Chiefs 'thrilled' as Bulls falter
The Chiefs surged to the top of the Super Rugby ladder on Friday after a late try saw off the Bulls 28-22 in a bruising encounter in Hamilton.
The Chiefs scored three tries to one in a tightly contested match in which the lead changed six times, coming back from a lacklustre first half to outscore the Bulls 20-6 after the break.
The Bulls' rolling maul and Morné Steyn's boot kept the dogged South Africans within touching distance, but a Sam Cane try 10 minutes from time proved decisive.
"We're thrilled that we could kick on in a very tight game," Chiefs captain Craig Clarke said.
"We didn't want to play a controlled, structured sort of game, that's more their style, we wanted to up the tempo a little bit."
The loss cost the Bulls a chance of overhauling the Stormers in the South African conference and their arch-rivals can draw level with the Chiefs in the overall standings with a win over the Sharks on Saturday.
Bulls skipper Pierre Spies said that while he regarded two wins and 11 points on their four-match tour as a good return, he was frustrated Friday's match slipped away.
"They put us under pressure at the breakdown and we couldn't get our game going, then they got that try," he said.
"We thought we had a chance but that try made it very difficult for us."
Chiefs coach Dave Rennie was pleased with the character and attitude his side showed in the second half as they battled throughout the match.
"We battled at times to get our hands on the ball. But I'm really happy with the character and attitude of the boys to storm home in that sort of 20." Rennie said.
Sam Cane, one of the three try scorers for the Chiefs, felt it was 'massive' to get the result for Liam Messam – who set a new Chiefs record with his 90th appearance.
"Liam is a Chiefs legend, he's only 28 and the most capped Chief, he's well on his way to getting his 100th. So it's a credit to him.
"One thing Liam said – sort of sums him up – it wasn't about him it was about the team. It was important performance for us to keep building and getting a bit of a jump I guess on some of the other New Zealand teams." Cane said.
Along with Messam's 90 appearance, the game was filled with milestones – as the win was the side's 10th meaning it equalled the most wins in a season, Aaron Cruden passed Stephen Donald's season record for most points for the Chiefs, taking his tally to 165 surpassing Donald’s 164.
