Bulls, Brumbies keep winning

SYDNEY-NAMPA/AFP Former winners Northern Bulls and ACT Brumbies kept in touch with defending champions Waikato Chiefs at the top of Super Rugby with weekend wins while the playoff picture became a little clearer. The Chiefs had a bye this weekend and lead the Bulls and Brumbies by two points with just three regular rounds left to next month's playoffs. The Bulls took a major step towards taking the South African conference with a 30-25 win over main rivals Central Cheetahs in Bloemfontein on Saturday to hold down second place overall and stretch their conference lead over the Cheetahs to eight points. Jake White's Brumbies fended off a late comeback from New Zealand's Wellington Hurricanes to win 30-23 in Canberra to hold a four-point lead over the Queensland Reds in the Australian conference. The Reds are fourth overall after claiming a 33-20 bonus-point victory over the Melbourne Rebels in Brisbane. The Cheetahs and the Canterbury Crusaders make up the top six playoff positions, with the Crusaders squeezing home 23-22 over the Waratahs in Christchurch on Friday. Auckland Blues suffered a setback and trail the playoff spots by three points after falling 38-28 to the lowly Otago Highlanders in Dunedin on Saturday. In the remaining match with no playoff bearing, the Western Stormers defeated Southern Kings 19-11 in an all-South Africa match in Cape Town, while Western Force and the Coastal Sharks had weekend byes along with the Chiefs. Triple winners The triple champion Bulls head into the June Test window eight points clear of the Cheetahs with three matches to play. A Springbok-saturated Bulls side started as favourites having won all 10 previous Super Rugby clashes between the sides and were always in front in the game. The Pretoria-based side led 30-18 into the final minutes before replacement prop Trevor Nyakane secured a losing bonus point for the Cheetahs with a late converted pushover try. The Brumbies led Wellington by 14 points with 15 minutes left but were pushed out when the Hurricanes scrum-half TJ Perenara scored a converted try for his team to trail by seven points. But just when the recharged Hurricanes looked set to go on with it inside the final 10 minutes the Brumbies' defence held them out to protect their lead and conference lead over the Reds. Flyhalf Quade Cooper, vying for a spot in the Wallaby side to face the Lions, had a mixed night on Saturday, but eventually scored the clinching try as the Reds secured a bonus-point victory over the Rebels.