Rebels crushed by Bulls
Wynand Olivier grabbed a hat-trick as the Bulls thrashed Melbourne Rebels 47-10 in their clash at Loftus Versveld.
Last Updated: 14/05/11 7:46pm
Wynand Olivier grabbed a hat-trick as the Bulls thrashed Melbourne Rebels 47-10 in their Super Rugby clash at Loftus Versveld.
Zane Kirchner also bagged a brace as the hosts kept themselves in play-off contention while the Rebels' South African tour got off to a nightmare start.
The Bulls opened the scoring in the seventh minute when fly-half Morne Steyn chipped the ball over the Rebels midfield for centre Olivier to collect and dot down under the posts.
Kirchner grabbed his first of the evening two minutes later as Bjorn Basson got a pass away to play him in having been brought down just short of the try-line himself.
Speedy wing Basson crossed himself in the 27th minute as he raced away to score under the sticks, although there was confusion over whether flanker Danie Rossouw's attempted pass to Kirchner was a knock-on.
Referee Chris Pollock consulted with his touch judges over the legitimacy of the score and the officials all agreed the Bulls should be awarded their third try.
Bonus point
The bonus-point try came in the 29th minute when the Bulls broke out from inside their own 22 through Basson, who fed the ball through Stephan Dippenaar to Olivier for the score.
Kirchner then got his second try in the 31st minute, crossing over in the far left corner after quick hands in the Bulls back-line deep in the Rebels half.
The contest was killed off by half-time as scrum-half and stand-in captain Fourie du Preez pounced on a loose ball before stretching over the line for his team's sixth try in the 37th minute.
The visitors finally got off the mark after the break as full-back Richard Kingi offloaded to Cooper Vuna, who chipped ahead and beat the Bulls chasers to touch down.
But the Bulls responded in the 59th minute when Steyn slipped an inside pass to the on-rushing Olivier to fly under the uprights and complete his hat-trick.
Frans Ludeke's side had no problems seeing out the overwhelming victory and the Bulls coach was able to substitute many of his key players, as well as leave regular skipper Victor Matfield on the bench.
