Ken Borland

The Bulls fought relentlessly for their first win of the Vodacom SuperRugby campaign and, with some good fortune finally going their way, it came with a thrilling 43-35 triumph over the Sharks at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday night.

It was a much better performance by the Bulls, who made far fewer errors than on the opening two weekends, and had more fluidity on attack thanks to Rudi Paige starting at scrumhalf. This time they turned their pressure into points, mostly through the metronomic boot of flyhalf Handre Pollard, who piled on four penalties and three conversions in a faultless display before he left the field with cramp in the final quarter.

The Bulls just kept the scoreboard ticking over and led 33-22 on the hour mark thanks to Pollard’s last kick, before the Sharks pushed them all the way in a determined comeback.

Paige, so influential as a link man with his quick, clean service, tried a box-kick from the kickoff after Pollard’s penalty and his opposite number, Cobus Reinach, as alert an opportunist as you can get, charged down the kick and raced away to score a try that brought the Sharks strongly back into the game. As a tactic, the box-kick was debatable with Pollard behind him and the Bulls having carried the ball to much better effect up till then.

But Paige’s technique was also lamentable, with the scrumhalf stepping sideways from the base of the ruck to kick and not backwards, and there were no pillars shielding him, allowing Reinach to charge him down.

The Bulls began to falter under the pressure and, as silly errors crept in, the Sharks took the lead for the first time in the 72^nd minute through two Pat Lambie penalties.

It was starting to look as if the Bulls, for all their endeavour, were going to lose their third successive home game and it was definitely not good news for them when Paige and Pollard went off with cramp.

But it was Pollard’s replacement, Tian Schoeman, who made a crucial play in the 75^th minute when he kicked an angled, pressure penalty six metres from touch after the Sharks had entered a ruck from the side.

It was heartening to see the Bulls fight back, but it was a surprise when they won another penalty in the final minute and opted instead to kick for touch and try and chase the bonus point try.

Their positive attitude was rewarded however, even though the Sharks stole the lineout, as, trying to run from their own 22, the visitors knocked on and centre Jan Serfontein showed enormous strength to gather and force his way over the tryline.

The try was awarded by TMO Johan Greeff and it was mildly controversial. An earlier decision by him to award the Bulls a try was frankly disgraceful and it is high time this serial offender when it comes to poor decisions is retired.

The awful decision came in the 25^th minute and up till then Pollard and Lambie had traded penalties for the Bulls to lead 9-6.

Fullback Jesse Kriel had sparked a counter-attack off turnover ball for the Bulls but he then threw a blatantly forward pass to Hougaard, who showed good pace and a nifty step inside, to dot down. It was referred to TMO Greeff who inexplicably gave the try, apparently saying that the replays he had were inconclusive!

Pollard converted and the Bulls had a 10-point lead, but it did not last long as Lambie kicked another penalty and then flank Renaldo Bothma, who had a strong game with ball-in-hand for the Sharks, charged through after claiming a kick-off, gave a lovely backhand offload to fullback SP Marais, who sped down the right before the ball went infield to eighthman Ryan Kankowski, who raced away for the try.

The Bulls had the final say before half-time, however, as they grabbed their second try.

Handling errors and wrong options had prevented them from turning pressure into points in their previous two games, but on Saturday night they were slick, patient and clever on attack.

A period of strong driving play and concerted pressure softened the Sharks defence before eventually the hole opened for the Bulls and Paige read the situation brilliantly to provide the perfect pass for flank Deon Stegmann to storm through.

The Bulls led 23-16 at the break and, although Lambie narrowed the lead to 23-19 early in the second half with another penalty, the next try also went to the home side.

Another patient, slick build-up in the Sharks’ 22 ended with Pierre Spies galloping around the ruck at the perfect moment for the perfectly-timed pass by Paige and the Bulls captain charged over for the try in what was a fine all-round game for the eighthman. The big star for the Bulls amongst the forwards, however, was flank Lappies Labuschagne, a tireless and powerful defender and ball-carrier.

Pollard’s conversion put the Bulls 30-19 ahead, but with Lambie also succeeding with every kick at goal and the Sharks certainly up for the fight, there was still plenty of hard work ahead for the Bulls.

That they managed to pull off the win, with a bonus point while denying the Sharks one, will be a massive confidence boost for the beleaguered three-time champions.

Scorers

Bulls: Tries – Francois Hougaard, Deon Stegmann, Pierre Spies, Jan Serfontein. Conversions – Handre Pollard (3), Tian Schoeman. Penalties – Pollard (4), Schoeman.

Sharks: Tries – Ryan Kankowski, Cobus Reinach. Conversions: Pat Lambie (2). Penalties – Lambie (7).

Despite the mounting pressure on them, the Bulls will remain faithful to the same plan they used in the opening two weeks of Vodacom SuperRugby when they take on the Sharks in a crunch local derby at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday.

“We believe what we are doing is right, we’re just not executing it well enough. Everybody can see where our mistakes are and we know that we haven’t performed as well as we can, not up to our standards,” captain Pierre Spies said.

The Bulls were just centimetres away – Grant Hattingh’s ‘try’ being disallowed by the TMO – from actually beating the Hurricanes last weekend and Spies believes this shows how close they are to turning their season around after opening with two defeats.

“It’s a game of inches and we need to keep perspective – if Grant had cut his fingernails the night before then we would have won and we wouldn’t be having this discussion, wouldn’t be looking at everything we’ve done wrong.

“We just have to graft it out, gel together and really stand up as a unit. We need to start converting pressure into points,” Spies said.

But it’s not just the Bulls’ results that have been disappointing: Against both the Stormers and the Hurricanes there was just no spark, no intensity, and a similar flatness against the Sharks will cost them dearly.

The Sharks responded to their opening defeat against the Cheetahs with a highly-impressive bonus-point win in sodden conditions over the Lions, a commanding performance in the scrum laying the platform.

The scrum has been a key area of concern for the Bulls so far this season, and if they don’t sort it out today, then it will surely also cost them dearly.

If the Sharks get front-foot ball then they can either attack through the middle with mobile, powerful ball-carrying forwards like Pieter-Steph du Toit, Marcell Coetzee and Ryan Kankowski, or they have finishing quality out wide in a backline that was superbly marshalled by Pat Lambie and Cobus Reinach against the Lions, and features pace on the wings in Lwazi Mvovo and Odwa Ndungane.

The return of Kankowski will also help the production of quality ball off the back of the lineout and it is in the set-pieces where the Bulls will find themselves under intense pressure.

“Obviously the Sharks have a very good set-piece set-up, we know they have a quality base there. So we need to make sure we put them under pressure there and make sure it’s a good base for us,” Spies said.

Under the circumstances currently at Loftus Versfeld, the words “misplaced optimism” spring to mind, but if the Bulls can regain the passion and pride that they normally possess at home, then they might just be able to dig themselves out of the hole they are currently in.

Teams

Bulls: 15-Jesse Kriel, 14-Bjorn Basson, 13-JJ Engelbrecht, 12-Jan Serfontein, 11-Francois Hougaard, 10-Handrè Pollard, 9-Rudy Paige, 8-Pierre Spies, 7-Lappies Labuschagne, 6-Deon Stegmann, 5-Victor Matfield, 4-Jacques du Plessis, 3-Trevor Nyakane, 2-Adriaan Strauss, 1-Mornè Mellet. Replacements – 16-Callie Visagie, 17-Dean Greyling, 18-Marcel van der Merwe, 19-Grant Hattingh, 20-Hanro Liebenberg, 21-Tian Schoeman, 22-Travis Ismaiel, 23-Jurgen Visser.

Sharks: 15-SP Marais, 14-Odwa Ndungane, 13-Waylon Murray, 12-Andre Esterhuizen, 11-Lwazi Mvovo, 10-Pat Lambie, 9-Cobus Reinach, 8-Ryan Kankowski, 7-Renaldo Bothma, 6-Marcell Coetzee, 5-Pieter-Steph du Toit,
4-Lubabalo Mtyanda, 3-Jannie du Plessis, 2-Bismarck du Plessis, 1-Dale Chadwick. Replacements – 16-Kyle Cooper, 17-Thomas du Toit, 18-Lourens Adriaanse, 19-Marco Wentzel, 20-Jean Deysel, 21-Conrad Hoffmann, 22-Fred Zeilinga/Lionel Cronje, 23-Jack Wilson.

The Beeld newspaper ran a story this week alleging that Sharks captain Keegan Daniel believes there are too many Afrikaans-speakers in the team, with an opening paragraph that read “The Anglo-Boer War is apparently raging again in Sharks rugby”.

While the chances of Daniel actually being an Afrikaans-hater are absolutely remote – he is highly-regarded as a person and leader within the squad, which is dominated by Afrikaners – the storm the accusation has caused could provide the Sharks with the sort of rallying call they desperately need to end the five-match losing streak that has almost certainly ended the 2012 runners-up’s chances of making the playoffs.

The Sharks condemned the report, CEO Brian van Zyl saying the strength of the team has always been its diversity, while Daniel himself slammed the allegations both in the statement released by the union and on social media, where he posted photos of himself and colleagues like Jannie du Plessis, Franco van der Merwe and Pieter-Steph du Toit out and about together.

“I was shocked to hear about these allegations. I can’t believe that someone would say this about me in order to try and sell newspapers. It is an attack on my integrity, which is very disappointing, and it is most untrue.

“I have never had a problem with any person in our rugby squad. Since this report surfaced, I have had nothing but support from my team-mates of all cultures. This is a lesson that younger players in our squad can learn – when a team is struggling with form then you become an easy target,” Daniel said.

Where Daniel does need to look at himself, however, has been in terms of his own performances. Normally an inspirational figure leading from the front, Daniel has been pedestrian this season and in recent weeks the Sharks have struggled to get out of first gear and have been especially sluggish in defence.

He would seem to have the backing of his team and, if he can channel his anger into a rousing performance on the field, he could just spark a change in fortunes for the Sharks.

He will have the imposing physical presence of Willem Alberts back alongside him in the loose trio, while coach John Plumtree was no doubt mightily relieved that there were no further injuries during last weekend’s loss to the Reds in Brisbane.

He has, however, made four changes to the team with Alberts returning for Jean Deysel, Odwa Ndungane, fresh from earning his 100^th SuperRugby cap off the bench, starting on the wing instead of Piet Lindeque, while tighthead prop Jannie du Plessis and lock Anton Bresler are rotated back into the tight five in place of Wiehahn Herbst and Pieter-Steph du Toit.

But whatever the changes in personnel, the Sharks must know that the unfocused, lacklustre displays they have produced so far on tour just won’t hack it against the Force in Perth.

Right now, the Force are much the better team, having lost by one point away to the Chiefs, drawing with the Reds and beating the Crusaders in recent weeks.

It’s now or never for the Sharks and if the hurt they are feeling right now doesn’t get them going on Friday, then nothing will.

The mood in the most Afrikaans franchise of the lot – the Bulls – is totally different at the moment. Fresh off a bye, they are in control of the South African Conference and playing slick, impressive rugby.

But they are up against one of the few New Zealand teams that knows how to win at Loftus Versfeld – the Highlanders, who have won four and drawn one of their last eight visits to Pretoria.

As SuperRugby nears the international break, it is teams like the Highlanders, playing with nothing to lose, who are especially dangerous as they come up against contending teams who are under pressure and have much at stake.

Playing at altitude is always a problem for overseas visitors to Loftus, but teams that don’t have a strong set-piece have a particularly tough mountain to climb. Fortunately for the Highlanders, it’s not an issue for them as rugged, experienced campaigners like Brad Thorn, Tony Woodcock, Andrew Hore and Chris King mean they have solid scrums and lineouts.

The Bulls scrum will be under particular scrutiny and coach Frans Ludeke has changed his props with Frik Kirsten and Morne Mellett starting in place of Werner Kruger and Dean Greyling.

Two of the Bulls’ most influential players this season will also celebrate milestones on Saturday: Pierre Spies, who will almost certainly be Heyneke Meyer’s Springbok eighthman now that Duane Vermeulen is out injured, will play his 100^th SuperRugby game for the Bulls and, as their leading ball-carrier (87) and tackler (96) this season, will lead the forward effort.

Morne Steyn will also be the favourite to reclaim the Springboks’ number 10 jersey and, in his record 117^th match for the Bulls, he will be a key figure in pinning the dangerous Highlanders in their own territory.

It is going to be a tough outing for the Bulls, however, even if the Highlanders are at the bottom of the log, and the visitors have the pace to punish Bulls’ errors in the form of scrumhalf Aaron Smith, wing Hosea Gear and fullback Ben Smith.

Pace and attacking verve are things Stormers supporters are desperately hoping will return to their team as they take on the Rebels in Melbourne on Friday.

The Stormers will be playing for their lives in terms of the competition, having lost their last two games, and injuries and a new halfback pairing might force them into playing with more sparkle.

Elton Jantjies and Louis Schreuder will be at half-back and can hopefully get the best out of what remains a top-class backline.

The injury to Vermeulen, a battering ram if ever there was one, means Nizaam Carr, more of a traditional linking eighthman, will play at the back of the scrum which suggests a more dynamic, wider approach from the Stormers on attack. The absence of Rynhardt Elstadt, with mobile hooker Deon Fourie now playing flank, merely adds to the argument.

The Rebels are a better side than they are giving credit for, however, and a swing too far in the other direction by the Stormers could be fatal against a team that would prefer an unstructured, loose affair. A focus on gaining dominance in the set-pieces and on a strong territorial kicking game will help the Stormers to a morale-boosting victory.

The Cheetahs are also facing a critical outing on Saturday as they entertain the Reds in Bloemfontein. Defeat for Naka Drotske’s men, who slipped up last weekend against the Hurricanes, could leave them nine points behind the Bulls if they win at Loftus.

Although the Cheetahs eventually only lost by five points to the Hurricanes, one has to be critical of how they tried to play the New Zealanders at their own high-tempo, ball-in-hand game.

Coach Drotske seems to have inexplicably not learnt from that lesson, however, as he has chosen a “more attacking” flyhalf in Elgar Watts in place of Burton Francis, whose boot has been a vital part of the Cheetahs’ success this season.

The Cheetahs might be guilty of believing their own press that raves about their wonderful running rugby (even though it has brought them no trophies for many years) and even Reds flyhalf Quade Cooper was busy buttering them up this week when he said he loved their exciting playing style.

Taking on the Reds and beating them at their own game (superb vision, running lines and offloads) will be a ridiculously tough task for a Cheetahs team that, as exciting as they are, simply does not have geniuses of the calibre of Cooper, Will Genia, Digby Ioane and Rod Davies.

Teams

Stormers (v Rebels, Friday 11.40am): Joe Pietersen, Gio Aplon, Juan de Jongh, Jean de Villiers, Bryan Habana, Elton Jantjies, Louis Schreuder, Nizaam Carr, Siya Kolisi, Deon Fourie, Andries Bekker, Eben Etzebeth, Pat Cilliers, Scarra Ntubeni, Steven Kitshoff. Replacements – Martin Bezuidenhout, Frans Malherbe, Gerbrandt Grobler, Don Armand, Nic Groom, Gary van Aswegen, Gerhard van den Heever.

The Sharks (v Force, Friday 1.45pm): Riaan Viljoen, Odwa Ndungane, JP Pietersen, Meyer Bosman, Lwazi Mvovo, Pat Lambie, Charl McLeod, Keegan Daniel, Willem Alberts, Marcell Coetzee, Franco van der Merwe, Anton Bresler, Jannie du Plessis, Kyle Cooper, JC Janse van Rensburg. Replacements – Monde Hadebe, Wiehahn Herbst, Pieter-Steph du Toit, Derick Minnie/Lubabalo Mtembu, Jean Deysel, Tian Meyer, Piet Lindeque.

Bulls (v Highlanders, Saturday 5.05pm): Jürgen Visser, Akona Ndungane, JJ Engelbrecht, Jan Serfontein, Lionel Mapoe, Morné Steyn, Francois Hougaard, Pierre Spies, Dewald Potgieter, Deon Stegmann, Juandré Kruger, Flip van der Merwe, Frik Kirsten, Chiliboy Ralepelle, Morné Mellett. Replacements – Callie Visagie, Werner Kruger, Grant Hattingh, Arno Botha, Jano Vermaak, Louis Fouché, Bjorn Basson.

Cheetahs (v Reds, Saturday 7.10pm): Hennie Daniller, Willie le Roux, Johann Sadie, Robert Ebersohn, Raymond Rhule, Elgar Watts, Piet van Zyl, Phillip van der Walt, Lappies Labuschagne, Heinrich Brüssow, Francois Uys, Lood de Jager, Lourens Adriaanse, Adriaan Strauss, Coenie Oosthuizen. Replacements – Ryno Barnes, Trevor Nyakane, Ligtoring Landman, Boom Prinsloo, Sarel Pretorius, Riaan Smit, Ryno Benjamin.

Other fixtures: Hurricanes v Chiefs (Friday 9.35am); Crusaders v Blues (Saturday 9.35am); Waratahs v Brumbies (Saturday 11.40am).

Bye: Southern Kings.

http://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2013-05-17-sharks-once-bitten-hopefully-not-twice-shy/#.Vfa2AhGqqko

Springbok scrumhalf Piet van Zyl’s failure to produce accurate kicks from the base has seen him left out of the Bulls’ match-day 23 for their Vodacom SuperRugby match against the Cell C Sharks at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday.

Van Zyl’s service was also not as clean as Frans Ludeke would have liked, but it was the sight of him kicking up-and-unders when the Bulls were trying to exit their own half against the Hurricanes last weekend, with the prodigious boot of Handre Pollard largely left unused, that has caused the Bulls coach to temporarily call time on the 25-year-old’s participation in the side.

“It was poor execution on those kicks from just outside our 22, because the opposition will just carry the ball back then, it gives them a crucial opportunity to get back into our territory. The kicks were definitely too short,” Ludeke said.

Van Zyl’s demise has led to a promotion to the starting line-up for Rudi Paige, who is often sharp on attack and generally provides crisp service for his backs.

Left wing Francois Hougaard is going to provide scrumhalf cover and the only other changes to the team that lost to the Hurricanes see Marcel van der Merwe, Tian Schoeman, Travis Ismaiel and Jurgen Visser coming on to the bench.

Prop Van der Merwe is being eased back into action after a knee injury, and he and Dean Greyling are obviously going to have a key role to play in the second half if the Bulls are to maintain a solid scrum against a Sharks pack that scrummed the highly-rated Lions to pieces last weekend.

“Marcel and Dean will be used as impact players in the second half, and we’ve obviously been concentrating on the scrums. It’s about endurance, staying there and finishing the job, and then clearing the base well.

“The Sharks have huge strength at the scrum and success always comes from your forwards giving you that sort of base,” Ludeke said at the Bulls team announcement at Loftus Versfeld on Thursday.

Ismaiel has been preferred to fit-again veteran Akona Ndungane because the 21-year-old was more involved in the Bulls’ warm-up program.

Reserve flyhalf Jacques-Louis Potgieter was withdrawn on Thursday morning due to a thigh strain, allowing the uncapped Schoeman to come on to the bench, while outside centre JJ Engelbrecht is going to have to pass a fitness test on Friday. Ludeke said fullback Jesse Kriel would shift to 13 if the Springbok is not fit, with Visser then going to fullback.

*Sharks director of rugby Gary Gold has made two changes to the team that beat the Lions with a bonus point last weekend, with mobile eighthman Ryan Kankowski coming in for Tera Mthembu and powerhouse inside centre Andre Esterhuizen included instead of Heimar Williams.

There is also a change on the bench with Springbok Lourens Adriaanse replacing British Lion Matt Stevens.

Teams

Bulls: 15-Jesse Kriel, 14-Bjorn Basson, 13-JJ Engelbrecht, 12-Jan Serfontein, 11-Francois Hougaard, 10-Handrè Pollard, 9-Rudy Paige, 8-Pierre Spies, 7-Lappies Labuschagne, 6-Deon Stegmann, 5-Victor Matfield, 4-Jacques du Plessis, 3-Trevor Nyakane, 2-Adriaan Strauss, 1-Mornè Mellet. Replacements – 16-Callie Visagie, 17-Dean Greyling, 18-Marcel van der Merwe, 19-Grant Hattingh, 20-Hanro Liebenberg, 21-Tian Schoeman, 22-Travis Ismaiel, 23-Jurgen Visser.

Sharks: 15-SP Marais, 14-Odwa Ndungane, 13-Waylon Murray, 12-Andre Esterhuizen, 11-Lwazi Mvovo, 10-Pat Lambie, 9-Cobus Reinach, 8-Ryan Kankowski, 7-Renaldo Bothma, 6-Marcell Coetzee, 5-Pieter-Steph du Toit,
4-Lubabalo Mtyanda, 3-Jannie du Plessis, 2-Bismarck du Plessis, 1-Dale Chadwick. Replacements – 16-Kyle Cooper, 17-Thomas du Toit, 18-Lourens Adriaanse, 19-Marco Wentzel, 20-Jean Deysel, 21-Conrad Hoffmann, 22-Fred Zeilinga/Lionel Cronje, 23-Jack Wilson.