Ken Borland

A phlegmatic Jake White said the Bulls’ loss to the Sharks in Durban at the weekend was hardly a terrible blow to their Currie Cup chances and he still believes his side are sitting pretty in the competition.

The Bulls were pipped 32-29, with Morne Steyn missing a relatively straightforward penalty after the final hooter for the draw, but White is right, his team are still in a strong position. They are five points clear at the top of the log, with matches against Griquas, the Lions and Pumas to come.

The win did a lot for the Sharks, however, who are in second place, with a game in hand over the Bulls. But Western Province and the Lions have played as many matches as the Bulls and are seven and eight points behind respectively.

“This doesn’t change our plan at all, we’ll put the game behind us as a wasted chance, but the margins are so small. It’s a long season and we will learn from it, but I’m very happy where we are. Our destiny is still in our hands and who would have thought that six months ago? What’s important is that we get to January 23 and win the final that day.

“So I’m not worried, we are playing good rugby but we wasted chances today, that will happen with a young squad that has only been together for six months and half of that was in Lockdown. You can see the disappointment in the guy’s faces in the changeroom, you can see losing means a lot to them. Going into halftime 14-9 down it was obviously very pleasing to take the lead, but you’ve got to make sure you get the win at the end of the day,” White said after the Kings Park thriller.

White paid credit to the Sharks for their much-improved display at the breakdown, where they made life much harder for the Bulls compared to when they were hammered 41-14 at Loftus Versfeld in October in Super Rugby Unlocked.

“They slowed down our ball so we couldn’t get much momentum, they had obviously relooked at how they defend at the breakdown, so credit to them. We did not get as much quick ball as in the last game, the Sharks’ breakdown game obviously went up a notch which is why we struggled to get momentum.

“But we can only blame ourselves for losing four balls in our own 22 at the end, twice through not controlling the kickoff properly and we also lost two lineouts. The Sharks stood in our lineout and listened in on our calls, which was amazing to see, but [replacement hooker] Schalk Erasmus has been injured since the Green and Gold game [October 3], so it’s understandable it was difficult for him to find his locks,” White said.

The Sharks versus Bulls Currie Cup match in Durban was a match-up between two of the best flyhalves in the country in Morne Steyn and Curwin Bosch and in the end it came down to two kicks at the death.
Bosch produced a moment of magic, displaying his great vision, as he spotted the Bulls were too narrow in defence after some grinding attacks by the Sharks and put in a superb crosskick for Yaw Penxe to cross for the try that gave the Sharks a 30-29 lead. Bosch then scudded the conversion over to stretch that to 32-29.
The Bulls spent the remaining time piling on the pressure in Sharks’ territory. But the home side defended brilliantly and had a scrum feed after the final hooter. In a dramatic twist, the Bulls pack mounted one last massive effort winning a scrum penalty.
But Steyn, who had been as accomplished as ever during the match, missed the kick for the draw, one he would normally expect to get.
It was a thrilling end to a pulsating game, with the Sharks deserving victory for the tremendous hunger and determination they showed if for nothing else.
The first half was dominated by two absurd yellow cards for accidental head clashes to Sharks centre Marius Louw and then, six minutes later, to Bulls prop Jacques van Rooyen. There was also a kicking battle between the sides, with the Bulls on top at first, before the Sharks held the advantage in the second quarter.
Bosch kicked three penalties before the Sharks claimed the first try as fullback Manie Libbok sniped through a tiny gap and his reverse-flip inside found centre Lukhanyo Am, and he had plenty of space against a Bulls defence that had not set, cruising over for a 14-9 halftime lead.
The Bulls found top gear in the third quarter, scoring tries by flank Marco van Staden, from close range, and by centre Cornal Hendricks, who rounded off an impressive period of play in style.
The Bulls were leading 29-20 and the momentum seemed to have turned. But they made mistakes at the restarts and first replacement hooker Kerron van Vuuren scored from a maul for the Sharks, and then came Bosch’s moment of magic.
Points scorers
Sharks: Tries – Lukhanyo Am, Kerron van Vuuren, Yaw Penxe. Conversion – Curwin Bosch. Penalties – Bosch (5).
Bulls: Tries – Marco van Staden, Cornal Hendricks. Conversions – Morne Steyn (2). Penalties – Steyn (5).

The Bulls are facing stiff opposition in the form of the Sharks – unbeaten at home this year – in their Currie Cup match on Saturday, but coach Jake White says he knows exactly what the home team will bring at Kings Park in Durban.

Due to the thunderstorms expected on Saturday night, the kick-off for the game has been moved forward from 7pm to 2pm, but there could still be some inclement weather about.

“The Sharks have developed a lot, but it’s not that they’ve changed their game plan, they just do what they do a lot better. They will not play in their own half, they will kick to you and wait for you to make mistakes. They will kick to us and we just have to be good enough to catch the ball and play. We know what’s coming and we’ve practised for that and know exactly what to do.

“There’s meant to be rain on the weekend and that will play into their hands. It’s probably going to be tough to win down there, but it’s about how we play after we get the ball. If they kick poorly and we can counter-attack, then we can score some tries. It’s just about how we execute. The only time the Sharks are going to run is when they run on to the field,” White said this week.

For his part, Sharks coach Sean Everitt also felt he had a good idea about what he will be facing from the Bulls.

“The Bulls have got a really good set-piece, they have recruited quite a formidable pack and they have certainly performed. But their forwards and backs combine well and they’ve scored some great tries. They are the form team,” Everitt said.

If the rain does start sweeping down on to Kings Park from the Kloof area then White believes it could also bring his intimidating pack more into play.

“If it rains then there’s going to be a lot more forward play used to get into the 22s. We have a strong and trusted pack that has dominated in most games and we must carry on using the maul if we’re scoring tries from that, we’ve been very good at that. The Sharks have gone with a 6-2 bench, which makes me proud.

“It means they see the Bulls as they used to be in the old days, it means we are doing something right if they feel they need 14 forwards. We will be up for the challenge. The Bulls like going there and we have beaten them by 90 points in our last two games. I’m sure the conditions will be as difficult for them as they are for us,” White said.

The Bulls however have a five-year losing streak in Durban and the Sharks are likely to up their game as the pressure for semi-final places builds.

Teams

Sharks – Manie Libbok, Sbu Nkosi, Lukhanyo Am (capt), Marius Louw, Yaw Penxe, Curwin Bosch, Sanele Nohamba, Sikhumbuzo Notshe, Henco Venter, Dylan Richardson, Hyron Andrews, Ruben van Heerden, Thomas du Toit, Dan Jooste, Ox Nche. Bench: Kerron van Vuuren, Mzamo Majola, Michael Kumbirai, JJ van der Mescht, Thembelani Bholi, Phendulani Buthelezi, Jaden Hendrikse, Jeremy Ward.

Bulls team – David Kriel, Marnus Potgieter, Stedman Gans, Cornal Hendricks, Kurt-Lee Arendse, Morné Steyn, Ivan van Zyl, Duane Vermeulen (capt), Arno Botha, Marco van Staden, Ruan Nortje, Walt Steenkamp, Trevor Nyakane, Johan Grobbelaar, Jacques van Rooyen. Bench – Schalk Erasmus, Gerhard Steenekamp, Mornay Smith, Sintu Manjezi, Nizaam Carr, Embrose Papier, Chris Smith, Marco Jansen van Vuren.

Kickoff – 2pm.

Bulls coach Jake White certainly seems to have located his best starting XV and there is little doubt it is the side that will run out on to Kings Park on Saturday evening to play the Sharks in a Currie Cup thriller.

Barring Marnus Potgieter making his Currie Cup starting debut on the right wing that is. The 21-year-old is promoted from the bench because Travis Ismaiel is unable to fill the vacancy created by David Kriel moving back to fullback because he has just had a shoulder operation. Potgieter is 1.87 metres tall, weighs 94kg and played twice for the Blue Bulls in the 2018 SuperSport Rugby Challenge.

“Marnus has been a great junior player, he was at Affies and a member of the 4×100 metre relay team and has come through the ranks here at Loftus. He has lots of pace and he’s big and strong,” White said.

Apart from Ismaiel, all the familiar faces are back as White also moved Kurt-Lee Arendse back to left wing, Ivan van Zyl returns at scrumhalf, Ruan Nortje will start again in the second row and Trevor Nyakane and Jacques van Rooyen are the starting props.

Springbok Marcel van der Merwe, the tighthead who was replaced after 34 minutes against the Free State Cheetahs last weekend, is nowhere to be found on the bench though. White said he still has faith though in the 30-year-old even though 22-year-old Mornay Smith will be the replacement tighthead against the Sharks.

“We still back Marcel and we will help him through it, he had a long-term injury and has not played much rugby. I’m not going to discard him, we will help him back on the horse. Maybe the Free State loosehead prop was able to get away with a bit, there’s been lots of debate about that,” White said.

The former Springbok coach did however praise the influence of Nyakane both on and off the field.

“Marcel will come right and Trevor almost did the same things as Marcel and we got rewarded, so I’m just thankful that referee Jaco Peyper is good enough and experienced enough to see the whole picture. There’s a misconception that we took off our tighthead because he was struggling, but it was because we wanted the loosehead to try and do the same things to Trevor.

“It’s not as if Trevor came on and waved a wand, but he showed stability and the players around him obviously get confidence from that. I haven’t worked with Trevor before but he’s been really good both on and off the field – right now he’s having one-on-ones with young Jan-Hendrik Wessels on loosehead versus tighthead,” White said.

Bulls team: David Kriel, Marnus Potgieter, Stedman Gans, Cornal Hendricks, Kurt-Lee Arendse, Morné Steyn, Ivan van Zyl, Duane Vermeulen (capt), Arno Botha, Marco van Staden, Ruan Nortje, Walt Steenkamp, Trevor Nyakane, Johan Grobbelaar, Jacques van Rooyen. Bench – Schalk Erasmus, Gerhard Steenekamp, Mornay Smith, Sintu Manjezi, Nizaam Carr, Embrose Papier, Chris Smith, Marco Jansen van Vuren.