John Mitchell started off his tenure as Bulls Super Rugby coach with a victory after his charges dug deep to beat the Hurricanes 21-19 at Loftus on Saturday night.
The Bulls went down 34-20 to the Hurricanes in last year's corresponding fixture. They were outplayed and outclassed by the New Zealand side, but on Saturday they showed how much they have improved and managed to hold on for a big victory against the former champions.
The Bulls made a great start to the encounter when wing Johnny Kotze went over to score in the third minute. Flyhalf Handre Pollard took the ball up well, before outside centre Jesse Kriel sent Kotze away with a well-timed pass. Pollard then converted a penalty three minutes later to give the Bulls an 8-0 lead.
However, the Hurricanes hit back in the 11th minute. The Bulls' Thembelani Bholi was blown up for offside and the Hurricanes set up a lineout on the Bulls' five-metre line. The Hurricanes got plenty of momentum from the driving maul and Ricky Riccitelli crashed over for the try.
Wes Goosen then scored the Hurricanes' second try shortly after when he put in a chip kick behind the Bulls defence. The wing then chased his own kick, gathered the loose ball and ran in to score.
The Bulls were reduced to 14 men in the 24th minute after prop Pierre Schoeman received a yellow card for a dangerous tackle. But they would score next in the 32nd minute.
Travis Ismaiel started a counter attack counter attack for the Bulls inside his own half. The Bulls then worked their way into the Hurricanes 22, before and lock Lood de Jager was freed up on the left and ran in the try from about 25 metres out. Pollard then slotted another penalty to give the Bulls a 16-12 lead at the break.
But the Hurricanes came out firing in the second half, and regained the lead in the 58th minute. Scrumhalf TJ Perenara put in a grubber and replacement Beauden Barrett got to the ball first to dot down.
Both teams made plenty of mistakes in a tight game, but in the end the Bulls would score the winning try with nine minutes to go. Pollard charged down a chip kick from Ihaia West and booted the ball up field. Kriel then chased well and the Bulls counter rucked to win the ball back. Schoeman then popped up on the wing before barging over the line to score.