Bryan Habana's late try against his old team stole a 19-14 win for the Stormers over the Bulls in Super 15 rugby Saturday. Springboks wing Habana raced clear with eight minutes to go to snatch victory as the Stormers retained first place in the South Africa conference after they had been dominated for much of the derby game away at a packed Loftus Versfeld. The Stormers stay second in the overall standings. The Bulls are fifth. Lions end slide In Johannesburg, the Lions beat the Sharks 38-28 to end an 11-game losing streak in rugby's Super 15 and slow the Sharks' playoff surge. Four first-half tries from the Johannesburg-based team opened a 32-11 halftime lead at Ellis Park and gave them enough breathing space to hold off the Sharks' fight-back. Despite being outscored 17-6 in the second half, John Mitchell's Lions clung on for their first win since the opening round in February. Chiefs beat Blues In Auckland, winger Alaesi Tikoirotuma scored four tries, equaling the record for an individual in a Super 15 rugby match, as the Waikato Chiefs beat the Auckland Blues 41-34 Saturday to consolidate overall first place as the tournament breaks for June test matches. Tikoirotuma scored his first try in a first half which ended in a 20-20 deadlock, then added three including the match-winner in a thrilling second half as the Chiefs built and rebuilt leads. The Chiefs started the match with a three-point lead atop the overall standings. Their bonus-point victory Saturday ensured they would stay in first place when the tournament breaks for the international test season for four weeks. Hurricanes down Waratahs In Sydney, replacement Moto Matu'u scored his first Super 15 try after a turnover well inside New South Wales territory to clinch the Wellington Hurricanes' 33-12 win over the Waratahs and keep the New Zealand side within reach of a top-six playoff spot. The try with 18 minutes left came during the Hurricanes' first second-half run inside Waratahs' territory and followed sustained pressure by New South Wales through 15 phases deep in the other direction. The win left the Hurricanes with 45 points from 14 matches, well behind Waikato's leading 58 in the New Zealand conference but within range of securing one of the other two playoff spots that go to non-conference winners.
