Ken Borland

The counter-attacking pace of the Sharks team proved to be their pivotal weapon as wing Thaakir Abrahams scored a hat-trick, fullback Anthony Volmink a brace and both their scrumhalves caused huge problems as they demolished the rudderless Lions 56-14 in their Currie Cup match at Ellis Park on Saturday.

It took the Lions an hour to get on the scoreboard, by which time the Sharks had already gathered the try-scoring bonus point and a 35-0 lead. Flank Emmanuel Tshituka forcing his way over from close range came after the Lions had wasted half-a-dozen other opportunities five metres from the tryline. Their ill-discipline and lack of technique at the breakdown cost them dearly.

The Sharks themselves took 19 minutes to post their first points, mostly because they were buckled in the first three scrums by the Lions. But the home team failed to turn the attacking chances provided by those penalties into any points.

Instead, it was the Sharks who grabbed the first try, scrumhalf Grant Williams making the first of many breaks and centre Marius Louw then running a fine angle against the grain to score. It was one-way traffic thereafter.

Abrahams cruised over for his first try in the 23^rd minute after a phenomenal back-flip pass across the field by flyhalf Lionel Cronje, and eighthman Phepsi Buthelezi and Volmink dotted down too as the Sharks grabbed the bonus point before halftime.

Five minutes into the second half, after the Lions maul had won a couple of penalties, Tshituka was ruled to have been short of the tryline, which Gauteng supporters may well have a bit of a tiff with the official about, especially since the Sharks went from their own line all the way to score on the same phase. Louw grabbed the ball at the ruck and broke straight downfield, loose forwards Jeandre Labuschagne and Buthelezi supporting the breakaway before Volmink then fed Abrahams, who beat the defence with a beautiful inside-and-out to score his second try.

Tshituka was eventually the next player to score, but the Sharks continued to fill their boots as replacement scrumhalf Sanele Nohamba showed great pace too to score from 45 metres out and Abrahams and Volmink both scored again to complete the rout.

The Lions could use the fatigue caused by playing five matches in 15 days as an excuse for their failure to cope with the tempo of the game, but in terms of skills and technique, they look ill-equipped to handle their next venture, which will be the daunting United Rugby Championship in Europe.

Scorers
Sharks: Tries – Marius Louw, Thaakir Abrahams (3), Phepsi Buthelezi, Anthony Volmink (2), Sanele Nohamba. Conversions – Lionel Cronje (5), Boeta Chamberlain (3).
Lions: Tries – Emmanuel Tshituka, Jaco Visagie. Conversions – Jordan Hendrikse (2).

Serviced by a steady flow of quick ball, British and Irish Lions fullback Josh Adams and wing Duhan van der Merwe both scored hat-tricks as the tourists hammered the Sharks 54-7 at Ellis Park on Wednesday night.

The Covid crisis surrounding this series meant the Lions had to make eight late changes to their originally announced team and they had just one backline reserve on the bench. It only seemed to fuel them to higher levels of excellence.

Playing with tremendous skill and tempo, the Lions were ruthless and clinical in scoring eight tries. Their aggressive defence took away much of the time and space the Sharks are used to normally and the tourists only conceded a single try.

The prolific Adams, who has now scored eight tries in three appearances for the Lions, and Van der Merwe both scored in the opening 10 minutes to immediately settle the tourists and banish all thoughts from their minds of the tremendous disruption they have suffered over the last 24 hours.

With Owen Farrell, one of the late changes at flyhalf, producing a tactical masterclass, the Lions scored two more tries before halftime to lead 26-0 at the break.

The Sharks scored first in the second half, flank James Venter rounding off a lovely try that featured slick work down the right touchline by Jeremy Ward, Werner Kok and Manie Libbok.

But then they ruined their promising moments with basic errors and soft moments, succumbing to the pressure exerted on them by a top-quality international side. The Lions scored four more tries, the last when they deliberately played with just 14 men. From a powerful scrum, Adams had space aplenty to complete is hat-trick.

It is highly unlikely that Sharks coach Sean Everitt sleeps well tonight. With their first foray into Europe a couple of months away, the Sharks were way off the pace. Clearly, playing against sluggish South African teams has got them into bad habits and a false sense of security.

Scorers

Sharks – Try: James Venter. Conversion: Curwin Bosch.

British & Irish Lions – Tries: Josh Adams (3), Duhan van der Merwe (3), Bundee Aki, Louis Rees-Zammit. Conversions – Owen Farrell (3), Finn Russell (4).

The Bulls may have scored as early as the second minute, but for more than an hour they then struggled to go around or get through a ferocious Lions defence, eventually battling to a 22-9 win in their Rainbow Cup match at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday night.

The Bulls began superbly, retaining possession from the kickoff for two minutes before flyhalf Chris Smith jinked and slipped though some tackles to score the opening try. Thereafter, however, the Bulls found themselves in a tremendous tussle, struggling to cope with the Lions’ line-speed in defence and their aggressive targeting of the breakdowns.

Only once in the whole game was there a short kick over the top of the rapidly advancing Lions defence and it nearly resulted in centre Cornal Hendricks scoring. But the Bulls did not use that tactic or the grubber nearly enough. And for all their possession, the Lions were dominant at the breakdowns so it almost always came to nothing.

Smith added a penalty to the conversion of his try and Lions flyhalf Fred Zeilinga kicked two penalties as the Bulls went into halftime 10-6 ahead. The Lions made a good start to the second half, allowing Zeilinga to close the gap to just one point with another penalty in the  44^th minute.

The final quarter belonged to the Bulls though as they camped in the Lions half. After 10 minutes in the 22 they eventually broke through, helped by EW Viljoen’s yellow card for a deliberate knock-on, when replacement prop Lizo Gqoboka won a turnover to win a penalty, and then produced a mini-break before offloading to substitute scrumhalf Zak Burger to race over under the poles for the matchwinning try.

The never-say-die Lions were better than the final scoreline suggested, conceding a try right at the death as flank Elrigh Louw powered through several tackles to score. Hendricks had fought hard on the gainline in the build-up, before offloading to Burger, who darted well and then found Louw with a neat offload.

But the Bulls will point to having three tries disallowed by the TMO and the soft underfoot conditions as having put paid to their more ambitious plans.

Scorers

Bulls: Tries – Chris Smith, Zak Burger, Elrigh Louw. Conversions – Smith, Morne Steyn. Penalty – Smith.

Lions: Penalties – Fred Zeilinga (3).

by Guest Correspondent

It seems strange to believe that the powerful 1.86m, 90kg winger Madosh Tambwe, who once scored a Vodacom Super Rugby record-equalling four tries in one match, was completely surprised when he received a phone call from Bulls coach Jake White, inviting him to join the Pretoria team.

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“Receiving a phone call from Jake was quite a surprise. I never expected a call from him, and then I also wondered how he’d even got my number,” Tambwe says with a laugh.

The reality is that Tambwe’s life has been full of surprises up to this point of joining one of world rugby’s most celebrated teams.

The 23-year-old forms part of Vodacom’s current focus on the growing crop of ‘Future Champs’ within the Bulls fold.

Born in Kinshasha during the transition of the country from Zaire to the Democratic Republic of Congo, Tambwe moved to South Africa with his family and was raised in Johannesburg. In his final years as a student at Parktown Boys’ High and while playing for the Lions U19 team, Tambwe was confronted for the first time by somebody who gave him a dream to aim for.

The Lions U19 coach, Joey Mongalo (who has since also joined the Vodacom Bulls’ senior coaching staff), asked him what he planned to do with his life. It was the spark that put him on his journey to a career as a professional rugby player, and which has seen him play for the Lions, Sharks and now the Vodacom Bulls before the age of 23.

“Being asked what you want to do with your life is a very tricky question because everybody is on a different journey in their lives. But now I’ve been blessed to have played for three great South African franchises. Right now, I’m focused on settling in at the Vodacom Bulls and focusing on my rugby. That’s where my mind is at the moment,” he says.

Tambwe identified himself as a clear ‘Future Champ’ when he equalled the record of four Vodacom Super Rugby tries which he scored in a 2018 match for the Lions against the Stormers. It is this early success in the game that he wants to keep building on as he now pulls on the famed blue jersey of the Bulls.

“I’m privileged to play for the Vodacom Bulls. As I’ve approached everything in my life, I’ll embrace the moment and take it one step at a time and not think too far ahead.”

Tambwe admits he’s already being challenged to grow at the Vodacom Bulls and is relishing this new environment.

“The coaching staff is challenging me quite a bit. Coach Jake wants me to stretch my wings a bit in terms of my positions, and he’s asked me to study fullback as well so I can act as cover for the team in this position. That’s a challenge, and I like that. I’m kept on my toes here, and I’m not being allowed to get too comfortable in just one position.”

And as much as he feels privileged to pull on a Vodacom Bulls jersey, Tambwe is also adamant that he isn’t thinking too far into the future in terms of what it means to play for a union that has produced some of the greatest players in the history of the game.

“It will always be a great responsibility when you put on that Bulls jersey. There’s such a rich history here. But first and foremost, I want to earn my stripes at this union. Only then can I start thinking about the future. Sure, in the back of my mind there is the thought that I want to carry on where some of the greats have left off and I want to also leave something for the next generation of Vodacom Bulls players to build on. But for now, I just want to be the best I can and focus on the next game in front of me.”

His focus matches the entire ethos about what it means to be identified as a Vodacom Future Champ and represent the future of the Bulls.

“I’ve got a great hunger to learn and be better, and I strive to be the best I can be. I’m doing what I love, and every weekend I am able to showcase my talent for people to enjoy. I want to keep getting better so I can add to the proud legacy of this team,” Tambwe says.