Battling Bulls throw it away

– The Bulls blew a match-winning lead in a 41-28 loss to Chiefs in Hamilton yesterday, denying coach John Mitchell a win over his old Super Rugby club.

The Bulls were rampant in the first half but faded late as the Chiefs ran in six tries to four.

The Bulls led for 63 minutes and it looked like a happy homecoming for Mitchell, who coached the Chiefs in 2001, before a Brodie Retallick-inspired fightback.

Retallick (above) scored two tries as the Chiefs overcame a Bulls’ onslaught which included a brace for winger Divan Rossouw.

The Bulls caught the Chiefs napping with a try to Warrick Gelant in the fourth minute after Jesse Kriel’s pass split the defence.

A lineout error opened the way for Jonathan Fa’auli to hit back for the Chiefs before a Rossouw try gave the Bulls the lead.

His second came after the Bulls worked the ball out wide.

Retallick dotted down but the Bulls again retaliated as Handre Pollard put them 28-14 up with a penalty at the break.

At the restart, Chiefs pounded the Bulls’ line before Mitchell Brown crashed over.

They weathered 15 minutes of pressure before Retallick scored his second.

Damian McKenzie’s penalty put them 29-28 up before Bulls prop Conraad Van Vuuren was sinbinned for a high tackle.

The Chiefs made the most of the one-man advantage with tries to Soloman Alaimalo and Anton Lienert-Brown to put the result beyond doubt. – AFP