Wellington - The Bulls had lost two out of their first four games in the Currie Cup but have suddenly become serious contenders for the title.
The Pretoria-based team are one of only two sides - the other being log-leaders Free State Cheetahs - who have secured their places in the semifinals with one weekend of league action to go.
The Cheetahs are unbeaten after seven matches, but it is the Bulls' form in the second half of the competition that could see them challenge for the golden trophy.
They increased their winning run to four games on Friday with a hard-fought 48-26 win over a tough Boland Cavaliers outfit in Wellington to qualify for the last four. The Bulls have completed their league phase and are on 30 points after eight games.
Having lost to the Cheetahs and Sharks in the first four weeks, Nollis Marais' team were facing an uphill battle to make it to the playoffs.
But they showed the character required, and it was again evident at the Boland Stadium on Friday. Boland took the lead in the 57th minute through an intercept try by flyhalf Theuns Kotze, but the Bulls came back to dominate the last quarter as their forwards took charge with a number of massive scrummaging efforts to dismantle the Boland pack.
Bulls flank Roelof Smit, who was the Man of the Match, captain and number eight Hanro Liebenberg and loosehead prop Lizo Gqoboka dotted down as a direct result of their scrum, and Smit's try secured the bonus point as well.
Liebenberg said in the post-match interview that the Bulls scrum can lay the foundation for a big performance in the playoffs. They have a bye next week, and will only know who their semifinal opponents will be at the end of next weekend.
“That's something we've worked on the whole season, and it's one of our strong points now. That's one of the key factors going into the semifinals,” he said.
“We knew from the start that Boland were going to come out strongly as they had nothing to lose in this game. I think we were under a bit of pressure to perform and get a win and give us a chance of getting a home semifinal. The boys did well to come back in the second half and keep on fighting and break through at the end. “We just hope for the best (in the semifinal), and what will happen, will happen. We need to fix those small things that went wrong in the last two weeks.”
Boland captain and hooker Clemen Lewis was happy with his team's performance despite the defeat, and was confident that they could raise their game even further for next Friday's derby against Western Province at Newlands.
“We knew we were coming across a formidable Blue Bulls team, and the guys put on a big fight for 63 minutes. They were just too good at the end and we just couldn't hold them back anymore,” Lewis said.
“I'm proud of my boys for sticking it out there. They really fought for as long as they could. I must just congratulate the Bulls — they were just better than us on the day. “It's always nice to play the little derby, the guys like to get up for that one. Hopefully, the guys can do something there.” - African News Agency (ANA)