Sharks knock Bulls off the top spot

REPORT:  The Sharks leapfrogged to the top of the Currie Cup log with an empathic 35-28 win over the Bulls at Kings Park on Friday.

*As it happened: Sharks v Bulls 

Reeling after a stinging 37-27 loss to Griquas last weekend, Sharks coach Sean Everitt sought a big response from his charges and they showed fight to trail by just 20-13 at half-time after having just 29 percent possession and losing a player to a yellow card.

The tables took a drastic turn shortly after half-time as the visitors went down to 14 men. Smelling blood in the water, the Sharks rediscovered their killer instinct as they scored 19 points in this 10-minute period, which put them on their way to a bonus-point win over the defending champions.

Originally scheduled to take place at Loftus Versfeld, the competition frontrunners collided at Kings Park instead. The switch was due to the Durbanites having missed out on a number of home games, which had to be cancelled due to the recent unrest in KwaZulu-Natal.

This proved to be a good omen for the Sharks in the end, however, they started poorly. Last weekend’s errors bled into this match as they made a meal of fielding the kick-off and then knocked on. Pressure led to a string of penalties and it was No.8 Elrigh Louw who crashed over from close range. Johan Goosen’s conversion made it 7-0 after just four minutes.

The hosts struck back brilliantly, Champion of the Match Williams providing the spark and Le Roux Roets powering over. Lionel Cronje added the extras to level the scores. Another bumbling exit gave Goosen an immediate chance to push the visitors back in front. He missed off the upright but was on song moments later after his pack had won a scrum penalty.

Strong counter-rucking by Roets won the home team a penalty and Cronje popped it over to level the scores in the 16th minute. The Bulls were in a try-scoring mood as they turned down a number of kickable penalties and it eventually paid off when Lizo Gqoboka found a blade of grass in heavy traffic. Goosen’s conversion was good, pushing the visitors into a 17-10 lead.

A ninth Sharks penalty was the last straw for referee Marius van der Westhuizen as he handed Dylan Richardson a yellow card for a breakdown infringement. Rather curiously, the Bulls opted to take the three points on offer rather than immediately look to exploit their numerical advantage, three points Cronje got back shortly thereafter.

Despite being down a man, the Durbanites didn’t go into defence mode, with Cronje – inside his 22 – finding Yaw Penxe with a pinpoint crosskick to keep the men in blue on their toes.

The Sharks would’ve been well-pleased when Richardson returned from the bin having traded penalties and they held off another Bulls maul to close out the opening half, Jake White’s men holding a 20-13 lead - probably not a big-enough advantage for their sheer dominance.

Livewire No.9 Williams made another brilliant break shortly after the interval only for desperate cover defence to stop him short of the line. However, Stedman Gans, back from Blitzbok duty at the Tokyo Olympics, was yellow-carded for killing the ball at the ensuing ruck.

Unlike the previous week, the Sharks wasted little time capitalizing on their numerical advantage as Kerron van Vuuren went over from a driving maul with Cronje sending the conversion through the uprights to make matters level. Williams weaved more magic as he attacked on the blindside where a one-two with Thaakir Abrahams saw the scrumhalf put his team in the lead with a five-pointer.

There was time for one more try before the Bulls were back to 15 men and Murray Koster was the man to dot down after he pounced on a kick by centre partner Werner Kok. Cronje was back on target to stretch the lead to 32-20.

With 10 minutes left, a penalty right in front of the posts allowed Cronje, who marshalled his troops superbly, to sew up the result with a third three-pointer that made it a three-score game.

Pressure from the Bulls, who were looking to get something out of the game, led to a yellow card for replacement loose forward Thembelani Bholi and a try for Arno Botha. Their fighting spirit was rewarded as a final penalty saw Chris Smith slot a penalty to selvage a losing bonus point.

Man of the match: Sharks flyhalf Lionel Cronje was in fine form, his game management was integral and his technical kicks put the Bulls under pressure. However, our nod goes to Sharks scrumhalf Grant Williams. The No.9 produced one of his best performances, setting up a try and also scoring one.

The scorers:

For Sharks:

Tries: Roets, Van Vuuren, Williams, Koster

Cons: Cronje 3

Pens: Cronje 3

For Bulls:

Tries: Louw, Gqoboka, Botha

Cons: Goosen 2

Pens: Goosen 2, Smith

Yellow cards: Dylan Richardson (Sharks, 30 - tackler not releasing), Stedman Gans (Bulls, 46 - hands in the ruck) Thembelani Bholi (Sharks, 76 - deliberated offside)

Teams

Sharks: 15 Anthony Volmink, 14 Yaw Penxe, 13 Werner Kok, 12 Murray Koster, 11 Thaakir Abrahams, 10 Lionel Cronje, 9 Grant Williams, 8 Phepsi Buthelezi (captain), 7 Henco Venter, 6 Dylan Richardson, 5 Reniel Hugo, 4 Le Roux Roets, 3 Khutha Mchunu, 2 Kerron van Vuuren, 1 Ntuthuko Mchunu.

Replacements: 16 Khwezi Mona, 17 Lourens Adriaanse, 18 Thembelani Bholi, 19 Mpilo Gumede, 20 James Venter, 21 Sanele Nohamba, 22 Jeremy Ward, 23 Manni Libbok.

Bulls: 15 David Kriel, 14 Madosh Tambwe, 13 Harold Vorster, 12. Cornal Hendricks, 11 Stedman Gans, 10 Johan Goosen, 9 Zak Burger, 8 Elrigh Louw, 7 Muller Uys, 6 Marcell Coetzee (captain), 5 Ruan Nortje, 4 Walt Steenkamp, 3 Mornay Smith, 2 Schalk Erasmus, 1 Lizo Gqoboka.

Replacements – from:16 Jan-Hendrik Wessels, 17 Simphiwe Matanzima, 18 Mhleli Dlamini, 19 Janko Swanepoel, 20 Arno Botha, 21 Keagan Johannes, 22 Chris Smith, 23 Sibongile Novuka, 24 Jacques van Rooyen, 25 Reinhardt Ludwig, 26 WJ Steenkamp, 27 Marco Jansen van Vuren, 28 Richard Kriel.

Referee: Marius van der Westhuizen

Assistant referees: Yanga Sotshangane, Damian Varney

TMO: Cwengile Jadezweni