Trailing at the break, the Bulls scored 31 points in the second half to extend their winning streak at Loftus to 13 matches.

The defending champions also scored six tries in the process to add the bonus point and remain on top of the competition standings.

A strong start by the Waratahs had the Bulls under the cosh for most of the first half. Two early tries and a penalty had the visitors up by 17-0 before the Bulls could respond.

They did manage to slow down the visitors from Sydney with some good driving play.

A try by Francois Hougaard, his first of the season, rewarded their effort, but more points from the accurate boot of Berrick Barnes extended the Aussie advantage alarmingly.

Good play just before the break saw Stephan Dippenaar scoring his first Super 14 try and when the Bulls managed to keep out a ferocious Waratahs attack just before the break, the crowd sensed the Bulls reply was imminent.

“We certainly felt that we stopped their momentum when we managed to keep them away from our line in that last spell before the break,” Bulls coach Frans Ludeke said afterwards.

“There was calm in our half time talk and the message was that we need to play more rugby in their half. We knew if we did that, we will score some tries,” Ludeke said.

A penalty kick by Morné Steyn early in the second half started the amazing comeback.

Hougaard scored his second after a line-out steal from a Waratahs throw-in and Gerhard van den Heever secured the bonus point try in the right hand corner of the main stand.

The Waratahs fought back well and worked Lachie Turner over in the opposite corner of the field, before Wynand Olivier stamped his class on the game by scoring under the poles.

This gave the Bulls a ten point lead, but another well worked try by the Waratahs did nothing to calm the nerves of the Loftus faithful.

Good ball control by the pack and some strong mauling subdued the visitors in the final stretch.

A fine try by Jacques-Louis Potgieter, who ran onto a Steyn chip to score under the posts, also robbed the Waratahs of a second bonus point.

“This was our best 40 minutes of the season so far,” Bulls captain, Victor Matfield, admitted.

“We really have to stop giving away soft points early in the game, but we played very well in the second half to secure this win against a very tough opponent.”

Points scorers:

Bulls 48 (17). Tries: Francois Hougaard (2), Stephan Dippenaar, Gerhard van den Heever, Wynand Olivier, Jacques-Louis Potgieter. Conversions: Morné Steyn (6). Penalties: Steyn (2).

Waratahs 38 (26). Tries: Tatafu Polota-Nau, Ben Mowen, Lachie Turner, Drew Micthell. Conversions: Berrick Barnes (2), Kurtley Beale. Penalties: Barnes (3). Drop goals: Barnes.

Attendance: 30 044.