Ken Borland

Jack-in-the-box hooker Johan Grobbelaar won his second successive man of the match award as he spearheaded the Bulls’ 34-13 win over Western Province in their Currie Cup match at Newlands on Friday night.

Grobbelaar scored a fine individual try in the first half as the Bulls took the lead for the first time after 14 minutes and just generally popped up everywhere – excellent lineout throwing, winning turnovers, linking with his backs and defending stoutly.

The in-form 23-year-old’s try was accompanied by touchdowns by left wing Richard Kriel, scrumhalf Zak Burger and right wing Cornal Hendricks, as the Bulls were able to celebrate a bonus point win that takes them to the top of the log, where they will stay if the Sharks don’t beat Griquas in Durban on Saturday.

While the Bulls were slick in executing their skills, Western Province certainly pitched up for the game, but a red card to hooker Scarra Ntubeni in the 36^th minute was too high an obstacle for them to get over. At that stage the hosts were only 13-17 down and had been highly competitive as they pushed the Bulls with aggressive defence, strong breakdown work and some excellent play with ball in hand.

Ntubeni was a little high on his tackle on Burger, but there was certainly no intent to target the head, the scrumhalf dipping down as he was tackled from behind and Ntubeni making contact with his neck. There were many who felt a yellow card would have been appropriate.

Western Province’s thoroughly workmanlike display in the first half and some entertaining rugby from the Bulls had made for intriguing rugby; sadly, the second half was to become a rather dull affair as the visitors dominated but could only add two more tries to their tally.

Western Province had put their cards on the table right from the start as, in the first minute, flyhalf Tim Swiel put Johan du Toit into a hole and the flank burst through on an impressive run, before passing inside for scrumhalf Paul de Wet to score.

The Bulls quickly rustled up a response though, courtesy of one of several clever variations they had at the lineout. A high tackle gave them a penalty which they kicked into the WP 22. Grobbelaar threw long, over the back of the lineout to flyhalf Johan Goosen, who made plenty of ground over the advantage line. He was then quickly back up on his feet to get the ball from the next ruck, throwing a long pass out wide to wing Kriel, who had acres of space to go over for the try.

Ironically, Grobbelaar scored his own try 10 minutes later when Western Province had a lineout throw go astray over the back, and the Paarl Gim product brilliantly gathered the ball and knifed through the defence to score.

Playing against 14 men in the second half, the Bulls made a bit of a meal of ramming home their advantage, but credit must go to Western Province for the staunch resistance they put up.

The bonus point try came with just five minutes remaining as replacement scrumhalf Keagan Johannes tried a cross kick that went horribly wrong. But outside centre Lionel Mapoe quickly tidied up and turned it into a great attacking opportunity, freeing up Hendricks on the wing, with the Springbok throwing the dummy and then showing plenty of pace to finish the try.

Scorers

Western Province: Try – Paul de Wet. Conversion – Tim Swiel. Penalties – Swiel (2).

Bulls: Tries – Richard Kriel, Johan Grobbelaar, Zak Burger, Cornal Hendricks. Conversions – Johan Goosen (3), Chris Smith. Penalties – Goosen (2).

Newlands has been kind to the Sharks the last two times they have played there, including a 12-9 win in the Currie Cup final on October 27, 2018, and coach Sean Everitt says his team is quite comfortable travelling to Cape Town for their semi-final against Western Province on Saturday.

The Sharks have won their last two matches at Newlands, also beating them 12-9 in SuperRugby in 2019, and they have been triumphant in three of their last five outings at The Grand Old Lady of South African rugby. Those wins have all been narrow, however, all by less than six points, while their two defeats were heavy – by 11 and 22 points in 2018.

“We’re very happy to go to Cape Town, it’s a lot easier than going to the Highveld, especially playing in the afternoon at this time of year. It’s been really hot here in Durban, so we’re looking forward to better conditions and we do play well in those sort of conditions. The travel there certainly won’t deter us much.

“We did speak about the emotion involved from Western Province’s side that it might be their last game there. There’s a lot of tradition surrounding that stadium, including for the Sharks and we would really like to be the last team to win at Newlands. But we’re up against a desperate, emotional team with a good set-piece so it should make for a good game,” Everitt said this week.

Everitt also said that because of where the two teams are situated on the log – Western Province finished second and the Sharks were third – the home team will be favourites and that will bring added pressure.

“They finished second on the log, so we’re probably underdogs. So the pressure is on them playing at home, plus with all the emotion of Newlands. I’m not sure why the away team has won the last few playoffs between us, but it probably comes down to the pressure of playing at home. Because of that pressure, it’s all going to come down to error-rate and discipline.

“If we’re not accurate in receiving kicks then we may be in trouble. But having Aphelele Fassi back at fullback adds a different dimension to our counter-attack and Manie Libbok did really well at fullback too and is on the bench. From an attack point of view, maybe we haven’t performed as well as we would have liked, but without continuity you’re going to struggle to get that synergy in attack,” Everitt said.

Sharks’ last 5 results at Newlands

June 15, 2019             Won 12-9 (SR)

October 27, 2018        Won 17-12 (CC final)

September 29, 2018    Lost 28-50 (CC)

July 7, 2018                 Lost 16-27 (SR)

August 26, 2017         Won 21-20 (CC)

Sharks’ last 6 playoffs v WP/Stormers

October 27, 2018        Cape Town      Won 17-12 (Currie Cup final)

October 28, 2017        Durban                        Lost 21-33 (Currie Cup final)

October 26, 2013        Cape Town      Won 33-19 (Currie Cup final)

October 27, 2012        Durban                        Lost 18-25 (Currie Cup final)

July 28, 2012               Cape Town      Won 26-19 (SuperRugby semi-final)

October 30, 2010        Durban                        Won 30-10 (Currie Cup final)

The return of tighthead prop Thomas du Toit to the Sharks line-up and the absence of loosehead Steven Kitshoff for Western Province will be an obvious shift in the fortunes of the two teams for the Currie Cup semi-final at Newlands on Saturday, but Sharks coach Sean Everitt said on Thursday that it is what happens after the set-pieces that is of more importance than the scrum or lineout itself.

Everitt was able to choose both his Springbok props in Du Toit and Ox Nche on Thursday, while Kitshoff, South Africa’s No.1 loosehead and one of the world’s best in that position, was ruled out of the semi-final due to Covid-19 protocols.

“Even if you get set-piece dominance, what happens next is the important thing. After a dominant scrum or lineout is does make getting the gainline advantage easier, but the set-pieces are just a platform to play from. There are lot of other aspects that have to take place to get points on the board. But it will be good to have Thomas back after he was out for quite a while with Covid problems and injury before that.

“The set-piece battle is about the unit though and although Kitshoff is one of the best and exceptionally fit, Ali Vermaak is a good player as well and Western Province still have Frans Malherbe, Bongi Mbonambi, JD Schickerling and Salmaan Moerat so it is a formidable tight five. So we certainly cannot take it easier and we are never happy when someone falls sick,” Everitt said on Thursday.

While Everitt had the full complement of players to choose from, the Sharks’ tight five does show a couple of changes from the outfit that would have been considered the first-choice selection a few weeks ago. The selections of Fez Mbatha to start at hooker and JJ van der Mescht at lock point to the KwaZulu-Natalians bulking up the scrum to counter Western Province’s key strength.

“Fez Mbatha went really well against Griquas and made the scrum stronger; Dan Jooste was struggling wit an eye injury last week and we actually weren’t sure whether he’d be fit this weekend, so he will start off the bench. JJ van der Mescht is purely picked on merit, he had one of his best performances against Griquas and Hyron Andrews hasn’t played for a while so we didn’t feel his body could last the whole 80 minutes.

“One would obviously like the continuity of playing every weekend and picking the same players, but we are level-pegging in that regard with the other three teams in the semi-finals. It’s all about how you train and the quality of your preparation. It’s a bit like the first game of the season, we all worry about how we’re going to go. But we’re on an equal footing with Western Province, it’s not as if they’ve been playing either,” Everitt said.

Sharks: Aphelele Fassi, Sbu Nkosi, Lukhanyo Am (c), Marius Louw, Yaw Penxe, Curwin Bosch, Sanele Nohamba, Sikhumbuzo Notshe, Henco Venter, Dylan Richardson, Ruben van Heerden, JJ van der Mescht, Thomas du Toit, Fezokuhle Mbatha, Ox Nche. Bench – Dan Jooste, Mzamo Majola, Michael Kumbirai, Hyron Andrews, Thembelani Bholi, Jaden Hendrikse, Jeremy Ward, Manie Libbok.

The Sharks have had their share of difficult times in the forward battle and it will be a tough day at the office for them if they don’t match Western Province up front in their Currie Cup semi-final at Newlands on Saturday, but skipper Lukhanyo Am says they are confident they will have put in the work required for at least parity come the weekend.

The Sharks pack showed their ability when they enjoyed the upper hand up front when ending the Bulls’ unbeaten run in mid-December, but they have also been beaten at forward by the Lions and the Free State Cheetahs. Importantly, that was when tighthead prop Thomas du Toit was not in action, and the World Cup winner is shaping to be a key player on Saturday as he takes on South Africa’s No.1 loosehead prop in Steven Kitshoff.

“We know what Western Province’s strengths are, their set-piece has been dominant and they’ve proven it right through the competition. But we are working on us mainly, to strengthen the parts of our game where we feel we are lacking. But if we can get our own set-piece and challenge them on their’s, then it’s going to be an exciting game to watch,” Am said on Tuesday.

Lock Ruben van Heerden was also painting a picture of how determined the Sharks are to match Western Province, and their all-Springbok front row, up front.

“Western Province have a very strong lineout, scrum and maul, we know what they will bring, but we are very well prepared and up to the challenge. At this level, everyone is strong and shows up on the day really wanting to play, so it comes down to technique to nullify what gives them their strength – momentum in the lineout, scrums and mauls. But we are very confident we can nullify that,” Van Heerden said.

And if the Sharks pack can gain parity up front, then they have the backline to take advantage and a general at flyhalf in Curwin Bosch who can move them around the park most efficiently. While the 23-year-old Springbok is indisputably KwaZulu-Natal’s No.1 flyhalf, Western Province have shuffled from Damian Willemse to Tim Swiel as their pivot this season.

“Curwin is incredibly influential for us, he’s our playmaker and crucial to the way we want to play. As a forward, it makes your job so much easier when you have a flyhalf who can put you on the front foot and put the ball in the right areas. I’m not sure about Western Province’s situation at flyhalf, but that’s not our problem,” Van Heerden said.

Captain Am also knows he can rely on his flyhalf.

“Curwin is a key player, our golden boot and he really puts us in the right areas. We back his kicking abilities whether in-hand or off the tee and he really gives us confidence. Our approach probably won’t be as flashy in the semi-final as it is in other games, we’ll definitely be trying to put the ball in the right areas, and knowing he can slot whatever penalties we get means we are in a good place,” Am said.