Ken Borland

Having seen his team squander a 19-3 lead in the third quarter and be forced to finish all-square on 22-all with the Stormers in their United Rugby Championship match at Kings Park at the weekend, Sharks coach Sean Everitt said it just goes to show how “small mistakes can have big consequences”.

And those consequences snowballed into an absolute train wreck in the last 10 minutes as the Sharks conceded three yellow cards and two penalty tries to leave them with a frustrating draw from a match they had otherwise dominated.

“We did everything right for 70 minutes and threw it away at the end,” Everitt bemoaned. “It shows that small mistakes have big consequences, especially when it comes to discipline.

“Our kicking at poles also wasn’t good enough and we had other opportunities to win the game as well – we could have finished off Grant Williams’ quick tap better and we had opportunities five metres out too.

“The guys are really disappointed and it’s not the result you want from a game you dominated. At 19-3 it then came down to discipline and we put ourselves under the pump; we beat ourselves tonight,” Everitt said.

The one big positive for the Sharks was their outstanding scrummaging display, thanks to the impressive cohesion shown by their all-Springbok front row of Ox Nche, Bongi Mbonambi and Thomas du Toit.

“The fantastic thing was the cohesion that was there,” Everitt said. “The Stormers won four scrum penalties against the Bulls last weekend so we knew we could take nothing for granted.

“But Thomas has been a standout in the URC, he had four great games in the UK, and has clearly learnt a lot in the last couple of years. He’s been outstanding.

“And Ox as well, they are all scrumming together with the Springboks and he has also come a long way. He’s being dominant every game,” Everitt said.

It was an assessment Stormers coach John Dobson was happy to co-sign, giving man of the match Nche glowing praise.

“Ox was absolutely magnificent and has shown incredible growth. He’s got to be one of the best looseheads in the world at the moment,” Dobson said.

On the final penalty try that Aphelele Fassi conceded with a deliberate knock-on, Everitt said his fullback should not have chased the ball so hard.

“Ideally you don’t want to get your hand to the ball unless you’re sure you can catch it. In that situation, you should try force them into the corner so at least the conversion kick is difficult.

“Or hover between the two men so they have to go over you. But with one back short already, it was always going to be difficult to defend,” Everitt acknowledged.

The Stormers are likely to attack the Sharks at scrum-time in their United Rugby Championship match at Kings Park on Saturday which is why, notwithstanding newly-crowned SA Rugby Player of the Year Siya Kolisi’s return at flank, having Bongi Mbonambi back at hooker is most welcome for coach Sean Everitt.

Springbok captain Kolisi replacing James Venter and the strong-scrummaging Mbonambi coming in for Kerron van Vuuren were the only changes to the Sharks team announced by Everitt on Thursday.

“The Stormers won four scrum penalties against the Bulls last weekend, so we are wary of that and we know they will bring heat to that set-piece,” Everitt said. “It’s about nullifying that for us, because those penalties can win games.

“The Stormers have a big and well-drilled pack and having Steven Kitshoff back brings added firepower and strong leadership for them.

“But Bongi will certainly strengthen our scrum. Kerron played very well last weekend and is unlucky to be relegated to the bench, but Bongi is the best in his position in the country,” Everitt said.

And with fellow Springboks Ox Nche and Thomas du Toit at loosehead and tighthead respectively, and an encouraging scrumming display against the Lions fresh in the memory banks, the Sharks can approach that crucial set-piece with some confidence.

The Stormers are currently South Africa’s highest-placed team in the URC standings, in 11^th position, with the Sharks two places back. Both teams will be eager to become possible tenants of the top-10 with victory.

Game-management will also be crucial in the heat and humidity of Durban and both teams have young No.10s who performed with aplomb last weekend in Boeta Chamberlain and former Sharks player Manie Libbok.

The Sharks are laden with eight Springboks, but their success has been just as much due to the performances of their ‘lesser’ stars, who have been busy as ants providing key aspects of the overall performance.

Blindside flank Jeandre Labuschagne is one of those stalwarts.

“Jeandre has been in some really good form the last two games, he’s had a high tackle count and completion rate,” Everitt said. “He’s very busy around the field, attending rucks and with his ball-carries.”

Sharks: Aphelele Fassi, Sbu Nkosi, Lukhanyo Am (c), Ben Tapuai, Makazole Mapimpi, Boeta Chamberlain, Grant Williams, Phepsi Buthelezi, Jeandre Labuschagne, Siya Kolisi, Hyron Andrews, Ruben van Heerden, Thomas du Toit (v/c), Bongi Mbonambi, Ox Nche. Replacements – Kerron van Vuuren, Ntuthuko Mchunu, Khutha Mchunu, Reniel Hugo, Henco Venter, Jaden Hendrikse, Tito Bonilla, Jeremy Ward.

“We will take a lot of confidence from beating one of the top sides in the world with our first XI not in place,” Proteas coach Mark Boucher said after his team completed an astonishing 3-0 series whitewash of India with a thrilling four-run win at Newlands on Sunday.

Even without pace spearheads Kagiso Rabada and Anrich Nortje, and with ace spinner Tabraiz Shamsi sitting out the last game, South Africa dominated the ODI series in conditions that were more suited to the Indian team, following their memorable Test series triumph.

“There has been a great progression in the field, both on the field and off, in terms of the environment – it’s a happy changeroom and the results show that,” Boucher said.

“I believe we turned the corner a while ago, before that we gave lots of players opportunities and we are reaping the rewards now. When players are injured or sitting out, the guys are coming through.

“I like the look and balance of our batting, they did really well, we are getting hundreds and it is a powerful top six. We have a couple of all-rounders who have put in solid performances.

“In terms of our fast bowlers, Anrich and KG still have to come back, Marco Jansen has a lot of potential and Lungi Ngidi did a fantastic job leading from the front. And we have world-class spinners,” Boucher said.

One of the biggest positives from the series for Boucher was the way India, renowned both for playing spin and their own slow bowlers, were outplayed by both the Proteas batsmen and their spinners, Shamsi, Keshav Maharaj and Aiden Markram, whose selection for the sixth bowler role paid off.

“We’ve put a lot of hard work into playing in subcontinental conditions and the heatwave in the Western Cape meant the pitches played a bit like that.

“We played spin really well in Sri Lanka and we have a good batch of spin bowlers now, with Aiden doing a good job too. So I’m not surprised we did so well.

“That’s the big positive for me – the way we played spin and the way we bowled it. From a spin perspective, we outplayed and outbowled India,” Boucher said.

Normally before the great North/South derby between the teams based at Loftus Versfeld and Cape Town, Bulls coach Jake White has enjoyed making a few mischievous digs at the opposition, like the harlequin in early pantomime, but on Friday he was refusing to take the bait and very much focused on his own team ahead of their United Rugby Championship match against the Stormers in Pretoria on Saturday.

As White correctly pointed out, the Bulls, while so dominant in domestic rugby, have fared the worst of the South African franchises so far in the URC and are second from bottom. The Stormers are two points and two places above them in 13^th.

“This is a chance for us to get off the bottom of the table,” White said on Friday. “It’s our second North/South derby this week, but our first home game in the URC. I don’t think many teams have played five away games.

“We have some momentum from the two Currie Cup wins, but it’s not just about preparing for Saturday, we’re building for three years’ time. We are still a work in progress, we are still looking to fill certain positions.

“It’s about playing teams like Leinster and Munster; we’re not a long way off but we are off. We have to find some depth and the right player profiles.

“And we’re looking forward to playing a couple of home games now. It looks as if Europe is getting back to normality and the competition will become more balanced. Hopefully by mid-tournament we’ll be more in it in terms of the table,” White said.

Because White has been willing to field many of his URC players in the first two rounds of the Currie Cup, his whole squad for Saturday have had game-time and he is hoping they start well against a Stormers side that has been inactive since being hammered by the Lions 37-19 in Cape Town in early December.

It also means the likes of flyhalf Chris Smith, hooker Johan Grobbelaar, props Gerhard Steenekamp and Mornay Smith and 19-year-old debutant flank Reinhardt Ludwig all have experienced and in-form cover on the bench.

“We have a bit of experience that can come off the bench,” White acknowledged. “We’re trying to balance the whole team and the players coming off the bench will help someone like Reinhardt.

“Playing at 5pm in 30° and at altitude and all our players have played recently – hopefully that will give us a head-start. But the Stormers are just ahead of us on the table and they will back themselves.

“Obviously they’ll be disappointed with the Lions game. If you look at their backline, there are a lot of Sevens players, so they won’t be scared to play. They’ll want space and time though … ” White said.

Bulls team: David Kriel, Madosh Tambwe, Lionel Mapoe, Cornal Hendricks, Kurt-Lee Arendse, Chris Smith, Embrose Papier; Elrigh Louw, Reinhardt Ludwig, Arno Botha, Ruan Nortje, Walt Steenkamp, Mornay Smith, Johan Grobbelaar, Gerhard Steenekamp. Impact – Bismarck du Plessis, Lizo Gqoboka, Jacques van Rooyen, Janko Swanepoel, Marcell Coetzee, Zak Burger, Morné Steyn, Harold Vorster.