Competition front-runners Northern Bulls hit back from a half-time deficit to overwhelm the New South Wales Waratahs and claim their third consecutive bonus-point Super 14 victory this weekend.
The South African defending champions won a ten-try thriller 48-38 in Pretoria to lead the southern hemisphere provincial series by one point after three rounds from New Zealanders, Wellington Hurricanes and Waikato Chiefs.
The Hurricanes and Chiefs remained unbeaten with the 'Canes piecing together a 33-18 win over South Africa's Golden Lions at home and the Chiefs coming away from Perth with a bonus point 37-19 win over the Western Force.
Seven-time Super rugby champions Canterbury Crusaders bounced back from their previous week's hiding by the Queensland Reds, to move into fourth place after steamrolling South Africa's Coastal Sharks 35-6 at home.
The Western Stormers are fifth after going down 19-17 to the ACT Brumbies at home and were joined by the Auckland Blues, who mastered wet conditions to claim a 27-18 bonus-point win over the Reds in Brisbane.
New Zealand's Otago Highlanders gained their first win of the season, beating the Central Cheetahs 31-24 in Bloemfontein.
The Bulls repulsed a ferocious assault by the Waratahs at Loftus Versfeld to register another impressive victory over top opposition.
The Waratahs shocked the Bulls early, taking a 17-0 lead and were 26-17 ahead at half-time before the defending champions stormed back.
"They came at us firing but luckily the guys kept their heads," said Bulls captain Victor Matfield. "Our fitness came through in the end and I think also the altitude helped us a little bit."
The Pretoria-based tournament favourites have now amassed 149 points in their three wins over the Cheetahs, Brumbies and Waratahs, conceding 104 in the process and will have next weekend off.
The Hurricanes were flattered by their 15-point margin over the 12th-placed Lions from Johannesburg and were only a shadow of the side that produced an overpowering finish the previous week to demolish the Force.
After holding a 14-point lead at the break Wellington let the Lions back into contention at 21-15, before David Smith's bonus-point try with 12 minutes to play.
There was no repeat of the Chiefs' nine-try haul against the Lions the previous weekend, but they still managed a bonus point against the Force despite having to wait until midway through the second half to shake off the determined Perth team.
In the end, last year's beaten finalists were able to capitalise on the home side's errors to make it three straight wins.
The Crusaders got their campaign back on track scoring 25 unanswered second-half points against the Sharks after taking a 10-6 lead into the break.
All Blacks captain Richie McCaw came on as a second-half replacement in his first appearance for the Crusaders this season.
A missed conversion with the last kick of the match by Stormers fullback Joe Pietersen gave the Brumbies a tense win in Cape Town.
The Brumbies seemed to have secured victory when Wallaby flanker George Smith scored the first try of the match three minutes from time, but the Stormers hit back with flanker Pieter Louw scoring close to the sideline.
Pietersen, who had landed four out of five penalty goal attempts, hooked the conversion effort, which would have levelled the scores.
The Auckland Blues made it two wins on the trot with a four-tries-to-two victory over the Reds, while the Highlanders won a hard-fought contest against fellow strugglers Cheetahs.
Copyright 2010 AFP Global Edition
