The Hurricanes have played the Bulls 19 times in Super Rugby since 1998, the Hurricanes have won 10 matches and lost nine times.
The Hurricanes’ 10 wins give them a record of winning 53% of their matches against the Bulls regardless of venue.
- The Bulls are on a three-game undefeated run (W1, D2), the Pretoria-based side hasn’t had a longer unbeaten stretch in Super Rugby since a seven-game span from March-April 2016 (W6, D1).
- The Hurricanes have won three of their last four Super Rugby matches against the Bulls, five points or fewer have decided three of the four clashes.
- The Canes have won the most turnovers per-game in Super Rugby 2019 (9), two more than the Blue Bulls (7).
- The South Africans have recorded the best lineout success rate of any team in Super Rugby 2019 (93%), no team has a lower percentage than the Hurricanes (80%).
- Handre Pollard’s 188 points in Super Rugby 2019 is the most in the competition and 63 more than the next best player involved in the finals series (125 points – Richie Mo’unga, Crusaders).
Match detail
We are waiting for the kick-off.
In the meantime, why not have a look at the match preview.
1.00: PEEEEP! We are underway in Wellington, New Zealand for the third Super Rugby quarter-final of the season.
2.00: Both sides start with mistakes; the Hurricanes let the ball bounce after the kick-off, and the Bulls throw an unnecessary forward pass.
3.00: Lots of early kicking from Handré Pollard. Warrick Gelant, Beauden and Jordie Barrett as the two teams play the percentages. The kicking from hand will – as always – crucial.
5.00: The visitors are inside the Canes’ 22. Beauden Barrett gets run over Johnny Kotze, who takes the Bulls forward. Pollard has a go, but the ball is knocked forward by a Kiwi hand.
6.00: The scrum is moved off the original placing, closer to the touchline.
7.00: Poor handling by the Bulls see them lose 60 metres after Gelant skews his clearance kick.
8.00: The Hurricanes have an attacking scrum inside the Bulls’ 22 after Cornal Hendricks loses the ball forward.
10.00: The hosts win a penalty in front of the posts after another offside.
11.00: PENALTY! Beauden Barrett puts his team ahead. 3-0
12.00: Beauden Barrett and TJ Peranara are playing their 100th Super Rugby match together.
13.00: TRY! Jesse Kriel beats Peter Umaga-Jensen’s tackle and races forward. He sees Gelant on his outside and puts the fullback away in the corner. 3-5
14.00: CONVERSION! Pollard adds the extras.
15.00: RG Snyman is pinged for taking Jordie Barrett in the air, but it was Kotze who, initially, hit the fullback.
16.00: Superb work by Andre Warner, who has the patience and game awareness to let the ball bounce in the in-goal for a 22.
17.00: TRY! Perenara makes the Bulls pay for a terrible 22 drop-out. Jordie Barrett sent the ball wide to Umaga-Jensen, who played Wes Goosen. Goosen drew Rosco Specman and put his scrumhalf away. 8-7
18.00: CONVERSION! Barrett adds another two. 10-7
20.00: Pote Human’s team are conceding penalties inside their half, and are making silly mistakes, which are keeping the pressure on them.
23.00: TRY! Ben Lam crashes through Specman and Kotze, it was a good angled run at the space after Perenara’s ball found the big man. It’s his eight Super Rugby try of the season. 15-7
24.00: CONVERSION! Barrett adds another two. 17-7
26.00: Hurricanes dominating, now.
28.00: TRY! Salesi Rayasi gets his second Super Rugby try. Beauden Barrett’s quick lineout to Perenara set up the try. The No 9 took contact and set up a ruck. Rayasi was the first to the breakdown, he picked up the ball, saw nobody in his way, and burst through the ruck. He beat the two chasing defenders to the corner. 22-7
29.00: CONVERSION! Barrett is on fire from the tee, tonight. 24-7
31.00: Scrum to the Hurricanes near the halfway line.
33.00: Pollard cannot go for poles, instead, he goes to the lineout.
34.00: TRY! Cornal Hendricks picks up Pollard’s bounce-pass and hands off Rayasi to score in the corner. 24-12
35.00: CONVERSION! Pollard slots the wide kick. 24-14
37.00: Another good kick by the Springboks flyhalf to put his team in a good attacking position.
38.00: Hanro Liebenberg commits the Bulls’ sixth handling error of the half. John Plumtree’s men have only shipped one handling mistake.
40.00: The Bulls lose their lineout; the Canes did not compete at the set-piece and won the penalty.
41.00: Jordie Barrett lose the ball forward, Pollard puts in a chip-kick and Perenara runs the ball out.
The halftime score was Hurricanes 24 Bulls 14
41.00: PEEEEP! We are back underway in the second half.
43.00: The two teams start the half by kicking for territory.
44.00: TRY! Rayasi has his second after Pollard drops Beauden Barrett’s spiral kick. The ball is won back by the Canes. They recycle quickly to the left. Rayasi takes a tackle and offload before popping up on the wing to finish off the counter-attack. 29-14
45.00: MISS! Barrett misses from wide. 29-14
48.00: The Bulls earn a penalty under the Canes’ posts; they opt to scrum.
50.00: The scrum needs to be moved again. It is also reset three times.
50.00: NO TRY! Duane Vermeulen breaks off the back of the scrum, is tackled short, but reaches out to dot down on the chalk. It was close and he looked to have put the ball on the line. 29-14
51.00: Pollard opts for another scrum because the Bulls had a penalty advantage at the previous set-piece.
52.00: PENALTY TRY! TMO Glenn Newman reviews the replay and adjudges that Rayasi deliberately knocked down the ball, which would have led to a certain try. He is also sent to the bin. 29-21
52.00: YELLOW CARD! Rayasi.
54.00: Trevor Nyakane knocks on inside his 22, gifting the Hurricanes an attacking scrum.
55.00: MISS! The drop-kick is wide. 29-21
57.00: PENALTY! Jordie Barrett extends his side’s advantage. 32-21
58.00: TRY! Gareth Evans almost intercepts Kriel’s pass, but he knocks on. The Bulls recycle to Pollard, who sees space behind the Canes’ back three. He sends a cross-kick to Hendricks. The winger takes the ball on the run and beats Jordie Barrett’s weak tackle to score in the corner. 32-26
60.00: CONVERSION! Pollard, from the corner, makes it three from three. 32-28
62.00: The Bulls won’t go away; they have already come from behind to draw with the Blues, and they conceded late against the Crusaders for another draw in New Zealand.
64.00: A penalty is awarded to the Canes for an infringement at the breakdown. Dane Coles opts for poles.
65.00: PENALTY! Jordie Barrett makes no mistake. 35-28
69.00: It’s end-to-end. Specman goes close but is tackled into touch. The Hurricanes go 85 metres with a counter-attack, but Fletcher Smith cannot hang on to Jordie Barrett’s pass.
72.00: The Hurricanes have possession inside the opposition’s half and are building patiently. Jaco Visagie cleans up the bouncing ball after a charge-down. He does well, the Bulls recover and Pollard clears. Phew!
75.00: The Hurricanes are camped inside the Bulls’ 22, but cannot find a way through some stubborn defence.
77.00: Vermeulen and Hanro Liebenberg win an important penalty at the ruck. another lineout indiscretion by the hosts allows the Bulls to set-up an attack inside their half.
79.00: Ardie Savea wins another important turnover-penalty. The Canes kick to their 22.
81.00: OH DEAR! The Bulls win the Hurricanes’ throw and are on the march into the 22.
83.00: Oh no! Hendricks knocks on after a 12-phase attack, and that’s the ball-game.
FULL TIME
To refresh this page, click HERE. Live In-Play Betting.
The final score is Hurricanes 35 (24) Bulls 28 (14)
Scorers
Hurricanes
Tries – Perenara, Lam, Rayasi (2)
Pen – B. Barrett, J. Barrett (2)
Con – B. Barrett (3)
Drop –
Cards – Rayasi (Yellow, 52′)
Bulls
Tries – Gelant, Hendricks (2), Penalty try
Pen –
Con – Pollard (3)
Drop –
Cards –
Match Officials
Referee: Nic Berry
Assistant Ref 1: Ben O’Keeffe
Assistant Ref 2: Brendon Pickerill
TMO: Glenn Newman
Teams
Hurricanes
15 Jordie Barrett, 14 Wes Goosen, 13 Peter Umaga-Jensen, 12 Ngani Laumape, 11 Ben Lam, 10 Beauden Barrett, 9 Thomas Perenara, 8 Gareth Evans, 7 Ardie Savea, 6 Reed Prinsep, 5 Isaia Walker-Leawere, 4 James Blackwell, 3 Jeff To’omaga-Allen, 2 Dane Coles (captain), 1 Toby Smith.
Replacements: 16 Asafo Aumua, 17 Fraser Armstrong, 18 Ben May, 19 Kane Le’aupepe, 20 Du’Plessis Kirifi, 21 Richard Judd, 22 Fletcher Smith, 23 Salesi Rayasi.
Bulls
15 Warrick Gelant, 14 Cornal Hendricks, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 Johnny Kotze, 11 Rosko Specman, 10 Handré Pollard (captain), 9 Andre Warner, 8 Duane Vermeulen, 7 Hanro Liebenberg, 6 Marco van Staden, 5 Rudolph Snyman, 4 Jason Jenkins, 3 Trevor Nyakane, 2 Jaco Visagie, 1 Lizo Gqoboka.
Replacements: 16 Johan Grobbelaar, 17 Simphiwe Matanzima, 18 Wiehahn Herbst, 19 Jannes Kirsten, 20 Ruan Steenkamp, 21 Ivan van Zyl, 22 Manie Libbok, 23 Divan Rossouw.
