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The Bulls have earned themselves a third final in four URC championships and a tough challenge of heading to Croke Park in Dublin to try and deny Leinster the trophy next weekend. They beat the Hollywood Bets Sharks 25-13 in front of more than 47,000 at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday.
Klerk (7'), Moodie (21'), Kriel (66')
Tries
Mapimpi (44'), Hooker (52')
Goosen (8'), Johannes (67')
Conversions
Goosen (35'), Johannes (56')
Penalties
Hendrikse (26')
The Bulls have earned themselves a third final in four URC championships and a tough challenge of heading to Croke Park in Dublin to try and deny Leinster the trophy next weekend. They beat the Hollywood Bets Sharks 25-13 in front of more than 47,000 at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday.
While the Hollywoodbets Sharks might be bemoaning the loss of their second row (both Eben Etzebeth and Jenkins) before the Vodacom URC semifinal at Loftus Versfeld, the Vodacom Bulls were simply too good and exposed the Durban side, who had managed to find ways to win ugly this season ut were inaccurate and outmuscled in Pretoria.
If the Bulls are to overcome that final obstacle, they will need to quickly address their disciplinary issues, which nearly cost them the match with three yellow cards in the first half. Such was the woeful attack of the visitors and magnificent defence of the Bulls, they found a way to win and scored some remarkable tries in the process.
Shark Coach John Plumtree, who, together with his team, failed to get the side firing on all cylinders during the campaign despite the star-studded cast at their disposal, rue the missed opportunities when the Bulls were down to 13 players.
“We had plenty of opportunities [to score] before half time. We put the Bulls under pressure and they got three yellow cards, but we weren’t quite good enough to finish them off. We should have been closer to 15-15 at halftime, but didn’t cash in close to the line. We got held up over the goal line just before halftime, which was an absolute disaster.”
It was a day for teams in blue across rugby competitions on Saturday, and the Bulls in particular were abrasive from the start and earned pack dominance in scrum. They redeemed the two losses they incurred to the men from Durban this season, and at times did it with blunt force trauma.
Ethan Hooker looked to have opened the scoring in the 7th minute after intercepting from the Bulls who had won the ball from a massive scrum but the try was deemed offside by the TMO.
Livewire scrumhalf Embrose Papier cut the Sharks defence open, not for the first time in the match, and after some shockingly poor defence, notably from Lukanyo Am who probably had his worst game in Sharks or Boks colours, Man of the Match Sebastian de Klerk, scored in the corner converted by Goosen.
Andre Esterhuizen was the most dominant ball carrier in URC but even his carries could hardly dent the Bulls' defence in an attack which never found any rhythm from the Sharks players.
The ‘villain’ of the winkgate saga, Jayden Hendriks,e then slipped as he tried to clear a ball and the ball landed in the hands of De Klerk, who put in a pinpoint cross field kick to his right wing partner Canan Moodie, with Makazole Mapimpi misreading the kick, and the Bulls edging 12-0 ahead by the 23rd minute.
Flyhalf Jordan Hendrikse’s solitary penalty was the Sharks' only reward in the 27th minute, although they had plenty of chances; there were so many costly errors that denied any fluidity in attack. Mapimpi was in a lot of action but blew hot and cold before Harold Vorster earned the Bulls' 17th yellow of the season.
The Sharks over-elaborated and instead of trying to be a flash Harlem Globetrotters side, they forgot all of the basics, which some fans in Ireland might say will be karma for ‘the winkers’.
Goosen scored another penalty before the half, with Hanekom and Marcel Coetzee also being sent to the bin. The Sharks, with two extra players, couldn't find their way over, instead, it was David Kriel who stole the ball as the Sharks showed terrible execution while the men in blue defended like demons on their line.
The Sharks crossed the try line in the 45th minute through that man Mapimpi to make it 15-8 before a nasty-looking and serious injury to Cameron Hanekom saw him leave the field on the medical cart.
After having all of the ball for the period with the extra players, Ethan Hooker scored in the corner to cut the lead to 15-13 but then it was back to 15 vs 15 and the Bulls wrestled the game away.
Several silly penalties by the Sharks saw the scoreboard tick over before Papier found another gaping hole in the Sharks' defensive net and put away David Kriel to score for a 25-13 lead in the 67th minute.
The Bulls simply bludgeoned the Sharks' toothless attacks, as a roster of stars had shocking performances on the Highveld. De Klerk said after the whistle. “It was a battle between two South African sides, and we loved it. It was tough, and they are a quality side, but we have warriors like our captain.”
So the top two sides on the log will contest the URC Grand Final on Saturday, 14th June, in Dublin, which will be the first time the final has been played outside of South Africa, and neither Leinster or the Bulls have yet lifted the new-look URC title before.
