Super 14 round-up
Bulls stay top of Super 14 after Blues rout
Scrum.com
February 22, 2009

The Bulls continue at the summit of the Super 14 after a comprehensive 59-26 win over the Blues at Loftus Versfeld, compounding a poor weekend for New Zealand's sides.

Pat Lam's Blues were taken apart by a rampaging Bulls outfit, with No.8 Pierre Spies bagging a brace of tries to inflict a record defeat on the 2003 champions. They left Loftus with a try bonus-point but will be licking their wounds after being outplayed across the park.

Last season's champions Crusaders were also on the wrong end of a result, although a considerably closer one. Brumbies centre Stirling Mortlock landed a last-gasp conversion to fullback Mark Gerrard's try to secure an 18-16 victory at Canberra Stadium after Todd Blackadder's Crusaders looked to have wrapped up the points with tries from Casey Laulala and Ross Filipo. The Brumbies sit third on points difference behind the Waratahs, but received a mighty psychological boost with victory.

The Waratahs also inflicted defeat on a New Zealand franchise, picking off the Chiefs 11-7 in Sydney. Last season's beaten finalists scraped home after a try from Timana Tahu and six points from fly-half Kurtley Beale, with the Chiefs points coming from prop Sona Taumalolo's try.

The only positive for the New Zealand sides came with the Hurricanes' win over the Highlanders at Westpac Stadium. The Hurricanes secured a 22-17 victory through tries from John Smith, Jason Eaton and Conrad Smith, while All Black centre Ma'a Nonu provided a superb display from the bench after being dropped following last weekend's loss to the Waratahs.

The Highlanders again showed plenty of spirit and scored tries of their own through Steven Setephano and a controversial effort from fly-half Dan Bowden.

The Force notched their first win of the season when they took out the Cheetahs 16-10 at the Subicao Oval. Lock Pat O'Connor scored the home side's only try, while 11 points from Matt Giteau cancelled out a superb solo effort from Cheetahs wing Danwel Demas.

The Reds sit bottom after the first two rounds, going down 27-24 to the Stormers in Cape Town. The home side raced into a 27-5 lead thanks to tries from Tonderai Chavanga, Andries Bekker and Sireli Naqelevuki but were pegged back by a late surge from the Reds. Saia Faingaa, Scott Higginbotham and Van Humphries added to Quade Cooper's early effort to secure a try bonus point and a losing bonus point for the Queenslanders, although alarm bells will be ringing for Stormers coach Rassie Erasmus after his side switched off.

In the final game of the weekend the Sharks saw off a spirited Lions side 25-10 in an error-strewn game in Durban. Deon Carstens, JP Pietersen and the excellent Ryan Kankowski crossed for the Sharks after Ashwin Willemse had continued his fine form with his third try of the season for the Lions.

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