Ken Borland

The Hendrikse bros are two of the most exciting young talents in South African rugby, but it was clearly older brother Jaden who got the better of his sibling Jordan as he played a key role in the Sharks beating the Lions 37-10 in their United Rugby Championship match at Kings Park in Durban at the weekend.

Scrumhalf Jaden produced a sparkling all-round display, running attack slickly with pinpoint passing and excellent vision, while his x-factor was also apparent in some of the more outrageous things that the 22-year-old pulled off. He also kicked brilliantly, both in terms of box-kicks for territory and for attacking purposes.

Brother Jordan, two years younger, just lacked the same spark and Sharks coach Sean Everitt said his team winning the kicking-for-territory battle was crucial to their handsome victory.

“We knew if we could get into a kicking duel with the Lions then we could come out on top,” Everitt said after the win. “Obviously conditions suited that sort of game as well, it was very difficult out there.

“Jaden played well last week as well and he is starting to reach the form he was in when he played for South Africa last year. He and Curwin Bosch managed the game very well.

“We wanted to try and put pressure on the Lions, and with Anthony Volmink at fullback, we had a three-pointed kicking plan which worked extremely well. I think there were only three times we played more than three phases in our own half,” Everitt said.

The victory lifted the Sharks into sixth place on the URC log and, with just three games remaining, the playoffs beckon for the KwaZulu-Natalians. But those three matches are against top sides Leinster, Connacht and a particularly tough trip to Ulster in their last fixture.

Everitt said he is confident though that everything is coming together nicely for his team to finish strong.

“There are only three games left but there is a lot of rugby to be played. There are also a lot of overseas derbies coming up.

“We have shown glimpses of some really good stuff and we are getting our all-round game right – we’re not conceding many tries, we’re getting our kicking game right and when we get the opportunity to move the ball, we have shown intent.

“So yes, I think this has been the perfect build-up for the final run-in,” Everitt said.

Not chasing wickets but focusing on his lines and lengths was the key to left-arm spinner Keshav Maharaj’s extraordinary performance that ripped through Bangladesh on the final day of the first Test against South Africa at Kingsmead in Durban on Monday.

Bangladesh resumed on a poor 11/3 on the final morning and crashed to a venue record low of 53 all out in 55 minutes as Maharaj took 7/32 in 10 overs, the best figures in Tests between the two countries.

“There was a bit of spin on offer but it was more about bowling consistent lines and lengths,” Maharaj said. “You know you’re going to get wickets all the time, it was just about being patient.

“I was in a good space with how the ball was coming out, but when you don’t get reward, like in the first innings, then it can lead to a bit of frustration.

“But the emotion I showed was more about my hunger and desire to win a game for my country. It’s hard work and toil and about sticking to the processes,” Maharaj said after the second-best haul of wickets of his career.

Maharaj and Simon Harmer became the first pair of South Africans to be the only two bowlers used to bowl out a team, and Maharaj said when you have a man with 750 first-class wickets at the other end, it is advisable to tap into his knowledge as well.

“It’s always nice having a double-spin attack and the control of Simon was especially good. He had a really good game and he has come back a different type of bowler and player.

“He’s a world-class spinner, you can see that with the shapes and lines of his bowling. He’s a huge addition to the team and it’s nice to see how we each see things out there.

“He has good ideas, he’s fun in the changeroom and just a great asset to have in the team. My local knowledge can then take things a bit further and it was good to see our adaptability to get us across the line.

“It was very emotional for me, I love playing here in Durban, my home, and it was even more special for my family to be here.

“Our record has not been great here, so I’ll be very pleased if we have changed some mindsets and hopefully the guys now want to come back here,” Maharaj said.

An Ulster team featuring the services of Duane Vermeulen, who played a key role in the revival of fortunes at Loftus Versfeld, will come to Pretoria and play Test match rugby on Saturday, according to Bulls coach Jake White.

Ulster are currently second in the United Rugby Championship and will be looking to grind out a win in the heat and altitude of Loftus Versfeld, where the Bulls have been formidable in winning their last three games.

“Ulster are all singing the praises for what Duane has added to their game and brought to their pack. But we know well how good he is,” White said on Friday.

“But we can’t focus on individuals and we need to all play well collectively, working together as a unit. There’s been a massive improvement in that as the weeks have gone on.

“Ulster will play similar to a Test match style, they maul and carry well, they have big forwards. And their defence is very strong too.

“It’s going to be a great challenge for us. They are second for a reason: they are organised and they have good players, playing a style that suits them. It’s going to be nice to see where we are against a team that has done very well,” White said.

Apart from the importance of the encounter, Ulster are expected to also be fired up over what they have classified as an injustice in their previous game, when they went down 20-23 to the Stormers with a late try controversially disallowed.

“It’s going to be a big game because Ulster are disappointed to lose last weekend against the Stormers and they will give everything,” White said.

The Bulls will be without scrumhalf Embrose Papier, one of the main success stories in last weekend’s win over the Dragons, because he is still going through the concussion protocols.

They will continue to back Chris Smith as the starting flyhalf, with what White described as “the luxury of having all Morne Steyn’s experience to come off the bench”.

And even though Saturday’s encounter is looking to be a tight one, White was hopeful that fullback Kurt-Lee Arendse could be a not-so-secret weapon for them on attack.

“We’re hoping we can use him differently when we’ve got the ball, try bring him into the game and not just wait for Ulster to give him the ball.

“As we’ve seen, he’s very difficult to stop when he’s on-song,” White said.

Bulls team:Kurt-Lee Arendse,Canan Moodie,Cornal Hendricks,Harold Vorster,Madosh Tambwe,Chris Smith,Zak Burger;Elrigh Louw,Cyle Brink,Marcell Coetzee (CAPT),Ruan Nortje,Walt Steenkamp,Mornay Smith,Johan Grobbelaar,Gerhard Steenekamp. IMPACT – Joe van Zyl,Simphiwe Matanzima,Robert Hunt,Reinhardt Ludwig,Arno Botha;Keagan Johannes,Morne Steyn,Lionel Mapoe.

The Sharks will be looking to come to the boil quickly against Zebre Parma in their United Rugby Championship match at Kings Park on Saturday evening, with coach Sean Everitt identifying this as a key aspect if they are to emulate what the Stormers did to the Italian side last weekend in Stellenbosch.

Zebre were hammered 55-7 by the Stormers, who raced into a 21-0 lead after just 11 minutes. The Sharks, meanwhile, have been steadily climbing the URC log after three successive bonus point wins.

“It was really important that Western Province played exceptionally well in the first 30 minutes and put Zebre to bed,” Everitt said. “So Zebre are not as bad a side as that final scoreline suggests.

“They ran Ospreys really close a couple of weeks ago, they are unpredictable and dangerous and we have got to be accurate with our execution from the start.

“We’ve got a full house of points from our last three games but it’s not about the points, it’s about our performance and the performance has not been where we want it to be.

“So our focus is on rectifying that and then we’ll be able to stay in the top eight and be a threat in the quarterfinals,” Everitt said.

Being on a winning run has allowed Everitt to gently curate his personnel and he will be hoping the presence of outside centre Ben Tapuai and scrumhalf Grant Williams in the starting backline assists their attacking efforts, which have not always been on-par with the sterling displays of their pack.

Against lowly Zebre, flyhalf Curwin Bosch also really needs to find his spark in directing the attacking play.

Other areas of focus which Everitt highlighted are:

• Stopping the good Zebre maul
• Making sure they have good width on defence to handle Zebre’s penchant for attacking on both sides of the ruck
• Handling Zebre’s long kicking game, and making good decisions and executing well when it comes to counter-attacking off those kicks
• Ensuring there is better accuracy in their own kicking game.