Ken Borland

It’s been a tough week in the office for Bulls CEO Edgar Rathbone, with positive Covid tests materialising on Tuesday and their Currie Cup match against Griquas this weekend in Kimberley called off on Thursday due to the spread of the virus within the Bulls squad and management.

“It’s unfortunate that it has hit us now, but to be honest it was probably to be expected somewhere down the line. We had a few positives on Tuesday, which meant re-tests on Wednesday and that threw up additional cases and the game had to be cancelled. The numbers are not important but obviously they are substantial enough for the NICD to call the match off.

“Fortunately we did not train on Monday or Tuesday so that limited the risk of the spread. But for 10 days the infected must be isolated. We will have further tests on Monday morning and then we will make a call on the following week only after that. So at the moment it’s tough to say whether we can play the Lions on Boxing Day. If the virus has infiltrated the front row then things become more complicated,” Rathbone said on Thursday.

It seems inevitable that when the Bulls do get back on to the park, they will have to complete their Currie Cup charge with a weakened team. The two points from the cancelled Griquas game – when they might have expected five – means the Sharks will close to within two points with a game in hand if they beat the Lions with a bonus point on Saturday.

“We need to trust our squad depth and I believe only a number of infections in the front row could possibly make it impossible for us to fulfil fixtures. Obviously the team are disappointed not to be playing this weekend. but there are mixed feelings because they are obviously also concerned over their team-mates’ well-being because unfortunately a few of them are showing some symptoms.

“But the Griquas match had to be cancelled as a draw because if you look at the calendar and the number of weeks left it’s very difficult to find a space to postpone the game to. And we have to be consistent and keep parity between the teams who have also had fixtures called off,” Rathbone said.

The Bulls have enjoyed one of the longer occupancies at the top of the local rugby log this season and it has been the sort of success which could lead to complacency. Which is why hooker Johan Grobbelaar said on Wednesday that the narrow loss to the Sharks last weekend has given them the opportunity to look more closely at what they are doing before the knockout rounds begin on January 15.

The Bulls still enjoy a five-point lead at the top of the Currie Cup log, but one more slip-up and the Sharks could catch them, so the Durban defeat has been a timely reminder that nothing is assured yet.

“We’ve had a good run and we are still in a good position. You are always going to make some mistakes in every game, but last weekend has forced us to look at ourselves, it has forced us to look at our game a bit deeper and it will make sure we don’t get too comfortable. There’s never a right time to lose, but rather now than in the knockout rounds.

“It’s given us a good chance to look at our mistakes, but our preparation this week has been more or less the same as previously. It’s important that we don’t try and make massive changes, we need to stick to the things that have worked for us. Like our lineout is still good, we don’t have to be too worried about that and we still want to make it a physical battle against Griquas in Kimberley on Saturday,” Grobbelaar said on Wednesday.

Playing brilliant, freeflowing attacking rugby is not always that easy in the mid-summer heat and at Tafel Lager Park on Saturday, with the temperature expected to be in the mid-30s even at their 4.30pm kickoff time, there are going to be mistakes made my tired bodies as the game progresses.

“Playing in Kimberley is not that big a problem for me because I come from Paarl where it gets really hot, and we train in a lot of heat in Pretoria. But the high temperature does make a difference, it means there’s extra sweat all over the ball and your jerseys are wet as well. So the ball becomes more slippery and that leads to more knock-ons.

“It means we have to take on more fluids and the game is possibly a bit slower because there are more mistakes. But apart from that, for every away game we try to make things as comfortable as possible. Playing Griquas is always tough and you can never underestimate them, they beat us here at Loftus last year and at the beginning of the season they gave us a tough game here as well,” Grobbelaar said.

Sharks captain Lukhanyo Am played his first match for six weeks in the victory over the Bulls last weekend and it was not just his own excellent display which pleased him.

As befits a highly-respected leader, Am was more keen to talk about the impressive team display by the Sharks and how it augurs well as they build for the closing stages of the Currie Cup. The thrilling win over the high-flying Bulls means the Sharks are now just five points behind the log-leaders with a game in hand.

The Sharks have struck top form at the right time for arguably their toughest stretch of matches: they visit the resurgent Lions at Ellis Park this Saturday before going to Bloemfontein to tackle the Free State Cheetahs.

“It was definitely an important result for us, we came back from the bye nice and refreshed and to get the result against the Bulls will be a massive confidence boost going forward. Credit to the impact players who came off the bench and closed the game for us. We’ve been together as a team for a while now and playing for 80 minutes is still a work-on.

“But we managed to do that against the Bulls even though we had a dip early in the second half. We are starting to do the small things right, we are building momentum and slowly getting to where we want to be. We expect another exciting game against the Lions, who we know are a good side that likes to keep possession and move the ball around. They are 100% on the rise and, playing at Ellis Park, we definitely need to bring our A-game,” Am said on Tuesday.

Michael Kumbirai, who stepped up admirably to replace Thomas du Toit at tighthead prop when the Springbok left the field with a rib cartilage injury, was one of those bench players who have waited months to make their impact and he said his Currie Cup debut for the Sharks will be a match he never forgets.

“To make my Currie Cup debut for the Sharks was a special moment and then to get the win, I’ll never forget it. As a pack we stood up to the challenge, although it was a bit disappointing to concede that last scrum penalty, so we’re putting in the work this week to make sure we improve on that. If we can keep the same mentality we’ve had at home for the next three weeks, then I’m sure we can keep winning away as well.

“But the Lions will be just as hungry as us on the weekend, they will definitely be up for it and come at us with lots of tempo. We have to be prepared to work very hard and have good work-rate and they have a really good scrum, the set-piece is a strength of their’s. We’re definitely taking confidence out of the Bulls win, but this is a new week,” Kumbirai said.

Sharks coach Sean Everitt paid tribute to his pack for going toe-to-toe with the Bulls and standing their ground as the KwaZulu-Natalians claimed a thrilling 32-29 victory in their Currie Cup match at Kings Park in Durban at the weekend.

The Sharks pack has had its critics this season but against the Bulls they enjoyed parity in the scrums and lineouts – winning a couple of crucial opposition throws in the closing stages – and the breakdowns, an area of strength for the Pretoria side, were fiercely contested.

“I have to give credit to the pack, they were outstanding, and we knew that if we could get parity up front then we could really compete. The character shown by the pack was tremendous, they really stood up and showed what they can do. We’ve worked hard on our breakdown, where Dylan Richardson was outstanding, I can only commend his effort week in and week out.

“And the last time we played the Bulls, at Loftus Versfeld [October], our lineout didn’t function so we also worked very hard on that. Plus I was happy we only conceded two scrum penalties. Getting some experienced personnel back certainly does help, and now we have another very good pack to take on next weekend in the Lions,” Everitt said.

It wasn’t quite a perfect performance by the Sharks – Everitt acknowledged the missed penalty by Morne Steyn that would have held them to a draw, but in terms of effort, one could only give the home side 10/10. While not implying that the Bulls gave anything less than 100%, the Sharks just seemed to have more hunger and determination on the day.

“It was a great performance and a massive improvement over the whole 80 minutes, it took great hunger and determination to win it in the last five minutes. But if you look at the match as a whole, then I think we deserved this one. We’ve built some depth over the last six weeks and it is certainly paying off. We’re hoping to reach peak performance at the right time.

“Winning at home is also really important for us and we’re very happy we’ve maintained our 100% home record. It’s unfortunate that there have been no spectators to see it, but one of our goals this year was to make Kings Park our fortress. Now we go on a mini-tour to Johannesburg and Bloemfontein, but we won three of our four Super Rugby games on tour so that will help with the confidence,” Everitt said.