2010 Super 14 final

2010 Super 14 Final

Event	2010 Super 14 season
Bulls Stormers 25 17
Date	29 May 2010
Venue	Orlando Stadium, Soweto
Referee	Craig Joubert (South Africa)

The Final of the 2010 Super 14 season, a provincial rugby union competition in the Southern Hemisphere, took place on 29 May 2010 at Orlando Stadium in Soweto, South Africa. The Bulls, based in Pretoria, hosted the Stormers, from Cape Town, in the second all-South African final. The defending champion Bulls won 25–17 to claim their second consecutive title and third in four years. This was the last Super 14 final, as the Melbourne Rebels joined the Super Rugby competition in the 2011 season to create a new Super Rugby competition.

The Bulls' normal home, Loftus Versfeld, was unavailable because it was used as a venue for the 2010 FIFA World Cup being held in South Africa beginning 11 June. Under FIFA rules, all World Cup venues must be handed over to the local organisers no later than 15 days before the opening match of the competition. Orlando Stadium was the largest, suitable, stadium in the Bulls' home province of Gauteng that was not being used for the World Cup.

The game was surrounded in controversy after Schalk Burger claimed that the referee Craig Joubert was inconsistent at the breakdowns, "coaching the Bulls, but penalising the Stormers". This sparked an outcry over the handling of the game by Joubert, and internet blogs were buzzing due to the alleged incompetency of Joubert. André Watson, the head of South Africa's Rugby Referees, released a statement in which he defended Joubert's performance.

Road to the Final

Main article: 2010 Super 14 season

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	PF	PA	PD	B	Pts	Qualification
1	Bulls	13	10	0	3	436	345	+91	7	47	Advance to playoffs
2	Stormers	13	9	0	4	365	171	+194	8	44
3	Waratahs	13	9	0	4	385	288	+97	7	43
4	Crusaders	13	8	1	4	388	295	+93	7	41
5	Reds	13	8	0	5	366	308	+58	7	39
6	Brumbies	13	8	0	5	358	291	+67	5	37
7	Blues	13	7	0	6	376	333	+43	9	37
8	Hurricanes	13	7	1	5	358	323	+35	7	37
9	Sharks	13	7	0	6	297	299	−2	5	33
10	Chiefs	13	4	1	8	340	418	−78	8	26
11	Cheetahs	13	5	1	7	315	393	−78	4	26
12	Highlanders	13	3	0	10	297	397	−100	7	19
13	Force	13	4	0	9	258	364	−106	3	19
14	Lions	13	0	0	13	270	585	−315	5	5

Source:

	Semi-finals				Final
	22 May 2010 – Orlando Stadium, Soweto
	Bulls	39
					29 May 2010 – Orlando Stadium, Soweto
	Crusaders	24
					Bulls	25
	22 May 2010 – Newlands, Cape Town
					Stormers	17
	Stormers	25
	Waratahs	6

Match

Second half

The Stormers scored a try in the 77th minute of the game. This try was thought to have been awarded to Ricky Januarie. The television replays showed that in fact the ball was placed short of the try line, but Craig Joubert awarded the try without referring it to the television match official. SARU clarified the try in a press statement a few days later claiming that Januarie's attempt was short, but that the ball was picked up by replacement Pieter Louw who then scored the try.

Match details

29 May 2010 17:05 SAST

Bulls	25–17	Stormers
Try: Hougaard 25' c Con: Steyn (1/1) Pen: Steyn (6/7) 9', 15', 20', 60', 71', 75'	Report	Try: Habana 53' c Louw 77' c Con: Grant (2/2) Pen: Grant (1/2) 30'

Orlando Stadium, Soweto Referee: Craig Joubert

Bulls

Stormers

BULLS: FB 15 Zane Kirchner RW 14 Gerhard van den Heever CT 13 Jaco Pretorius SF 12 Wynand Olivier LW 11 Francois Hougaard FF 10 Morné Steyn HB 9 Fourie du Preez N8 8 Pierre Spies OF 7 Dewald Potgieter BF 6 Deon Stegmann RL 5 Victor Matfield (Cpt) LL 4 Danie Rossouw TP 3 Werner Kruger HK 2 Gary Botha LP 1 Gurthrö Steenkamp Substitutes: HK 16 Bandise Maku LP 17 Bees Roux N8 18 Flip van der Merwe LF 19 Derick Kuun HB 20 Jacques-Louis Potgieter FF 21 Jaco van der Westhuyzen RW 22 Pedrie Wannenburg Coach: Frans Ludeke

STORMERS: FB 15 Joe Pietersen RW 14 Gio Aplon CT 13 Jaque Fourie CT 12 Juan de Jongh LW 11 Bryan Habana FH 10 Peter Grant SH 9 Dewaldt Duvenhage N8 8 Duane Vermeulen OF 7 Francois Louw BF 6 Schalk Burger (Cpt) RL 5 Andries Bekker LL 4 Adriaan Fondse TP 3 Brok Harris HK 2 Tiaan Liebenberg LP 1 Wicus Blaauw Substitutions: HK 16 Deon Fourie LP 17 JC Kritzinger RL 18 Anton van Zyl LF 19 Pieter Louw SH 20 Ricky Januarie FH 21 Willem de Waal CT 22 Tim Whitehead Coach: Allister Coetzee

Touch judges: Cobus Wessels Christie du Preez Television match official: Shaun Veldsman