Ken Borland

After their morale-boosting win over the Ospreys, the Sharks will once again be looking to the terrific game-management skills shown by halfbacks Ruan Pienaar and Boeta Chamberlain as they try to back up that triumph with victory over Cardiff in their United Rugby Championship match at the Arms Park on Saturday night.

Giving up territory and penalties were the two main problems for the Sharks in their opening two losses to Munster and Glasgow Warriors, but coach Sean Everitt is hopeful that those two departments have now been sorted out for their meeting with the Welshmen.

“We had struggled with our game-management, which meant we didn’t have any territory, and we also gave away a number of penalties,” Everitt said.

“But then it was totally different against Ospreys, we gave away very few penalties and that’s against a team that plays for penalties and territory. Ruan and Boeta were outstanding with the way they controlled the game.

“Boeta is filling a big hole in terms of our depth at flyhalf, we’ve been blooding him, giving him confidence, and I was very pleased with how he dominated the show. He has a big contribution to make.

“We left a few opportunities on the field though, the bonus point was there for the taking, so we have worked hard on our accuracy and execution. There was definitely still room for improvement,” Everitt said.

The breakdown is sure to be a key area again and Cardiff, who utterly dominated that department in the first half of their loss against the Bulls, but were then outwrestled there in the second half, derive much of their momentum from that phase.

Openside flank Dylan Richardson, whose talents were this week confirmed to be rehomed to Scotland rugby, will spearhead the Sharks’ efforts in that regard.

Like the Bulls, the Sharks have been in contact with former South African Test referee Tappe Henning, who is now the Match Official Commissioner in Scotland, to help them with the different interpretations being used at the breakdown up north.

“It’s been great to have Tappe with us, he helped the Bulls and he has certainly added value to us. We’ve been penalised quite heavily at the breakdown, but we do go hard at the ball. But also our attacking breakdown has been a struggle,” Everitt said. The Sharks will be hoping the turnaround in fortunes at that crucial phase of the game will be as dramatic as it was for the Bulls.

The Bulls have discovered that, so far, rugby in the Northern Hemisphere has been all about tempo, reacting quickly to breakdowns and ensuring you cover the whole field in defence, and Edinburgh, their United Rugby Championship opponents on Saturday, will put their learnings to a comprehensive examination at Murrayfield.

Edinburgh enjoy playing at pace and keeping ball-in-hand, always looking to get their strike-runners involved. But, as the Stormers showed in drawing with them last weekend despite conceding two tries in the first six minutes, defending with physicality, commitment and alacrity can frustrate them.

“Edinburgh want to speed up the game and throw the ball around, so it’s all about covering the field quicker,” Bulls backline star Cornal Hendricks said on the defensive priorities against the side coached by Scotland’s most-capped scrumhalf, Mike Blair. “They take quick-taps as well, so whenever they have ball-in-hand then our player 10 metres back must react by going for the guy with the ball.

“We have to organise our defence to spread, so it’s important to scan properly and be aware of the whole width of the field. They don’t want to go through you, they want to go around you,” Hendricks said.

Bulls captain and flank Marcell Coetzee also pointed to the speed at which Edinburgh want to play, but also singled out the breakdowns as being vital.

“I think sides over here have identified taking on the South African teams with tempo, which we aren’t really used to back home. Although Edinburgh have a very good set-piece foundation and kicking game as well, they have brought in a lot of tempo.

“That’s what Gregor Townsend [Scotland head coach] is trying to implement and we have to adapt and shut it down. Here in the Northern Hemisphere, it’s a breakdown battle.

“It’s all about reaction speed and we tended to turn over our ball on the second phase. We need to be quicker to commit and read the breakdowns better. You’ve got to work on your second, third, fourth phase as well,” Coetzee said.

This was obviously something the Bulls got right in the second half of last weekend’s win over Cardiff Blues, which sealed the most impressive of comebacks from 3-16 down.

“As soon as we were able to get time and space, that’s when the breakdowns changed for us. And as soon as we got front-foot ball, got our carries going, then we put them under pressure, which led to penalties for us,” Coetzee added.

That sounds like it has the makings of a game-plan to use against Edinburgh as well, sucking them into a collisions battle of which they probably don’t want to be part.

The Bulls have lost a leader in Johan Goosen, but captain Marcell Coetzee said on Tuesday that welcoming the player responsible for the Springboks winning the series against the British and Irish Lions back into the squad can only lift the team as they look to finish their first overseas campaign in the United Rugby Championship on a high against Edinburgh on Saturday.

Morne Steyn arrived in Edinburgh on Tuesday, via an overnight flight from Frankfurt, with the Bulls confirming that flyhalf Goosen was headed in the opposite direction, flying back to South Africa to have scans on the knee he injured in last weekend’s momentous win over the Cardiff Blues.

“Johan is a real character and a good leader in the team, and we are bleeding for him,” Coetzee said. “But now we have Morne here, who won the British and Irish Lions series, he has fantastic experience that you just can’t buy.

“It’s going to be awesome to have him with us this week, what a character he is and a legend of Bulls rugby. He is consistent in all he does and I’m sure he’s going to bring energy and enthusiasm that will lift the team.

“Chris Smith also showed his character and resilience when he replaced Johan, I thought he had an excellent game and he carried that flyhalf mantle really well,” the Springbok loose forward added.

Last weekend’s impressive comeback win against Cardiff was vital for the Bulls after they started the competition with chastening defeats against Leinster and Connacht. It’s their last week on a tough tour to a brand new environment, but Coetzee said the Currie Cup champions are hungry for another win this weekend.

“The mood is a bit more positive now after the win, but we want to be consistent. There’s definitely some new energy, we know it’s our last week on tour and there’s plenty to play for.

“We want that same mindset as in the second half against Cardiff when we gave it everything and the passion and character of the team came out.

“We just want a successful end for the tour, having come into a whole new tournament not knowing what to expect. We are still quite a young group, but we are growing by the day.

“Hopefully things are right now and we must make sure we don’t take a step backwards this weekend. Our performance on Saturday will say a lot about how we have grown as a group and how strong our culture is,” Coetzee said.

Jake White described his team’s 29-19 victory over the Cardiff Blues in their United Rugby Championship match at the Arms Park on Saturday night as being a huge result for not just the Bulls but for the whole of South African rugby as well as for the credibility of the new competition.

The Bulls result, achieved via a superb second-half comeback that saw them overturn a 3-16 deficit, completed a highly encouraging weekend for the previously beleaguered South African franchises.

It was the Sharks who set the ball rolling with a brilliant second-half comeback of their own against the Ospreys on Friday night, winning 27-13 after they were level 6-6 at the break. And then earlier on Saturday the Lions went down 13-9 to the Glasgow Warriors, who were awarded a try that never should have stood, while the Stormers fought back from 14-0 down after just six minutes to draw 20-20 with Edinburgh.

“It’s massive for us, for South African rugby, for everyone, it brings credibility to the competition,” White said. “We read in the media that viewership is through the roof and we certainly don’t want to lose and lose.

“It was a fantastic game for us, a great comeback after being 13-0 down and losing Johan Goosen to a knee injury. We were so resilient and I’m sure the URC are incredibly happy too because it shows there is healthy competition.

“We’re going to get massive confidence from this result and also from the way we played. I was really happy with the way we changed our attack, using forwards and backs, and we played with a lot of width at times too,” White said.

The Bulls were poor in the first half, unable to keep the ball for more than a couple of phases at a time, and this was largely due to another inept showing at the breakdowns by them.

But this all changed in the second half as they came out with some much-needed fire in the belly, started dominating the gain-line, hanging on to the ball for longer and this led to the pressure – and the wrath of the referee – shifting on to Cardiff at the breakdowns.

Veteran hooker Bismarck du Plessis was prominent in a tough first half for the Bulls, and he set the ball rolling early in the second half with a big carry, winning a penalty for the Bulls. Eighthman Elrigh Louw just tapped and went and was straight over for the try with no problem.

This certainly lifted the Bulls and a fantastic break by replacement flank Arno Botha followed, Marcell Coetzee, who really came to the fore in the second half, then carrying strongly to earn a penalty. This was slotted by Chris Smith, who replaced Goosen at flyhalf with enormous aplomb.

Suddenly the Bulls were just three points behind and then wing Madosh Tambwe scored a tremendous try on the hour mark. Good defensive pressure by centre Harold Vorster led to a poor pass by Cardiff, Tambwe was quickly up to kick the ball through and then showed searing pace to get there first, and then great control to gather the bouncing ball and score.

This gave the Bulls the lead for the first time and the excellent boot of Smith, who succeeded with all seven of his kicks at goal, ensured this advantage was never surrendered.

Scorers

Cardiff Blues: Try – Matthew Screech. Conversion – Rhys Priestland. Penalties – Priestland (4).

Bulls: Tries – Elrigh Louw, Madosh Tambwe. Conversions – Chris Smith (2). Penalties – Smith (5).