Patched-up Blues run out of luck

Bulls 38 Blues 24


Were the Blues denied a win or a vital bonus point when the Bulls were wrongly awarded a vital try late in the second half in their 38-24 Super 12 victory against the Blues in South Africa yesterday? Not according to top referee Paddy O'Brien.

The key moment came when Bulls centre Etienne Botha scrambled over the line in a desperate Blues tackle. Brought down short of the line, Botha then reached over for a touchdown in what many spectators would call a double movement. However, referee Stuart Dickinson awarded the try after brief consultation with the video referee.

It was a key moment of the game, stretching the Bulls' lead to 30-24, meaning the Blues needed a try to win - not beyond the realms of possibility in a brave, injury-laden Blues performance in a match where they were outgunned in the set pieces.

However, O'Brien said: "I haven't seen the replay so I can't really be definitive but my view straight away was that it was a try. The law says that the player can do three things - pass the ball, release it or place it over the line. Whatever option they select, they must do it immediately. My view is that he did it immediately and that it was a try."

It was certainly a try on the scoreboard and Botha's second of the match signalled the ungluing of the Blues as they sought to stick fast to the bigger Bulls team and snatch the match at the death.

Within five minutes replacement lock Nick Williams was yellow-carded for a late tackle and Xavier Rush - who played his heart out - was penalised at a ruck. Then, with the Blues down by nine points, Joe Rokocoko made a mistake as the Blues ran the ball in search of late points and Akona Ndungane toed the ball away for a soft last try.

Add to that the fact that the Blues lost key players Brad Mika and Steve Devine to a woefully long injury list and it is clear the Blues will be glad to get on the plane and back to rest up for a key match against the Hurricanes at Eden Park next week.

And when we say that this was a game which the Blues could have - and perhaps should have - won, it is said in the context of those injuries and the makeshift team list. They have existed without Ali Williams and Greg Rawlinson and have had to make do with innovative lineout deceptions which came largely unstuck yesterday, with hooker Keven Mealamu making way for Derren Witcombe after the throws went to places other than the targets.

For all that, they could take heart from a fine display by winger Doug Howlett, whose speed, elusiveness and industry made him look once again the senior All Black he has not much resembled in the recent past. But even Howlett had to bow to Bulls winger Bryan Habana, probably the fastest man on the paddock, who scored two tries in a minute - the first after a break by J.P. Nel and a quick transfer by the Bulls.

From the kick-off, he scored one of the individual tries of the Super 12, outflanking Howlett who had chased the kick, blazing past Devine and then chipping over Isa Nacewa and scorching away for a thrilling 55m try.

The Blues 7-0 lead - scored by Nacewa after a fine run and offload by prop John Afoa - had become a 12-7 deficit in the space of 60 seconds and although they got back in front after a terrific Howlett burst, sidestep and plunge for the line, the Bulls went in 19-14 ahead at halftime after their driving forwards set up Botha's first try.

The Bulls were good value up front and out wide and won the possession stakes in the second half. The Blues struck back to within a whisker of the lead when Luke McAlister and Nacewa combined to send Mils Muliaina in at the corner.

However, then came Botha's second try and the Blues' undoing. Howlett was their man of the match, even making some telling interventions on defence and McAlister showed the future of the Blues backline may be in very good hands indeed.

For the Bulls, their front row, particularly hooker Gary Botha and the abrasive Richard Bands, helped them win the day and what the Blues would not give for a second-rower like Victor Matfield - not only a source of lineout ball but a good runner and passer.

And if McAlister is part of the future of New Zealand rugby, Habana is very much the future of South African rugby - a coloured player with world-class speed and every bit as marketable a commodity as Howlett.

Both sides are in with a chance of a top four placing but the Bulls now have the easier opponents and must be reckoned a real playoff chance.

- HERALD ON SUNDAY