Rampant Bulls demolish Sharks at fort Loftus
MATCH REPORT: A rampant Bulls scored six tries as they demolished the Sharks in their 44-10 run-away victory in the United Rugby Championship at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday.
The Bulls made a very strong statement that Loftus Versfeld is a tough environment for visiting teams.
They had the bonus point in the bag by half-time, leading 27-3 at the break.
The Sharks got on the scoreboard first through a successful penalty kick by Curwin Bosch but that would be the last points in their favour for more than an hour.
Three minutes later a try by the Bulls was not awarded when Ambrose Papier was ahead of Willie le Roux when he hoofed the ball downfield.
However a successful penalty kick by Johan Goosen equaled the score at 3-3 and it was evident that a battle royale was on the cards.
Five minutes later a slick simple move from the back of the scrum resulted in Stedman Gans scoring in the corner after a perfect pass by Goosen.
At this stage the Sharks’ Fez Mbatha was sin binned for an indirect high tackle when Kurt-Lee Arendse ran straight into him trying to take the ball up in midfield.
The Bulls immediately stepped up their efforts with the numerical advantage which saw Gans score his second try just after 20 minutes of play after running fast and straight from a line-out ball.
A third try for the Bulls eight minutes before halftime sent Arendse over on the far side, taking their lead to 22-3.
The home-sides’ rush defence proved difficult for the Sharks to manage, forcing them to make mistakes under pressure.
The Bulls were clinical and accurate and set up camp in the Sharks half of the field for the majority of the first half.
A penalty to the Bulls saw Goosen kicking for touch, indicating the confidence of the home-side to attempt a fourth try before half-time. They won another scrum penalty as Wilco Louw, Akker van der Merwe and Gerhard Steenekamp made their presence felt.
A rumbling maul ensued and Van der Merwe dived over to get that fourth try just as the hooter went for half-time.
The Bulls were beating the Sharks with intensity, doing everything faster, stronger and better.
The start of the second half saw the Sharks unleash Springboks Grant Williams and Ox Nche as well as Rohan Janse van Rensburg in midfield. Dan Jooste also replaced Mbatha.
The presence of Williams behind the pack certainly gave the Sharks more front foot while they stretched the Bulls coast to coast.
The visitors got a penalty after Marco van Staden played the ball on the ground. The touch finder was good just inside the Bulls’ 22 and the Sharks mauled their way closer to the corner flag.
A penalty try to the Sharks in the 45th minute of the game finally closed the gap to 10-27 for the visitors as Steenekamp illegally pulled down the Sharks maul.
The visitors came out firing in the second half, clearly not intent on rolling over. It caught the home-side a bit off-guard. The visitors were on the attack.
But finally the Bulls’ Canan Moodie beat Makazole Mapimpi on the opposite, put the ball in the air and Aphiwe Dyantyi just barely managed to kick it into touch.
Slowly but surely the Bulls applied relentless pressure, went through carry after carry, the off-loads sticking and then Cameron Hanekom got over the advantage line and popped the ball for Elrigh Louw to score.
Goosen added the extras and the Bulls built up a comfortable cushion leading 34-10.
Another penalty kick by Goosen made it three more – 37-10.
A third knock-on by Sharks centre Janse van Rensburg in the matter of ten minutes resulted in Kriel kicking the ball forward. Van der Merwe plucked it out of the air and went over for try number two for the hooker.
The frustration was evident on the faces of the Sharks players as nothing seemed to be going right for them.
Their line-outs were a mess, their mid-field players’ hands let them down and their execution never resulted to much.
Man of the Match: Elrigh Louw who made dominant tackles and carries and also scored a great try.
The scorers:
For the Bulls:
Tries: Gans 2, Arendse, Van der Merwe 2, Louw
Cons: Goosen 4
Pens: Goosen 2
For the Sharks:
Tries: Penalty
Pens: Bosch
Yelllow cards: Fez Mbatha (Sharks – 21’ indirect high tackle), Gerhard Steenekamp (Bulls – 45’ cynical play)
Teams:
Bulls: 15 Willie le Roux, 14 Kurt-Lee Arendse, 13 Stedman Gans, 12 David Kriel, 11 Canan Moodie, 10 Johan Goosen, 9 Embrose Papier, 8 Cameron Hanekom, 7 Elrigh Louw (captain), 6 Marco van Staden, 5 Reinhardt Ludwig, 4 Janko Swanepoel, 3 Wilco Louw, 2 Akker van der Merwe, 1 Gerhard Steenekamp.
Replacements: 16 Jan-Hendrik Wessels, 17 Simphiwe Matanzima, 18 Mornay Smith, 19 Deon Slabbert, 20 Nizaam Carr, 21 Zak Burger, 22 Jaco van der Walt, 23 Sebastian de Klerk.
Sharks: 15 Aphelele Fassi, 14 Aphiwe Dyantyi, 13 Lukhanyo Am (captain), 12 Francois Venter, 11 Makazole Mapimpi, 10 Curwin Bosch, 9 Jaden Hendrikse, 8 Sikhumbuzo Notshe, 7 Phepsi Buthelezi, 6 James Venter, 5 Emile van Heerden, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Coenie Oosthuizen, 2 Fez Mbatha, 1 Ntuthuko Mchunu.
Replacements: 16 Daniel Jooste, 17 Ox Nche, 18 Hanro Jacobs, 19 Corne Rahl, 20 Jeandre Labuschagne, 21 Grant Williams, 22 Boeta Chamberlain, 23 Rohan Janse van Rensburg.
Referee: Cwengile Jadezweni (South Africa)
Assistant referees: Dylen November (South Africa), Phumzile Mbewu (South Africa)
TMO: Quinton Immelman (South Africa)
