Bulls pip Hurricanes to remain frontrunners

Defending champions the Bulls clung to their unbeaten record and a one-point lead in rugby's Super 14 with a 19-18 win over the  Hurricanes in the weekend's sixth round.
Flyhalf Morne Steyn kicked 14 points, surpassing 100 points for the season, as the Bulls extended their winning streak at Pretoria's Loftus Versfeld stadium to 15 matches. The Hurricanes were the last visiting team to win in Pretoria, in April 2008.
The Bulls took 67 minutes to gain the lead on Saturday, trailing 15-10 at halftime and 18-10 during the second spell but controlled the match from the time Steyn's fourth penalty put them in front.
Hurricanes coach Colin Cooper, whose team slumped to its third straight loss after a three-win start to the season, said the task of beating the Bulls at home was always tough.
"Tactically they play really well," Cooper said. "They've got a great nine and 10 and they play that type of game well. They've got a massive pack and they can just squeeze you out of the game.
"It's quite intimidating [at Loftus Versfeld]. There's altitude to deal with, a massive crowd to deal with, and it felt like we had everything against us."
Bulls captain Victor Matfield played his 100th Super rugby match.
The Bulls win kicked off a weekend of strong performances by South African teams.
The Stormers beat the Cheetahs 21-8 to take their season record to 5-1 and to remain a point behind the Bulls in second place.
The Sharks beat the  Highlanders 30-16 for their first win of the season, ending a run of five narrow losses, and the Lions stretched the third-placed Crusaders before going down 46-19.
Joe Pietersen scored 13 points and Springboks centre Jaque Fourie grabbed his third try of the season to help the Stormers to a third straight win.
Pietersen kicked two early penalties and converted his own try before leaving the field at halftime with an injury. Fourie's second-half try clinched the Stormers' win in a physical match.
"It was a typical derby. The Cheetahs are a very proud unit so it was a tough match," Stormers captain Schalk Burger said.
The Stormers have a seventh-round bye before beginning a four-match tour to Australia and New Zealand.
"It always helps having a week off," Burger said.
"The guys can relax and recuperate a bit".
Flyhalf Colin Slade stepped into the boots of All Blacks star Daniel Carter and kicked 21 points in the Crusaders' win over the Lions on Saturday. The revamped Crusaders struggled to gain control in the first half and the lead changed hands three times before the Crusaders  established a 22-16 halftime lead.
Second-half tries to Adam Whitelock, Sean Maitland - his second - and Willie Heinz gave the Crusaders a flattering margin.
"Perhaps in the first half the couple of tries we got came a little easy and we thought it was all going to happen without doing the hard yards," Crusaders captain Richie McCaw said. "But we stuck at it and the five points I'm happy with."
The  Blues opened the sixth round on Friday with a 39-34 win over the ACT Brumbies, scoring 26 points in the first 14 minutes of the second half after trailing 16-10 at halftime. "The boys played out of their skins and I'm very proud of them," said Blues captain Keven Mealamu, who played his 100th match.
The Brumbies, who have been able to pick unchanged teams for much of the season, have been hit by injuries to flanker George Smith and centre Christian Lealiifano. Lealiifano may be out for six weeks with a knee injury while Smith has an injured shoulder.
The New South Wales Waratahs moved to fourth place with a 14-10 win over the Western Force who remain winless and are last in the standings.
"We got the game we expected," Waratahs captain Phil Waugh said. "It wasn't our best effort, but we got away with the win."AP