VIDEO: The harsh lesson Bulls learnt as Sharks face-off looms
The Bulls and Sharks will go head-to-head in a riveting United Rugby Championship semifinal in Loftus Versfeld on Saturday, after both came through bruising quarterfinals this past weekend.
The Bulls delivered under pressure in a competitive encounter against Edinburgh in Pretoria, coming back from a 13-point (8-21) deficit to register a 42-33 victory.
However, in Durban, there was high drama, as the South African franchise won through on a rare penalty shootout – only the second time it has happened in a European play-off.
The Sharks and Munster were 24-all after 80 minutes and still after extra time, before the Sharks won 6-4 on penalty kicks.
That set up the all-South African face-off this coming Saturday, which has already seen a rush for tickets.
Bulls Director of Rugby Jake White admitted his team’s spotty discipline and slow start could come back to haunt them in the semifinal.
This past Saturday, Wing Sebastian de Klerk was issued a yellow card in the second minute for a shoulder charge and by the time he returned, tries by Edinburgh fullback Wes Goosen and flyhalf Ross Thompson, both converted by the No.10, saw the visitors race into a 14-3 lead.
Despite a Keagan Johannes penalty and a Cameron Hanekom try, a second converted try by Thompson saw Edinburgh lead 21-8 on the half-hour mark.
However, 31 unanswered points in the next 20 minutes saw the home team race into an 18-point (39-21) lead, ending the game as a contest.
Lock JF van Heerden was yellow carded just short of the hour mark for repeated infringements by the team, with a Johannes penalty sandwiched between further scores by Ewan Ashman and Goosen to complete the scoring.
(WATCH as Bulls Director of Rugby Jake White speaks about the crucial aspects his team must improve on ahead of the URC semifinal….)
“Not many teams go 8-21 down in a quarterfinal and win it as convincing as we did,” the Bulls’ boss, White, said.
“One lesson we can’t ignore is that we can’t play with 14 men, give them [the opposition] two tries and think you will always come back and win,” he added.
White spoke about the resilience his team showed in coming back from another poor start.
“We were 7-24 down in Edinburgh [a 28-34 loss in the Challenge Cup quarterfinal last month] and 8-21 down here [URC quarterfinal in Pretoria].
“We got a result [win] in this match, where as we didn’t get one the last time we played them.”
The coach made it clear he is not happy with his team’s discipline, having conceded 18 yellow cards this season – second-worst only to the Scarlets’ 20.
Their 194 penalties also puts them mid-table in this disciplinary category, with their average per URC match unacceptable double digits.
“I am not going to avoid the fact that we can’t give yellow cards away,” White said, adding: “I though it was a bit harsh.
“However, those are the margins you get in these play-offs and you have to ensure you are good enough [to overcome them].”
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* Picture credit: Steve Haag Sports
