The Bulls won their second Super14 title when they hammered the Chiefs 61-17 at Loftus Versfeld Stadium in Pretoria which was a record high score for a Super Rugby final .
The Chiefs scored the first try through Lelia Masaga but the Bulls immediately bounced back with a try from Fourie du Preez a minute later.
Two minutes later du Preez scored his second try and the Chiefs were forced to chase the match.
In all the Bulls ran in 8 tries to two against the Chiefs who's defence had been their best assett in recent weeks.
Wynand Olivier won man of the match.
Three tries in the space of six minutes early in the first half laid the foundation for the Bulls' 61-17 thumping of the Chiefs as they secured their second Super 14 title in three years at Loftus on Saturday night.
Fourie du Preez and Bryan Habana dotted down two tries each in the first stanza as the home team took control of the game, gaining the momentum that they never relinquished.
The visitors were first off the mark when flyhalf Stephen Donald broke clear on the right wing in the seventh minute and offloaded to Lelia Masaga who was given a clear run, dotting down between the posts.
Donald added two for the conversion, but those would be the last points the Chiefs would notch up in the first half. And in the space of six minutes Fourie Du Preez changed the game.
Two minutes after Masaga had touched down, Du Preez got the Bulls on the board with a try of his own.
Three minutes later, he added a second. Man of the Match Wynand Olivier tore into Aled de Malmanche with probably the hardest tackle of the game and Morne Steyn picked up the loose ball, offloading to Du Preez who put the Bulls in the lead, and they never looked back.
Just three minutes after Du Preez's second try, the scrumhalf chipped the ball down the left wing and Habana broke clear to put the Bulls up 21-7.
A drop goal and a penalty from Steyn further extended their lead, and Habana ensured they would go into the half-time break 27 points ahead when he intercepted a Chiefs' pass in the Bulls' half and tore down the field to dot down his second -- and the 36th of his career for a South African Super 14 record.
The Chiefs got off to another good start in the second half with captain Mils Muliaina doing well to control a pass and finding a gap to hand his team their second try.
But in the 52nd minute, after both sides had added a penalty each, Bulls skipper Victor Matfield regained the momentum when he bulldozed his way over the top of a ruck to score his first try of the season.
Eight minutes later veteran centre Jaco Pretorius should have secured his maiden career try but lost the ball inches before it touched down.
And with victory in sight, the hosts ran away with it. Olivier, who missed the Bulls' semifinal with a hip injury, added a try in the 67th minute, Pierre Spies put one down in the 72nd and Danie Rossouw added another for good measure in the 80th.
Steyn had a superb match with the boot, scoring five conversions (missing only two), two penalties and a drop goal.
Final Score Bulls 61 Chiefs 17
Scorers
Bulls
Tries -du Preez 2, Habana 2,Matfield, Olivier, Spies, Rossouw
Pen - Morne Steyn 2
Con - Morne Steyn 5
Drop - Morne Steyn
Chiefs
Tries - Lelia Masaga,Mils Muliaina
Pen - Stephen Donald 2
Con - Stephen Donald
Drop -
Man of the match : Wynand Olivier
Match Officials
Referee - Jonathan2 Kaplan.
Assistant Referee 1 - Craig Joubert.
Assistant Referee 2 - Cobus Wessels.
TMO - Johann Meuwesen.
Teams
Bulls
15 Zane Kirchner; 14 Akona Ndungane, 13 Jaco Pretorius , 12 Wynand Olivier, 11 Bryan Habana; 10 Morné Steyn, 9 Fourie du Preez; 8 Pierre Spies, 7 Dewald Potgieter, 6 Deon Stegmann, 5 Victor Matfield (captain), 4 Bakkies Botha, 3 Werner Kruger, 2 Derick Kuün, 1 Gurthrö Steenkamp.
Substititutes: 16 Chiliboy Ralepelle, 17 Rayno Gerber, 18 Danie Rossouw, 19 Pedrie Wannenburg, 20 Heini Adams, 21 Burton Francis, 22 Marius Delport.
Chiefs
1. Sona Taumalolo,2. Aled de Malmanche,3. James McGougan ,4. Craig Clarke,5. Kevin O’Neill ,6. Liam Messam,7. Tanerau Latimer,8. Sione Lauaki,9. Toby Morland,10.Stephen Donald,11.Dwayne Sweeney,12.Callum Bruce,13.Richard Kahui,14.Lelia Masaga,15.Mils Muliaina (captain)
Reserves:,16. Hika Elliot,17. Joe Savage,18. Toby Lynn,19. Serge Lilo,20. David Bason,21. Mike Delany,22. Sosene Anesi
