Ken Borland

They say a week is a long time in rugby but the Sharks proved – at least in the first half – that a couple of days can also bring a massive change in fortunes as they matched the British and Irish Lions blow-for-blow until the red card to scrumhalf Jaden Hendrikse knocked the stuffing out of them.

Having been hammered 54-7 by the touring Lions at Ellis Park in midweek, the Sharks fielded a new-look team for their hastily-arranged rematch at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday and produced a tremendous first-half display as they held the Lions to 26-26 at the break. The physicality and intensity of the Sharks was at a whole new level, and they managed to create the first cracks we have seen in the touring team, who conceded four tries under the pressure.

And then Hendrikse was red-carded five minutes into the second half for elbowing an opponent in the head, and the wheels fell off as the Sharks succumbed to a 71-31 thrashing.

“In terms of intensity, we were matching the Lions but then the red card obviously didn’t help. We knew we had to come out firing in the second half as well, we had to keep that intensity after the break. For our young team, with lots of 21-year-olds, to put them under pressure was fantastic. The loose trio, especially, they all played for the U21s last year and they certainly matched the Lions’ physicality.

“In the first half we managed the game well and the defence was outstanding, we certainly put pressure on them. That’s a really important aspect because it complements your attack and you can use that turnover possession. I think the Springboks would have seen that with a good kicking game and strong defence, there will definitely be opportunities to force the Lions into mistakes,” Sharks coach Sean Everitt said.

Everitt added that he had sympathy for Hendrikse, a 21-year-old who had a moment of stupidity broadcast around the world.

“Jaden is not a malicious player but there was a bit of niggle in the game and it was a tough contest. He’s a youngster who did something stupid and he’ll get to know where to draw the line, he will learn from it. We have to respect the opposition and we will have a chat.

“Off the field Jaden is totally the opposite, he’s actually very quiet. I feel for the guy, he’s very remorseful and I’m sure it won’t happen again,” Everitt said.

Springbok coach Jacques Nienaber was a bit crabby over the ill-discipline his team showed in the first half, but otherwise he pronounced himself satisfied with the way they had gone in the first Test against Georgia at Loftus Versfeld on Friday night.

A string of penalties in the first quarter allowed Georgia to lead 9-5 and denied the Springboks much momentum. But once they gave themselves a foothold in the game with two tries in the last five minutes of the first half, they took a firm grip on the game in a rock-solid second half that saw South Africa ultimately win 40-9.

“The discipline was poor in the first half, but you have to credit Georgia as well because they put us under pressure until the back end of the first half. We all knew they would bring physicality but they caught us a little bit in the first 20 minutes. But that’s exactly why we were desperate to play a Test, we wanted a nice physical battle and we couldn’t have asked for better opposition for that.

“With no marker because we haven’t played for 20 months, it was difficult to know where we are at, but now we have a starting point. I don’t have worries but obviously we will work on the things that aren’t good and we probably have to improve in everything. We saw a notable change, what we wanted to see, in the second half when we imposed our game-plan on them more,” Nienaber said after his debut Test as head coach.

It was the Springbok forwards who bore the brunt of the responsibility for softening up the Georgians and captain Siya Kolisi said he was happy with the way his team responded.

“We didn’t hold back but we did not start as well as we wanted, we couldn’t get our maul and scrum going at the start, which is most important for us, we will never hide away from the set-pieces being important for us. Our discipline let us down too. But we wanted the same 2019 physicality and to be the Warriors, do the things that don’t require talent, that’s what we wanted to see today.

“We knew what Georgia are capable of and it was most important that we beat them and we responded well in the second half. But we need better discipline and we want to impose ourselves on the opposition more as individuals. We responded well but we still left a couple of opportunities out there,” Kolisi said.

The much-vaunted Bulls pack was a bit of a sleeper in the first half of their decisive Rainbow Cup match against the Sharks at Kings Park at the weekend, but a thoroughly dominant third quarter laid the platform for a comfortable 34-22 win and Jake White said although it is the nature of coaching to always be critical of something, he was satisfied that their mission in Durban was accomplished.

With both sides scoring a try apiece in the first half, the Bulls held a narrow 13-10 lead at the break, but they had notched their crucial fourth, bonus point try by the hour mark. That assured them of their place in the Rainbow Cup final against Benetton in Treviso this weekend. The final quarter saw the Sharks fight back as the Bulls were given two yellow cards.

“I was very happy with our defence with 13 men because the Sharks have some really good attacking players, but I would have preferred to have 15 men finish the game. But our experience told at the end and it’s a difficult one to manage once we scored our fourth try because you want to protect players and give those on the bench a run, but it’s a balancing act because you don’t want to get caught out and you are also on the cusp of getting some momentum for the final.

“But we got what we wanted out of the game and the message the whole time to the players was to go for the win and play the way we always play. If it took until the 79^th minute, we had to believe that the fourth try would come, and we had to back our intensity and keeping the ball in play. I’m very happy we showed we can handle the pressure,” White said.

Sharks coach Sean Everitt said his team did not have any right to make excuses for their defeat.

“We put ourselves in position to get the four tries we needed, we had six entries into the Bulls’ 22 in the first half alone, but we only converted one of them so we can’t make any excuses. We just weren’t able to convert, losing the ball over the line, and then things unravelled in the second half with soft penalties. There was ill-discipline at times too, which the players must take responsibility for.

“We need to cut down on our error-rate. We wanted to get the ball into the wider channels, get it through the hands, like in Aphelele Fassi’s good runs and the Siya Kolisi try. Unfortunately at times we just could not get the ball there when we had the opportunity to do that, which comes down to decision-making and sticking to the plan, not holding on to the ball instead of moving it,” Everitt said.

Coach Jake White communicated to his Bulls team at the break that they “had not been great” in the first half, but then, with his bench coming on to great effect, he told them at the end of their impressive 43-9 hammering of the Sharks in their Rainbow Cup match at Loftus Versfeld at the weekend that he was “very proud” of them.

The Bulls only led 12-9 at halftime and were entrenched in an almighty arm-wrestle with the Sharks; but their slow poison bore fruit in the second half as they eventually overwhelmed their opponents, finishing with four tries and a bonus point.

“Slowly, slowly, we were able to grind them down because the Sharks are a very good side. The altitude caught up with them in the second half, but we didn’t have a great first half: We allowed too many balls to bounce and I think the Sharks probably won every contestable kick. But I’m very proud of the way we finished. Our forwards were really good and the backs played well in the second half.

“The bench coming on played a vital role and we were in the wonderful position to have two Springbok props on the bench. I wanted a full half from Lizo Gqoboka and Trevor Nyakane and it was great to be able to hold them back because I knew Thomas du Toit and Ox Nche would come hard at us. But our relatively young front row did very well in the first half and then Lizo made a big impact.

“Last week he did the same in setting up the try for Zak Burger and he’s also scrumming very well. He knows there’s an opportunity for him at the Springboks now that Beast Mtawarira has retired. Elrigh Louw was also fantastic for us and in the last 20 we were really able to make the tempo higher because we are really fit,” White said after the memorable triumph.

White once again praised openside flank Marco van Staden – “he has been unbelievable for us, week-after-week putting 150% into everything” – and it seems stupidity at this stage not to have him in the Springbok picture for the Lions series.

Veteran flyhalf Morne Steyn is apparently in the frame for the national squad and he gave a masterclass against the Sharks, deservedly winning the man of the match award. “His kicks through into the corner, turning the Sharks around, just showed his class. He slowly, slowly, squeezed the Sharks until they capitulated,” White said.

The coach also praised captain Duane Vermeulen and his three locks – Walt Steenkamp, Ruan Nortje and Janko Swanepoel – as being stand-out performers.