South Africa's World Cup winner Bryan Habana picked up where he left off last season to help the Bulls make a successful start to the defense of their Super 14 title.
Habana, who was named as the IRB's world player of the year after a magical season in 2007, continued his fairytale run of form by scoring the only try in the Bulls' 16-9 win over the Stormers in Cape Town on Saturday.
The flying winger, who also scored the winning try in last year's Super 14 final, dived over four minutes before the break but hurt his arm and did not return in the second half.
PHOTO: EPA
Last year's beaten finalists, South Africa's Sharks, also got off to a winning start with a 17-10 win over Australia's Western Force in Durban on Friday.
Fullback Stefan Terblanche, who was called into the team when French flyhalf Frederic Michalak withdrew with a calf injury, scored the winning try midway through the second half.
South Africa recorded a third win during the opening round when the Lions pipped the Cheetahs 23-22 at Bloemfontein on Saturday, flyhalf Earl Rose landing two late kicks to decide the match.
PHOTO: EPA
In the closest southern hemisphere inter-provincial championship game of the weekend, the Lions turned a 22-13 deficit into a victory thanks to a Doppies la Grange try converted by Rose, who also kicked the crucial penalty.
There were just six minutes left at Absa Stadium in the central city when replacement flyhalf Rose slotted a close-range penalty between the posts and he almost succeeded with a cheeky long-range drop goal attempt soon after.
Success was particularly sweet for the Johannesburg-based Lions as it was their first over the Cheetahs in the Super 14 and it also avenged a two-point loss to the same team in the Currie Cup domestic championship final last year.
New Zealand and Australian teams won two matches each over the first weekend, which was played under a range of experimental rules which made the games fast and exciting but did not produce the feast of tries expected.
Canterbury and Auckland, the most successful teams in the tournament's history with nine titles between them, both collected bonus points after racking up easy wins while New South Wales and Queensland started off on the right foot after finishing at the bottom of the standings last year.
The Canterbury Crusaders ran in four unanswered tries on a wet and cold Friday night in Christchurch to hammer the ACT Brumbies 34-3.
Flyhalf Dan Carter, playing his first serious match since the All Blacks were knocked out of the World Cup, rebounded from last season's dip in form to put in a brilliant all-round display.
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