James Dalton's Bulls pulled off one of the biggest surprises in Super 12 history when they beat the highflying Cats 21-19 at a packed Ellis Park Stadium in Johannesburg on Friday.

They produced the sort of display that coach Phil Pretorius has been promising all season, with courageous defence, impressive ball-retention and patient build-ups resulting in the basement team ending the season on an unexpected high.

But it was perhaps the latter factor that was the reason for the Cats' downfall. After scoring two early tries through Thinus Delport and Jannes Labuschagne, they were perhaps a little too eager to get the bonus point that would have made their chances of a home semifinal a whole lot easier.

Then again, if the Bulls could have produced displays like this consistently throughout the season, it might well have been them in the hunt for a play-off spot. They refused to budge and Man of the Match Dalton showed just how valuable a player he can be on and off the ball. His commitment and determination may be exactly what Bok coach Harry Viljoen has in mind.

However, they were almost out of the game before it even begun. The Cats were unstoppable in the opening exchanges and Delport's score under the posts could well be one of the tries of the season.

Fullback Casper Steyn got the Bulls on the board with a penalty, but some more relentless pressure led to Labuschagne diving over in the corner after some solid work from the Cats forwards.

Steyn brought the score back with another penalty, before some great play from Springbok hopeful Victor Matfield sent winger Frikkie Welsh over. Welsh made a great pick-up at his feet and despite the presence of prop Marius Mostert, powered over in the corner. Steyn missed the conversion, but another penalty on the stroke of fulltime levelled the scores at 14-all at the break.

The Cats started the second half like they did the first and camped inside the opposition 22 for over 10 minutes. But unlike the first stanza, the Bulls held out through a combination of solid defence and some strange tactical decisions from the home side. They seemed intent on spinning it wide on every occasion and often nullified an overlap with a skip pass or misdirected kick.

The visitors made them pay for their wastefulness in the 32nd minute when the impressive Hakkies Husselman dived over after some non-stop pressure. The build-up to the try was arguably their best period of play of the entire competition as they took it up through the forwards, spun it wide, and brought it back to the forwards again with great patience.

The Cats finally managed to score another try through Thinus Delport after the fulltime siren had sounded, but Clinton van Rensburg, on for goal-kicker supreme Louis Koen, dragged his game-tying conversion to the left of the upright.

Although they missed a golden opportunity to put some pressure on the Sharks for a home semifinal, they did manage to secure third spot thanks to the bonus point for losing within seven points. It means the Reds, who have 28 points, can only grab fourth spot if the beat the Waratahs on Saturday.

As for the Bulls, they finally played to the standards Pretorius has demanded all season, although it might not be enough to save his job. But they did lay the foundation for a more successful campaign in 2002 and with youngsters like Friedrich Lombard, Adrian Jacobs and Victor Matfield there, the future looks bright.

Scorers:

Cats - Tries: Thinus Delport (2), Jannes Labuschagne; Conversions: Louis Koen (2).

Bulls - Tries: Frikkie Welsh, Hakkies Husselman; Conversion: Casper Steyn; Penalties: Steyn (3).

Scoring Sequence:

First Half: 7-0 Delport try, Koen conversion (2nd minute); 7-3 Steyn penalty (6th); 14-3 Labuschagne try, Koen conversion (12th); 14-6 Steyn penalty (14th); 14-11 Welsh try (35th); 14-14 Steyn penalty (42nd).

Second Half: 14-21 Husselman try, Steyn conversion (32nd); 19-21 Delport try (53rd).

Teams:

Cats: Thinus Delport, Wylie Human, Japie Mulder, Eugene Meyer, Dean Hall, Louis Koen, Werner Swanepoel, Andre Vos, Andre Venter, Johan Erasmus (capt), Jannes Labuschagne, Johan Ackermann, Willie Meyer, Leon Boshoff, Marius Mostert. Substitutes: Andre van Niekerk (Boshoff 43rd), Pietman Van Niekerk (Mostert 40th), Kleinjan Tromp (Labuschagne 75th), Chad Alcock (Swanepoel 80th), Clinton van Rensburg (Koen 75th), Grant Esterhuizen (Mulder 65th), Conrad Jantjes.

Bulls: Casper Steyn, Frikkie Welsh, Dries Scholtz, Adrian Jacobs, Friedrich Lombard, Franco Smith, Hakkies Hüsselman, Piet Joubert, Marco Wentzel, Nicky van der Walt, Victor Matfield, Derick Grobbelaar, Piet Boer, James Dalton (capt), Sias Wagner. Substitutes: Jannie Brooks, Johan Human (Wagner 57th), Ralf Schroeder (67th), Thando Manana (Matfield 77th), Marius Goosen, Danie van Schalkwyk (Jacobs 56th), Coenraad Groenewald (Husselman 79th).