Ken Borland

The Bulls acknowledge that Saturday’s United Rugby Championship quarterfinal against the Sharks at Loftus Versfeld is a 50/50 game, but they will go into the knockout clash with fresh minds and bodies, happy with the rugby they are playing.

Walt Steenkamp has had a pleasing impact in the No.4 jersey since joining the Bulls from the Free State Cheetahs in November 2020, and he said the pack are so content with how they are operating as a unit that they are even happy to see the backs score all the tries!

“The team relies a lot on us for front-foot ball and it was nice to see only backs scoring against Ospreys in our last match, so we can give the credit to them,” Steenkamp said with a smile on Tuesday.

“We have played so much rugby this year, so the break since then has given us the chance to rest our sore bodies. And myself and Ruan Nortje have enjoyed a good combination at lock.

“They always say altitude matters, but the Sharks have played here a lot, they would have prepared for it, plus they come from a place with high humidity, so it’s a 50/50 game.

“But playing finals rugby is about having a mindset change, because if you lose then you’re out. So we have to give 100% and Jake White is a great coach who knows how to play finals rugby,” Steenkamp said.

The Bulls have lost both their URC matches against the Sharks this season, largely due to some terrible discipline and getting a mauling in the scrums. Those are the two areas Steenkamp highlighted as requiring improvement on Saturday.

“The Sharks lineout and scrum is good, but we have plans for them,” Steenkamp said. “We have conceded four or five penalties a game at scrum time against them, so we’ve worked hard on that.

“You get different interpretations at the scrums, so we plan for the referees as well and try and show them good pictures.

“But also, the last time we played the Sharks, we played 60 minutes with 14 men because of a red card, so discipline is also very important.

“The Sharks pack is always very good as a whole, there are no weaknesses. But we think we can put pressure there. It’s finals rugby, but we will still stick to what works for us,” Steenkamp said.

While most of the attention around the Sharks has been focused on the lack of clinical finishing in their attack, the gaps in their defensive matrix are also a concern as they go into their vital United Rugby Championship match against the Dragons at Kings Park on Friday night.

As coach Sean Everitt has pointed out, while the Sharks were extremely wasteful of their opportunities in last weekend’s loss against Edinburgh, they also leaked three tries in sodden conditions, so it’s not as if their defence was faultless either. And the Dragons scored three tries against the Bulls at Loftus Versfeld to show that they have the weaponry to hurt the home side if they lose their shape in defence.

“In the last week everyone obviously looks at the opportunities we created on attack and were not converted, but we also need to look at the tries we conceded,” Everitt said.

“We let in three tries, so that means we need to score four to win the game, but that’s very difficult in these conditions.

“There were small details we fell short on in terms of taking our opportunities, but it’s a massive issue that we conceded three soft tries that we could have handled normally,” Everitt said.

The Sharks coach seldom volunteers much comment on individual performances, but given the spotlight on Curwin Bosch, Everitt felt the need to set the record straight on his starting flyhalf.

“There’s been a lot of talk about Curwin and we need to be factual,” Everitt said. “His kicking has been really good until last week and his kicking stats are the best we have.

“Against Zebre Parma he controlled the game and attacked much better than he had before. In terms of game-management, he did really well against Edinburgh.

“He showed his class in tough conditions and we were able to win 65% territory. Plus no-one sees the leadership he puts in through the week, how he performs well in training,” Everitt said.

Victory against the Dragons is crucial for the eighth-placed Sharks because they host the in-form Lions in their next match, before closing the round-robin campaign with games against top sides in Leinster, Connacht and Ulster.

Kyle Verreynne spent so long worming his way into the Proteas batting line-up and has now scored a Test century and averages 45 in ODIs with four fifties in nine innings, so it is unfortunate that his place is still not secure, depending on the permutations of the bowling attack, as South Africa go into the decisive third ODI against Bangladesh at Centurion on Wednesday.

Verreynne finished off the chase with aplomb in the second ODI at the Wanderers with a polished 58 not out, but the hamstring injury that has ruled Wayne Parnell out of the deciding match means the reserve wicketkeeper and in-form batsman might still miss out at SuperSport Park.

South Africa’s bowlers were not able to make early inroads into the Bangladesh batting in the first ODI at Centurion, as the tourists turned an opening stand of 95 into a record total of 314/7. All-rounder Parnell was brought into the attack at the Wanderers to provide more venom and took a wicket in his second over, before leaving the field in his next over.

But the Proteas also only fielded five bowlers in the second ODI, which left them vulnerable. So Parnell may in effect be replaced on Wednesday by two bowlers, meaning a specialist batsman has to go.

“As we saw at the Wanderers, having just five bowlers can prove costly,” Verreynne conceded on Tuesday, “and if we play a sixth bowler then more often than not it’s me who will miss out.

“I understand that. So it is quite difficult to get a fixed position and cement my spot. It’s about being adaptable and able to bat in any spot. I need to be ready to play in the middle-order or at the top.

“I think I’ve shown that ability, but our batting line-up is very strong. But that hundred in the Test in New Zealand has done wonders for me and I feel more comfortable now at international level,” Verreynne said.

The 24-year-old said the stellar performances of Kagiso Rabada (5/39) and Quinton de Kock (62 off 41) in winning at the Wanderers and levelling the series showed that the IPL players in the squad are still fully focused on winning the series despite their imminent departure for India that will see them miss the Tests in Durban and Gqeberha.

“I don’t think there has ever been any question over their commitment to the Proteas,” Verreynne said.

“Obviously they’re going to miss some international cricket when the IPL is on, but I certainly feel they are fully committed to their duty to the country and their minds are not in any other space.

“In the last ODI, KG and Quinny’s performances were particularly good and they showed their full focus is on making sure we win the ODI series,” Verreynne said.

Coach Sean Everitt was at pains on Thursday not to criticise his team’s game-management after they let slip a handy lead in their previous game against the Stormers, but the Sharks will go into Saturday’s United Rugby Championship rematch in Cape Town with someone a bit more ‘adult’ pulling the strings at flyhalf in Tito Bonilla.

The 32-year-old Bonilla, who has played four Tests for Argentina and was the Jaguares first-choice flyhalf when they reached the Super Rugby final in 2019, replaces 22-year-old Boeta Chamberlain at pivot as the Sharks look to go one better than their 22-22 draw with the Stormers last weekend, after leading 19-3 with half-an-hour to go in Durban.

Bonilla has also played for high-profile clubs in Racing 92 and Leicester Tigers.

“Tito has been on the bench for a number of games and hasn’t got the time for an extended run,” Everitt said after announcing his team. “He hasn’t really got the time he would have wanted on the field.

“He’s an international and will bring calm and composure. He likes to direct things on the field, he can guide the team around really well.

“Our draw did not have too much to do with game-management, we played in the right areas but our accuracy and discipline let us down. It’s always tough if you’re giving away yellow cards.

“We knew if we gave the Stormers back three space to run at us, then we would be in trouble,” Everitt said.

The Sharks squad are certainly treated like adults in a player-driven environment, and Everitt expects those discipline issues to be sorted come Saturday.

“The game of rugby starts with discipline and you can’t win if you concede four yellow cards and two penalty tries. They were individual things, we’ve certainly spoken about it and addressed it.

“We will be better on Saturday. Our discipline has actually been very good in the Currie Cup and URC, we are below average in conceding penalties. Against the Stormers we conceded 14 penalties to their 16.

“So it’s not a chronic problem for us and it’s not due to our relaxed approach. The players do work extremely hard and Bongi Mbonambi drives the discipline side. The coaches set the rules and standards,” Everitt said.

There is also a change at scrumhalf for Saturday, with Jaden Hendrikse starting in place of Grant Williams. But the livewire Williams has certainly not been thrown to the dogs, Everitt saying he played really well last weekend and he foresees his No.9s rotating through the season.

Inside centre Ben Tapuai is currently troubled by a knee injury and captain Lukhanyo Am will shift to No.12, where he was man of the match against the Bulls in December, with Jeremy Ward coming in at outside centre.

Sharks: Aphelele Fassi, Sbu Nkosi, Jeremy Ward, Lukhanyo Am (c), Makazole Mapimpi, Tito Bonilla, Jaden Hendrikse, 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, Gerbrandt Grobler, Henco Venter, Grant Williams, Boeta Chamberlain, Werner Kok.