Ken Borland

The Bulls fired on all cylinders for probably just the first 25 minutes, but it was enough for them to beat the Pumas 21-5 and clinch some more, long-awaited silverware for their Loftus Versfeld trophy cabinet as they won the Super Rugby Unlocked competition by four points over the Stormers and Sharks.

In what is probably the last ever Super Rugby tournament, it was perhaps fitting that the Bulls, as the only South African winners of the competition, signed off as the winners of this strictly local event. But it is also the first senior trophy to find a home at Loftus Versfeld since their 2010 Super Rugby triumph, so there will be great relief in Pretoria and a sense of justification that the appointment of Jake White as director of rugby has indeed borne immediate fruit.

The Bulls raced into a 21-0 lead inside those first 25 minutes, playing clinical rugby. Their superb pack was once again utterly dominant, they squeezed the Pumas in all the set-pieces, their driving maul was well-used and their ball-in-hand play was direct and incisive. And the Bulls’ breakdown work was hugely impressive, with flank Marco van Staden absolutely rampant and eighthman Duane Vermelen not far behind.

Wing Kurt-Lee Arendse opened the scoring in the 11^th minute from close range after one of numerous penalties had been kicked to touch five metres out; six minutes later flyhalf Chris Smith rounded off a period of very direct running by the Bulls as he forced his way through three tackles to score; and scrum Ivan van Zyl then sniped through a gap to score after a big scrum by the Bulls had earned a penalty against the Pumas on their own ball.

The marvellous rugby of the first half gave way to a scrappier, but more intensely competitive second half as the Pumas showed pleasing improvement. They stopped conceding a flood of penalties, they were better in the set-pieces, made fewer mistakes and, were it not for some lapses in decision-making at crucial times, they could have pushed hard for the win given how they turned around the territory and possession stats.

They showed their intent from the start of the second half, hooker HP van Schoor muscling over for a try from a lineout drive.

Given how brave the Pumas have been in fronting up for this game after 11 of their squad have been in quarantine for the last week, it was pleasing that they ended this phase of the season with their heads held high.

Also coming out of the math with great credit was referee Aimee Barrett-Theron, who became the first woman to referee at senior professional level in South Africa, and officiated with confidence, certainly being the mistress in charge out on the field.

Scorers

Bulls: Tries – Kurt-Lee Arendse, Chris Smith, Ivan van Zyl. Conversions – Smith (3).

Pumas: Try – HP van Schoor.

Despite losing three of their desired 23-man squad to Covid, the Sharks are travelling to Kimberley confident that they have the depth to hit peak form against Griquas on Friday night and keep their hopes alive as the Super Rugby Unlocked competition goes into its last two rounds.

Coach Sean Everitt confirmed that one member of the starting XV he wanted to select (probably flank Henco Venter because he was captain last week and is now out of the squad altogether) had tested positive for Covid-19 and two other players who were going to sit on the bench are also isolating because they have had contact with the affected player.

Nevertheless, there is only one debutant in the starting team, former Lions star Anthony Volmink coming in for Manie Libbok at fullback in what is a rotational switch, with the former Blue Bulls player shifting to the bench. The Sharks have also made rotational switches at hooker, lock and wing, while first-choice openside flank James Venter makes a return from injury.

The Sharks, to be led by Currie Cup co-skipper Jeremy Ward on Friday night, are six points behind the log-leading Bulls, and have a game in hand. So if the KwaZulu-Natalians can come away with a bonus point win from Kimberley, then they will be just one point behind heading into the final round.

“The Covid withdrawals haven’t really been a disruption because we were able to move on quite quickly, we had an idea of who we wanted to play and the team has trained well together. You never know initially how many players are going to affected, but fortunately our analysis of training showed there had not been a lot of contact with the guy who tested positive.

“We’ve been taking it one game at a time, but never taking our eyes off the end of the competition, but we haven’t really delivered a top performance yet. We need to get down to work now and hopefully we can come away with a bonus point win which will leave us just one point adrift. The advantage is that we have been rotating guys so everyone has had game time,” Everitt said on Thursday.

While the minnows in Super Rugby often seem to want a disorderly, scrappy game when they come up against the big franchises, Everitt believes Griquas will bring a well-controlled, structured game plan on Friday night.

“Griquas are certainly well-structured, they have clear exit strategies, neat and tidy. Their flyhalf George Whitehead is a seasoned campaigner, he controls the game really well and he was one of the standout players in last year’s Currie Cup. We know coach Scott Mathie from his time with Durban High School, they were free-flowing and played from everywhere, but a different team and situation can change a coach’s philosophy.

“The Stormers showed though against Griquas last weekend that bringing a ball-in-hand approach can create opportunities. But it’s going to be about accuracy and execution for us, we weren’t that good in that respect last weekend, there were a lot of individual errors. And we need to tighten our discipline as well so we don’t give them opportunities. We need to be at the top of our game,” Everitt said.

Teams

Griquas – Masixole Banda, Ederies Arendse, Harlon Klaasen, Johnathan Francke, Eduan Keyter, George Whitehead (captain), Zak Burger, Johan Momsen, Stefan Willemse, Gideon van der Merwe, Cameron Lindsay, Adre’ Smith, Ewald van der Westhuizen, HJ Luus, -Mox Mxoli. Replacements (from): Monde Hadebe, Andrew Beerwinkel, Madot Mabokela, Carl Els, CJ Velleman, Theo Maree, Tinus de Beer, Daniel Kasende, Bandisa Ndlovu, Ewan Coetzee, Ashlon Davids.

Sharks – Anthony Volmink, Yaw Penxe, Jeremy Ward (C), Marius Louw, Madosh Tambwe, Curwin Bosch, Sanele Nohamba, Phendulani Buthelezi, Thembelani Bholi, James Venter, Hyron Andrews, Ruben van Heerden, John-Hubert Meyer, Kerron van Vuuren, Ox Nche. Replacements: Daniel Jooste, Mzamo Majola, Khwezi Mona, JJ van der Mescht, Dylan Richardson, Cameron Wright, Manie Libbok, Sbu Nkosi.

Kickoff – 19:00

5 questions for Sharks flank Phendulani Buthelezi

• You’ve played all over the loose trio, but where do you chiefly see yourself playing in the future?

PB – Wherever the Sharks need me, I will try and get the job done for the team and I’ve been able to adjust. But I prefer eighthman, I’m probably more comfortable being the link man and playing in the wider channels, that’s probably the better position for me. In South African rugby, the No.7 needs to be big, tall and physical, they are the main ball-carrier. Defensively you’re not always coming around the corner, you need to keep the width on the blindside. I’m not the biggest guy, but it’s been very good to experience the game from a different perspective.

• You obviously enjoy the ball-playing aspects of being a loose forward, but how do you cope with the physical demands?

PB – Rugby is a physical sport, so I work hard in the gym and make sure I am conditioned enough to take the hits and give the hits. I’m not the biggest guy as I said, but it’s about having the right attitude. Generally I have a lot of belief in myself and when I run out on to the field I just tell myself to never go backwards.

• Your opponents on Friday night are Griquas, they have become less of a force in recent years but do you feel they can stretch you in Kimberley?

PB – I actually think Griquas have a lot of potential, I know their coach Scott Mathie well because he coached me at school [Durban HS] so I know what he’s capable of, plus I know some of their players well and I rate them as a side. We’re certainly not looking at it as an easy game, we need to make sure we prepare properly, especially because we’re playing in Kimberley and we all know how difficult it is to play there. I think it’s going to be a very good battle, they have a very good loose trio as well and their No.6 [Gideon van der Merwe] is excellent on the ground.

• Who captured your imagination as a rugby player growing up?

PB – Growing up, the sort of player I would have liked to become like was Ardie Savea. He’s not one of the biggest loose forwards but the power he has means he’s always going forward with the ball or putting guys down in defence. He’s very explosive, he has good speed and he’s good on the ground. Watching him used to give me goosebumps.

• How do the Sharks beat Griquas on Friday night?

PB – As a forward pack, we are very aware of the backline we have, they can score some amazing tries, but it’s up to us to land the first punch, we have to give them that front-foot ball. But we are more than confident that we are more than capable of getting the job done up front. The way we played against the Cheetahs and their very good pack last weekend gives us a lot of confidence.

The Sharks team look to flyhalf Curwin Bosch for direction and on Friday night against the Free State Cheetahs at Kings Park they also received a matchwinning performance from the Springbok, according to coach Sean Everitt.

The Sharks bumbled their way to a 19-13 win in a Super Rugby Unlocked match that was strewn with errors from both sides, and it was Bosch who hauled the home team over the line by slotting all five of his kicks at goal, bombarding the Cheetahs with towering up-and-unders and also providing the pinpoint crosskick for the decisive try by replacement wing Madosh Tambwe.

“When you have a flyhalf like Curwin then the team look to him for direction and he did an excellent job. His kicking was pinpoint and the chasers did very well too. Curwin is playing with a lot of confidence at the moment and if we get the contestable kicking right then we are a very difficult team to play against.

“We like to play what’s in front of us and Curwin is vital for that. The Cheetahs had good line-speed and they put him under pressure, but he won that battle and with his kicking game he’s able to counteract that rush defence,” Everitt said after the hard-fought win.

While the television broadcaster’s staff gave the impression that conditions in Durban were ideal, Everitt confirmed that it was in fact a typically humid summer’s evening on the sub-tropical east coast, which partly explained the multitude of basic errors made by both teams.

“They were difficult conditions and it was a very physical contest. In order to combat the humidity, we went for contestable kicks and they were extremely difficult to handle. The conditions were very similar to the early rounds of Super Rugby at the start of the year and it was very difficult to hold on to the ball,” Everitt explained.