Reds stay in semifinal hunt with win over the Bulls

Reds 29 Bulls 19

PRETORIA – The Reds kept alive their hopes of a Super 12 semifinal place with a 29-19 victory over the Bulls at Loftus Versfeld.

The Australian side pocketed five points and a bonus point for scoring four tries while the Bulls are still without a win after seven matches in this year's competition.

The match began with a moment of silence in respect of the 43 people who died in the Ellis Park stadium soccer tragedy in Johannesburg on Thursday.

The sombre mood was heightened by what appeared to be a serious neck injury to Bulls wing McNeil Hendricks in the first minute of the match.

Hendricks was carried off on a stretcher but was later diagnosed as having mild concussion after a tackle on Reds fullback Chris Latham.

Both sides kicked an early penalty each but Reds took the lead with their first try.

Right wing Junior Pelesasa, a late replacement for the injured Ben Tune, burst through two tame tackles to score in the corner.

Bulls replied with a converted try by halfback Joost van der Westhuizen, who broke from the back of a loose maul to score near the posts in the 13th minute.

The home side continued to dominate territorially, but were unable to add to their two-point lead.

The Reds took advantage by surging 12 points ahead with two tries in the space of five minutes by Number eight Toutai Kefu and first five-eighths Nathan Spooner.

Two penalties by Casper Steyn in the final five minutes narrowed the gap to six points at the break.

An early second-half try by Reds' prop Nick Stiles took them 13 points ahead, Nathan Williams charging down a kick by Bulls' centre Wynand Lourens leaving Stiles to fall on the loose ball to score.

The Bulls responded with a penalty by replacement wing Marius Goosen, but despite enjoying plenty of possession they could not force their way back into the match.

"We fell away in the second half, and I'm grateful we had those 10 points to fall back on," said Reds coach Mark McBain.

"We still have a long road ahead of us before we can even think of the semifinals. We've got some good teams ahead of us. It's tough."

Bulls coach Phil Pretorius said: "We need to take a hard look at ourselves. Some of our players have been around for a while and have not made it, while others have the potential to make it."

- REUTERS