Ken Borland

Springbok fullback Warrick Gelant scored a controversial 78^th minute try to save the Stormers from a humiliating defeat as they edged out the Pumas 42-37 in their Super Rugby Unlocked match in Nelspruit on Friday night.

Gelant produced a fine finish, stepping inside to evade a tackler and then racing away to beat the cover-defence and score the try, but the pass he received from flyhalf Tim Swiel was ‘flat’ enough to raise suspicions in even the most ardent Western Province fan. Referee Marius van der Westhuizen referred the decision to TMO AJ Jacobs and there was certainly enough evidence to rule out the try.

The Stormers were able to come back from a horror first half and they trailed 14-37 after 52 minutes, but they scored three tries in the last 10 minutes to steal the spoils.

The Pumas came with a simple and highly-effective game-plan by coach Jimmy Stonehouse but they were able to execute it perfectly in the first half as they raced into a 30-14 lead.

It was an epic effort by the Pumas, led by inside centre Wayne van der Bank, who took over the generalship duties after an injury to flyhalf Eddie Fouche, and the underdogs produced an outstanding display of clinical rugby to race into a 30-14 lead at the halftime break.

The Pumas were able to overcome an unfortunate blow five minutes into the second half when flank Jeandre Rudolph, an enormous figure in an asphyxiating display by the Pumas pack, was harshly yellow-carded by Van der Westhuizen after an innocuous jersey-pulling episode that saw Stormers scrumhalf Herschel Jantjies end up in the advertising boards.

It was Van der Bank who created an opportunity for an overwhelming 37-14 lead as he rounded off an armada of strong carries by breaking the gain-line and then producing a brilliant offload for wing Niel Maritz to score.

But it all served as an enormous wake-up call for the Stormers and tries from close range by replacement prop Neethling Fouche and hooker Bongi Mbonambi, followed by a classic backline try by wing Leolin Zas, brought them right back into the contest before an unfortunate end to the game for the plucky home side.

The Pumas may have lost, but what they clearly showed is that there is certainly an abundance of talent outside the big franchises and Stonehouse remains an extremely effective manipulator of that talent.

The Bulls take on the Sharks at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday night in what should be a mouthwatering Super Rugby Unlocked game as both teams strive to gain momentum in the competition.

The Bulls struggled to victory in Pretoria over lowly Griquas and then lost to the Free State Cheetahs in Bloemfontein, while the Sharks, who were magnificent at the start of the year, have battlled to reach the same heights, losing badly to Jake White’s team on SuperFan Saturday at Loftus Versfeld and then meandering to a narrow win over the Lions in Durban.

Here are the areas to marvel over as Captain America takes on Black Panther:

The Sharks are out for revenge after losing 49-28 to the Bulls a month ago & have promised a different mindset – “We’re going with a totally different mindset. We took a squad of 30 that day and we wanted to look at combinations and youngsters who had shown progress to measure where they were. But it’s back to business now, we have a settled squad and a much more experienced team, with lessons learnt on that SuperFan day. It will certainly be a different ball game,” coach Sean Everitt said.

There will be pace & power aplenty in the loose forward battle as Vermeulen, Louw & Van Staden clash with Notshe, Buthelezi & Venter – “I’ve seen Elrigh Louw train for a while now and as soon as he arrived with us he showed such good energy. He’s young but confident, he loves to carry the ball and defend. Plus he’s like a sponge with how much he has picked up already. He’s an exciting player and I’m looking forward to playing alongside him.

“I played together for a couple of seasons with Sikhumbuzo Notshe at the Stormers and he has grown a lot as an eighthman. He was one of the star players in Super Rugby before Lockdown and I know what he can give, I’m looking forward to a really good match-up,” Duane Vermeulen said.

Both coaches, White & Everitt, are expecting their sides to find some rhythm on Saturday – “I would like to see more cohesion, but the guys have not played much together and we have been making changes to the team. I would just like to see more rhythm in attack and defence and the team that gets that right the quickest, that hits their straps first, will create the most problems. So far this competition has been very stop-start with lots of mistakes slowing everything down,” White said.

“Getting one’s rhythm back sometimes takes time and we were unfortunate that after SuperFan Saturday we had a bye with the Green and Gold game, we played the Lions and then we had another bye. It did not help our continuity, but I expect this weekend to see a performance from Super Rugby level. There’s no more time to hang around and wait to hit form, and I hope to see a spectacle on Saturday night,” Evertt said.

A tremendous tussle in the scrums with Marcel van der Merwe starting at tighthead for the Bulls for the first time since 2016, with Trevor Nyakane on the bench – “Marcel had surgery on his ankle but he has responded really well and now is his opportunity to showcase what he can do, he’s also a Springbok. Having played abroad he would have picked up different things and as a scrummager you learn quickly in the French league. Plus we have Trevor coming off the bench and everyone knows what he can provide,” Vermeulen said.

“When I coached Montpellier, Marcel played for Toulon and they had one of the strongest packs. He’s now had three or four weeks of practice, the conditioning team have worked hard on him and he’ll be right for Saturday. I’ve also been very impressed with Jacques van Rooyen at loosehead, Springbok scrum coach Daan Human was here this week to see him scrum and I think he was impressed too. I thought Lizo Gqoboka and Trevor Nyakane would be away with the Springboks and Jacques can scrum both sides and is an unbelievable team man,” White said.

Teams

Bulls:  David Kriel, Travis Ismaiel, Stedman Gans, Cornal Hendricks, Kurt-Lee Arendse, Morné Steyn, Ivan van Zyl, Duane Vermeulen (C), Elrigh Louw, Marco van Staden, Ruan Nortje, Jason Jenkins, Marcel van der Merwe, Johan Grobbelaar, Jacques van Rooyen. Replacements – Joe van Zyl, Gerhard Steenekamp, Trevor Nyakane, Sintu Manjezi, Arno Botha, Embrose Papier, Chris Smith, Marco Jansen van Vuren.

Sharks: Manie Libbok, Sbu Nkosi, Lukhanyo Am (c), Marius Louw, Werner Kok, Curwin Bosch, Sanele Nohamba, Sikumbuzo Notshe, Phendulani Buthelezi, James Venter, Hyron Andrews, Ruben van Heerden, Thomas du Toit, Dylan Richardson, Ox Nche. Replacements – Kerron van Vuuren, Mzamo Majola, John-Hubert Meyer, JJ van der Mescht, Henco Venter, Grant Williams, Jeremy Ward, Yaw Penxe.

Kickoff: 7pm.

Pumas coach Jimmy Stonehouse may have all but publicly written off his team’s chances against the Stormers in Nelspruit on Friday night, but he will know how awkward he has made life for the Western Cape giants in the past and Stormers coach John Dobson has said he is aware his team could be vulnerable given their weird combination of Springbok stars and talented youngsters as tie-ons.

“As simple as it sounds, I’ve told the players to just be relaxed. You can’t ignore the gulf in depth between the two sides. The Stormers are an unbelievable team and that’s the way things are. We’re not going to get far if we’re banking on miracles,” Stonehouse said this week.

Dobson, as befits someone who has lost to the Pumas before, was cautious.

“We have nine established Springboks in our squad and then a bunch of really talented youngsters and we have to bring them through. It’s really challenging finding the balance between those two groups and the changes we have made have not been voluntary, so it’s up to the Pumas how they interpret those. Of course they’re going to be motivated against us.

“But we’ve had adversity as well with our preparations massively disrupted by the Covid rules. But maybe that adversity is good and last week’s performance against the Lions has made sure we are very grounded. The skipper [Siya Kolisi] I know is very determined and we are going there Full Metal Jacket,” Dobson said.

The Stormers will be particularly wary of Pumas flyhalf Eddie Fouche, who is the provider of much direction for his side, and flank Jeandre Rudolph, a scavenger deluxe as well as being a momentum-giver for the home side.

“I know Jeandre very well, having played against him since U19s, he’s a tough guy and very good on the ground, very skilful. In terms of our loose trio, we are just trying to get better each week and make sure we complement each other. I would like to play a bit more with ball in hand, but the most important thing is just to get game time, the more I play, the better I get,” Kolisi said.

Bulls coach Jake White said on Thursday that he is still nursing his team into full rhythm, but he has still made six changes to the starting line-up for their Super Rugby Unlocked match against the Sharks at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday.

The Bulls will field much the same backline that gave the Sharks such a headache in Pretoria a month ago on SuperFan Saturday, with Stedman Gans and Cornal Hendricks reunited in the centres, Travis Ismaiel and Kurt-Lee Arendse on the wings and Ivan van Zyl starting at scrumhalf. David Kriel starts at fullback after Gio Aplon’s season was ended by a knee injury in last weekend’s loss to the Free State Cheetahs.

Up front, Springbok tighthead prop Marcel van der Merwe is back at full fitness after ankle surgery and will make his return to the Bulls side after his three-and-a-half year stint with Toulon, and highly-rated youngster Elrigh Louw will start at blindside flank with veteran Arno Botha on the bench.

“I would like to see more cohesion, but the guys have not played much together and we have been making changes to the team. I would just like to see more rhythm in attack and defence and the team that gets that right the quickest, that hits their straps first, will create the most problems. So far this competition has been very top-start with lots of mistakes slowing everything down.

“And this is a new group of players, which is also a disadvantage, other teams have had their squads together much longer. But it’s not an excuse and we just need to try as hard as we can to get some rhythm and continuity going. A lot of the changes will come on after halftime and play the back end of the match and the strength of the bench is also very important,” White said on Thursday.

Judging by what happened the last time these two teams met, those watching in their homes are probably most excited by two scintillating backlines going up against each other and Bulls captain Duane Vermeulen was particularly excited by his own backs.

“Cornal and Stedman showed what a good combination they are and I guess the coach wants to see if they can play well again together this weekend. Travis and Kurt-Lee are back as well so we have two very exciting wings and David Kriel has put his hand up very well in the last two games, so I’m sure he will easily fit in at fullback,” Vermeulen said.

Bulls team:  David Kriel, Travis Ismaiel, Stedman Gans, Cornal Hendricks, Kurt-Lee Arendse, Morné Steyn, Ivan van Zyl, Duane Vermeulen (C), Elrigh Louw, Marco van Staden, Ruan Nortje, Jason Jenkins, Marcel van der Merwe, Johan Grobbelaar, Jacques van Rooyen. Replacements – Joe van Zyl, Gerhard Steenekamp, Trevor Nyakane, Sintu Manjezi, Arno Botha, Embrose Papier, Chris Smith, Marco Jansen van Vuren.