francois Hougaard scored a breathtaking try.
Flanker Marcell Coetzee crossed the try-line for the Sharks and flyhalf Fred Zeilinga kicked a conversion and a penalty before a somber Kings Park Stadium crowd in Durban.
Photo: AFP
The Bulls led 8-3 at half-time, but fell two points behind early in the second half before Pollard slotted three penalties to secure a sixth victory from nine games.
The New Zealand Wellington Hurricanes top the standings with 33 points, the Bulls have 28 and the Australian ACT Brumbies are on 26 after 10 rounds of the southern hemisphere inter-provincial championship.
The Sharks, tipped by many pundits to be the strongest South African contenders before the competition started, lie ninth 12 points behind the leaders.
The match was an eyesore with battering-ram rugby the order of the day. It was raw, highly physical and error-strewn.
When there was tactical kicking, it was often misplaced, and the Sharks’ supporters left the ground disillusioned after a poor game and a third straight loss for the Durban team.
In other Super XV matches, Australia’s Queensland Reds edged South Africa’s Central Cheetahs 18-17, while the Western Force of Australia were defeated 13-6 by the Western Stormers of South Africa.
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