Ken Borland

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.

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 returns of Proteas stars Faf du Plessis and Lungi Ngidi will provide a strong base to the Titans team for their crunch match against the Dolphins in the 4-Day Domestic Series at Centurion from Sunday, but it is in the bowling attack where the availability of Ngidi and Junior Dala will probably be most keenly felt.

Du Plessis will slot into a powerful top-order alongside opening batsmen Aiden Markram and Dean Elgar, Neil Brand, who scored a century in the last match, and Theunis de Bruyn, who has gone a bit quiet since his brilliant match-winning hundred at Newlands. Heinrich Klaasen is still ill and Quinton de Kock has not made himself available, so Rivaldo Moonsamy will keep the gloves for this clash between the two pool leaders.

But a bowling attack featuring the pace and aggression of Ngidi and Dala, backed by Lizaad Williams, the impressive Dayyaan Galiem and Brand’s spin, certainly promises a bit more menace than the displays produced in the last two matches – the loss to the Warriors and the draw against the Cobras, both at home at SuperSport Park.

“We didn’t bowl well against the Warriors but we were a lot better in the second innings against the Cobras, showing glimpses of what we can do. But we mustn’t forget we arguably had the best attack in the competition in the first two rounds, they were amazing on the coast. So I think it is more mental than anything, it sometimes happens that you just can’t do what you want to do.

“There are different pressures at home, but at the end of the day we have to find a way to put in a performance. But we found some confidence in the way we batted and bowled in the second innings against the Cobras. Training has been amazing this week with the Proteas and the guys just want to get out there and push to the point where they can perform all the time,” Titans coach Mandla Mashimbyi told The Citizen on Friday.

Imperial Lions coach Wandile Gwavu has various permutations to consider for his attack as they take on the Knights at the Mangaung Oval in Bloemfontein.

Left-armer Beuran Hendricks, Lutho Sipamla and spinner Bjorn Fortuin have all returned from the Proteas, but the four seamers who played in the victory over the Warriors in Port Elizabeth – Sisanda Magala, Tladi Bokako, Delano Potgieter and Malusi Siboto all did a fine job, while veteran spinner Aaron Phangiso has fulfilled his holding role. In his juggling, Gwavu also has to abide by the racial targets, an added complication.

A wonderfully attacking batting unit is starting to strike top form though with the two Hendricks – Dominic and Reeza – sure to feature at the top of the order, followed by Ryan Rickelton, Rassie van der Dussen and Wesley Marshall. All-rounders Wiaan Mulder and Potgieter have also dovetailed together extremely well.

Kagiso Rabada is still injured and Temba Bavuma has been given time off to attend to a personal matter.

Gwavu said the environment created at the Lions makes it easier for the players to handle these permutations.

“It’s the norm here now, we know we’re bound to lose two or three players every game and then get them back. You don’t ever get used to it, but we adjust very well, we have a good learning space and we are driven by performance. We have an A team and another A team and if we all just keeping doing the right things then we will have success.

“We have not played great cricket overall though and there are certain parts of our game that we need to improve, especially our fielding. When we play really good cricket then we will be unstoppable, and consistency is the one area we have spoken about most. We know we can turn things around with consistent hard work,” Gwavu said.

The Cape Cobras, without a win in the competition so far, travel to Port Elizabeth to take on the Warriors, a team also looking for more consistency after following their impressive away win over the Titans with a loss to the Lions at St George’s Park.