Ken Borland

Veteran scrumhalf Conor Murray scored for Munster in the 74th minute to snatch a 27-22 victory over the Bulls at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday night, moving the defending champions into the top three in the United Rugby Championship standings.

Graham Rowntree’s team were inspired in the first half as they took a 17-10 lead, but the second half saw them embroiled in a punishing dog-fight with the Bulls, despite the home side losing their flyhalf, Johan Goosen, to a red card in the 54^th minute.

Goosen was sent from the field after he rushed forward to try and envelop replacement scrumhalf Craig Casey ball-and-all, he was always upright in the tackle and made head contact with the halfback as he stood up. In a double blow for the Bulls, Canan Moodie’s try after he gathered the loose ball was disallowed. It would have put the home side 27-17 up after a strong start to the second half.

Casey left the field for a concussion check and never returned, and it was ironic that that brought the seasoned Murray back on the field and he claimed the matchwinning try.

The Bulls had dominated the opening exchanges of the second half, but as soon as Munster enjoyed a one-man advantage, they turned the screw and dominated the rest of the match.

The equalising try came just four minutes later when excellent flyhalf Jack Crowley put in a crosskick for John Hodnett, the replacement flank going around Moodie and through Kurt-Lee Arendse to score.

But the Bulls then stepped up a gear and were in their faces with tremendous defence, making it hard graft for the visitors to seal the deal.

With both packs bashing away at each other, Murray sniped around the defence to give himself some space and then reached over the decisive try.

Having been mostly the architects of their own problems in the first half, one could bet one’s house on the Bulls fighting back strongly after the break and they did that with two tries in the first 10 minutes. Lock Ruan Vermaak’s powerful surge set up field position, but the Munster defence was superb at close quarters. Eventually the Bulls went wide to the blindside wing and Kurt-Lee Arendse sniped over for the try.

Goosen’s arcing run then put the Bulls on attack again, leading to hooker Johan Grobbelaar going over from a tap penalty.

The former Springbok flyhalf kicked some lengthy touchfinders and a brilliant 50/22 that led to their opening try, eighthman Elrigh Louw muscling over from eight metres out, but Munster had the better kicking game and looked more secure tactically in the first half.

Lock RG Snyman showed why he is in the high-finance section of the rugby world with a dominant display, ruling the lineouts. The Bulls felt the pressure in the first half with several throws going astray, including the one pouched by hooker Niall Scannell in the 19^th minute, with the ball then slickly shipped out wide for wing Shane Daly to score in the corner.

The Bulls did level matters seven minutes later, but Munster were able to give themselves a handy halftime lead with 10 points in the last three minutes of the first half. The scrambling, never-say-die defensive effort kept the Bulls pinned in their 22, and as the visiting pack rumbled forward carry-after-carry, Snyman reached over for the try.

A Jack Crowley penalty on the whistle was an encouraging end to the half. It was not smooth sailing in the second half and the Bulls did help by shooting themselves in the foot, but Munster deserved the spoils for a performance of great character and control.

Scorers

Bulls: Tries – Elrigh Louw, Kurt-Lee Arendse, Johan Grobbelaar. Conversions – Johan Goosen (2). Penalty – Goosen.

Munster: Tries – Shane Daly, RG Snyman, Josh Hodnett, Conor Murray. Conversions – Jack Crowley (2), Penalty – Crowley.

Teams

Bulls: Le Roux, De Klerk, Moodie, Kriel, Arendse, Goosen, Papier, Steenekamp, Grobbelaar, W. Louw, Vermaak, Van Heerden, Hanekom, Ludwig, E. Louw.

Replacements – Williams for De Klerk (40th-41^st), Gumede for Hanekom (52^nd), C. Smith for Le Roux (63^rd), Van der Merwe for Grobbelaar (64^th), Matanzima for Steenekamp (64^th), M. Smith for W. Louw (64^th), Swanepoel for Van Heerden (69^th), Burger for Papier (72^nd), .

Munster: Zebo, Nash, Frisch, Nankivell, Daly, Crowley, Murray, Loughman, Scannell, Archer, Snyman, Beirne, O’Mahony, Kendellen, O’Donoghue.

Replacements – Coombes for O’Mahony (52^nd), Hodnett for Kendellen (52^nd), Casey for Murray (52^nd), Wycherley for Loughman (54^th), Murray for Casey (54^th), Clarke for Scannell (63^rd), Jager for Archer (63^rd), Carbery for Nankivell (67^th).

SOUTHBROOM, KwaZulu-Natal – The most obvious thing young, up-and-coming golfers need is the opportunity to compete, and veteran Sunshine Tour campaigner Hennie Otto has praised the sponsors of this week’s event at San Lameer, Vodacom, for the critical role they have played in the development of the sport in this country.

Otto has been on tour since 1997/98, when it was actually known as the Vodacom Tour, and is teeing it up this week in the Vodacom Origins of Golf Series event at San Lameer Country Club as one of the favourites, given his ninth position on the current Luno Order of Merit.

As a senior statesman of the tour and someone who has enjoyed its benefits so much, Otto is eager to ensure the younger generation get the same exposure and rewards.

“Vodacom have been involved in golf in this country for more than 20 years and what they’ve really done is develop golfers,” Otto said after the first round of the Vodacom Origins of Golf Pro-Am at San Lameer.

“Every young golfer needs opportunity in order to have a successful career, and if nobody creates those opportunities for them, then they won’t get them.

“I’ve played with Mr Mzimba [William, CEO Vodacom Business Group] a few times in these Vodacom Origins of Golf Pro-Ams and he tells me about the dozen or so development players they help. Hopefully those guys really come through, and even if just five of them do then it is still something special.

“The tour is definitely growing and I think in the years to come, it is just going to get bigger,” Otto said.

While the Sunshine Tour has seen a number of very promising young players shine this year, the fairways are still very much the lair of experienced pros like Otto, Jean Hugo, who is seventh on the Luno Order of Merit, and Jaco van Zyl, who won last weekend at Selborne Park Golf Club.

The 46-year-old Otto is still hitting the ball well and looked in hot form last weekend when he finished second to Van Zyl at the Gary and Vivienne Player Challenge. It was his fourth top-six finish this season, a ray of hope after a couple of very tough years following the passing of his wife in 2020.

“As a senior, some of the guys call me ‘Oom’, but this ‘Oom” can still play now and again,” Otto smiles. “I’ve been doing nicely, I just haven’t finished off like I want to.

“But I’m close to where I want to be both mentally and physically, although I’m a bit overweight – I’ve had a few braais,” he laughs.

“But there are nice tournaments coming up, we’re building up and up for the big ones at the end of the year, and the more you finish up the leaderboard, the more confident you get.

“I’ve played all those tournaments before, I know the places, so I’ll be even more comfortable,” Otto said.

Veteran lock Sam Whitelock has been a member of some great All Blacks teams during his dozen years of international rugby, and while New Zealand’s current slump may be confusing for many, the 33-year-old knows his job is to make sure his game is in the best possible condition in Saturday’s crunch Rugby Championship Test against the Springboks at Ellis Park.

Whitelock is a totem for an All Blacks side coach Ian Foster says is still in development, and not just because of his 6’8 stature or his 135 caps. The Crusaders legend has also provided much of the smarts for the 2011 and 2015 World Cup winners, and is a proven leader.

“I’m not used to having this many losses in an All Blacks jersey, but as a senior player, the main thing is to sort myself out first. I go back to what I can control and that is my own game. I look at what I can do better. I make sure I train well so that I can play well,” Whitelock said on Friday.

“There are always things you can improve on, whether that be in terms of skills, discipline or mentality. I’ve played under some great leaders and they all sort themselves out first when things are tough.

“We’ve got to be better, there were some improvements last weekend, but also things we did not nail. There are things we have to nail down as a forward pack.

“Test rugby is all about not getting sick of nailing the basics and there were basics we did not quite get right,” Whitelock said.

Playing in Johannesburg has been kind to Whitelock, who has won four out of five Tests there as well as a Super Rugby quarterfinal and final against the Lions at Ellis Park.

“The atmosphere is electric, it’s an amazing place to play. Both teams have had some great games there, and some really tough ones too,” Whitelock said.

“I immediately think back to 2013 when the Springboks scored a couple of quick tries, but we managed to come back and win 38-27.

“There’s massive history at Ellis Park, you go back to 1995, and we understand as All Blacks what it means for South Africa to play there. But it’s also one of the places we love to play at. “Driving in, it is very loud with fans of both sides banging on the bus and saying a few things. It’s an amazing place and you want to go out there and put your best foot forward,” Whitelock said.

Veteran Springbok fullback Willie le Roux may have ceded the No.15 jersey to Damian Willemse for the first Test against Wales in Pretoria on Saturday, but he will still be on the bench, with coach Jacques Nienaber saying he is “crucial to our attacking game-plan”.

The 32-year-old Le Roux, who gets more than his fair share of criticism, could earn his 73^rd cap on Saturday at Loftus Versfeld and statistics prove the value he adds in often being the spark for the South African attack.

Acoording to a tweet released by Opta statistics on Tuesday, Le Roux has made the most offloads (40) and try-assists (35) of any Springbok since making his Test debut in 2013.

“Willie has lots of experience and he brings a lot to the team through the week,” Nienaber said on Tuesday. “He has knowledge to impart for the youngsters.

“I know people have lots to say about Willie, but look at how many times he makes the last pass to allow us to score a try. You must be able to see space and create to do that.

“What Willie does for our attack is outstanding. Sometimes he looks average in other areas and he always gets criticism, but the reality is he does lots and is crucial to our attacking game-plan,” Nienaber said.

While South African fans have been loving the exciting new talent that has exploded on the scene through the United Rugby Championship, Nienaber said youth will have to wait to be given its head.

“It was a tough selection to get to the final 23, but we have a plan in terms of what we want to achieve. We could have selected other players who would not have dropped the team,” Nienaber admitted.

“Hopefully we will see those guys operating in the near future for the Springboks. To get youngsters into the team is always a balancing act. You want to do it when you have momentum, because that makes it easier for them.

“And the only way to get momentum is by winning. It’s not easy to bring new guys into the team when the confidence is low.

“Sure, new faces will bring a bit of energy and renewal to the team, maybe some creativity, but you also want to be able to build that momentum,” Nienaber said.