Highlanders crush the Bulls 54 - 17

HIGHLANDERS 54 BULLS 17

Centre Ryan Nicholas scored three tries as the Highlanders crushed the Bulls 54-17 in their Super 12 rugby match in Pretoria this morning (NZ time).

They wrapped up a bonus point by halftime by scoring four tries to lead 25-7 and added another 29 points in the second half to leave the hapless Bulls buried at the bottom of the competition.

With second five-eighth Paul Steinmetz crossing twice, the two midfield backs hauled off five of the eight Highlanders tries.

The Highlanders built their game around a magnificent defence, particularly in the first half, and swift movement of the ball in the backline.

The Bulls managed to hold on to possession for sustained periods in the first half, but by halftime Highlanders loose forwards Taine Randell, Kelvin Middleton and Sam Harding had knocked the wind out of them with solid tackles.

The home team came back with two quick tries by captain and No 8 Chris le Roux and replacement hooker James Dalton in the 73rd and 77th minutes to close the gap to 32-17.

However, the Highlanders were never threatened as Brown kicked a penalty goal and tries by Nicholas, fullback Willie Walker and Steinmetz saw them take full command of the game again.

Man-of-match Nicholas, who had a direct hand in seven of his team's tries, put the Highlanders in the lead within a few minutes with his first five-pointer.

His second and third touch-downs weren't gifts either. He beat two tacklers, was brought down by another two but managed to stretch over and plant the ball down for his second. His third was scored in a similar fashion.

"I was lucky, the ball came my way a bit today. The forwards gave us some good ball," Australian-born Nicholas, 23, said.

It was his timely inside pass that put winger Aisea Tuilevu, coming in from the blindside, away for the line and Steinmetz scored his first try from a Nicholas kick when the Highlanders' attack ran out of space.

Right winger Jeff Wilson's way to the line was cleared by Nicholas' quick hands which helped outflank the Bulls defence out wide. Fullback Willie Walker's try was also the result of swift ball through the midfield.

"We saw his potential in last year's NPC," Highlanders captain Randell said of Nicholas.

"We haven't got big name players in the backline but a few guys really complement each other's game and Nicholas and Steinmetz do that," he told NZPA.

"We expected a really tough game up front and I can tell you we're all a bit sore now. They're a really heavy pack and you get what you see -- there're no subtleties in their forward game."

The try of the game was perhaps the Highlanders' last, just seconds from the end. First five-eighth Tony Brown delayed a pass from a scrum as his entire backline moved forward before spiralling a long pass to a speeding Steinmetz, who went through untouched from about 10 metres.

Randell's leadership, defence and lineout-jumping were outstanding and his hard-working tight forwards were in the action for the entire game.

"A lot of emphasis has been teamwork with us because we're not a big pack and we don't have too much height in the lineout," Randell said.

"I think our options are helping. We're keeping them really simple.

"I'm quite enjoying it now."

Wilson threatened the Bulls defence with his skills each time he was in possession but the impressive aspect of the Highlanders game with ball in hand was the simplicity of their attack. The speed of their passes in the backline continually stretched and troubled the Bulls' defence.

"They're really quick when they move the ball. We got a few fast guys out wide but we struggled everytime they got going in the backline," le Roux said.

"We lost the ball too much to be a real threat to them. Their loose forwards were outstanding today -- they slowed us down or they took the ball away every time there was a breakdown."

- NZPA