Bulls stunned in Tokyo
Yu Tamura knocked over a late penalty Saturday as Japan's Sunwolves stunned South Africa's Bulls 21-20 to post their first victory of the Super Rugby season.
The struggling Sunwolves had looked close to scoring their sixth defeat in as many games after conceding a try to Travis Ismaiel after 64 minutes to leave the home side trailing by nine points and needing two scores.
But roared on by a Tokyo crowd which kept up a cacophony of wolf howls throughout, Filo Tiatia's side hit back with just over 10 minutes left when Takaaki Nakazuru touched down.
Tamura converted to make it 20-18.
He then coolly kicked a penalty in the 74th minute that proved the game winner before the final buzzer triggered scenes of unbridled joy among the players and the team's long-suffering fans.
The Sunwolves, currently in their second season after a horror debut in 2016 when they won just one of 15 games, could still have lost had Francois Brummer converted a late penalty.
"We noticed we were giving away points in the last 20 minutes," Tiatia told reporters after a superb defensive display from his team.
"We talked about keeping calm, driving the game plan and raising the energy -- the players that came on contributed well."
Bulls coach Nollis Marais lamented a late yellow card shown to Jan Serfontein.
"When we were down to 14 we knew we were in trouble," he said.
"It's always difficult to defend with 14 and what was good for us last time, was bad for us this time."
But roared on by a Tokyo crowd which kept up a cacophony of wolf howls throughout, Filo Tiatia's side hit back with just over 10 minutes left when Takaaki Nakazuru touched down.
Tamura converted to make it 20-18.
He then coolly kicked a penalty in the 74th minute that proved the game winner before the final buzzer triggered scenes of unbridled joy among the players and the team's long-suffering fans.
The Sunwolves, currently in their second season after a horror debut in 2016 when they won just one of 15 games, could still have lost had Francois Brummer converted a late penalty.
"We noticed we were giving away points in the last 20 minutes," Tiatia told reporters after a superb defensive display from his team.
"We talked about keeping calm, driving the game plan and raising the energy -- the players that came on contributed well."
Bulls coach Nollis Marais lamented a late yellow card shown to Jan Serfontein.
"When we were down to 14 we knew we were in trouble," he said.
"It's always difficult to defend with 14 and what was good for us last time, was bad for us this time."
Twitter - @SportswaveAndre