Ill-disciplined Sharks do the double over Bulls

02/15/2025 12:28 PM

MATCH REPORT: The Sharks did the United Rugby Championship double over the Bulls with 29-19 win at Loftus Versfeld, despite being down to 13 players at one stage of the match.

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It was a game of tactical chess in the opening stanza - with both sides having numerous opportunities to score but couldn't round their chances off.

The Bulls dominated the set-piece but couldn't always turn their opportunities into points and it proved to be costly in the final outcome.

The statistics suggest that the Bulls should have easily been the victors, but the Sharks made the big moments count when it mattered, whereas the Bulls failed to do the same.

The Bulls earned the first penalty of the match after a grubber kick ahead left Yaw Penxe isolated - with the Bulls opting for the five-metre line-out.

The Bulls were on the scoreboard within the opening three minutes through Jan-Hendrik Wessels who gathered an offload off the ground by Marco van Staden which David Kriel converted.

A late tackle by Marco van Staden on Grant Williams gave the Sharks an opportunity to set-up a five metre line-out of their own.

The Sharks opted to attack which saw great hands as a long pass by Siya Masuku gave Ethan Hooker an easy run-in to hit straight back which Jordan Hendrikse converted to draw level in the ninth minute.

Springbok prop Trevor Nyakane went off after twisting his ankle without any contact in the 12th minute which will be a great concern for Sharks head coach John Plumtree with the Durbanietes already having a lengthy injury list.

Hooker Bongi Mbonambi went down in the 19th minute but soldiered on with fellow front-rower Ntuthuko Mchunu also receiving attention four minutes later but both players continued playing.

Moments later, Ruan Vermaak intercepted Jason Jenkins' pass but got himself isolated with Hanro Jacobs going over the ball to win the penalty which Jordan Hendrikse missed to give the Sharks the lead in the 25th minute.

Jordan Hendrikse did brilliantly to keep the ball-in-play following a scrum penalty conceded by Mchunu which led to a Sharks linebreak.

Flyhalf Willie le Roux made the cover tackle but then played Grant Williams from the side which was deemed to be cynical and saw him yellow-carded in the 32nd minute as Jordan Hendrikse slotted the gift three points to get the Sharks leading for the first time in the contest.

The Bulls earned a scrum penalty which David Kriel kicked into touch-in-goal which would have given the Bulls a great attacking platform.

Ethan Bester eventually replaced Bongi Mbonambi in the 36th minute as the Bulls won another scrum penalty on a Sharks feed, but David Kriel hit the attempt on the posts which Yaw Penxe dotted down for a 22-metre drop-out.

The Bulls had another attacking opportunity in the Sharks' 22 as they earned another penalty for an illegal sack of the maul by the Sharks.

The hosts rolled the dice and went for the five-metre line-out which saw Jason Jenkins sent to the sinbin for an illegal sack as Willie le Roux returned from his yellow card.

The Bulls opted for the corner again but Harold Vorster knocked the ball on which brought an end to the first half with the Sharks holding a narrow three point lead.

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The Sharks got an early team warning at the start of the second half for maul infringements as the Bulls dominated the set-piece throughout the contest.

Another line-out infringement outside the Sharks 22-metre area saw Corne Rahl sent to the sinbin, leaving the Durbanietes playing with 13 players for three minutes.

The Bulls went to the corner again and hooker Johan Grobbelaar went over for a maul try in the 45th minute which Kriel was unable to convert.

An offside penalty by Penxe gave the Bulls another mauling opportunity which saw prop Ntuthuko Mchunu yellow-carded for a side entry as Jason Jenkins returned from his sinbin period.

The Bulls set-piece continued to dominate as they won another penalty on a Sharks feed against Hanru Jacobs.

The Bulls attacked off the line-out and earned another scrum feed for a knock-on by the Sharks in the tackle.

The Bulls earned another scrum penalty before referee Marius van der Westhuizen called play to a halt.

A TMO ruling against Mpilo Gumede who flipped Lukhanyo Am as he got up and saw the penalty reversed to the Sharks.

The Sharks lost the line-out as the Bulls played the ball wide to Canan Moodie who opted to kick the ball ahead as it went into touch.

The Sharks won the line-out and went coast-to-coast with great ball-in-hand skills that saw Jurenzo Julius making an outside break to set Jordan Hendrikse up for the try in the 56th minute which he was unable to convert.

A forward pass gave the Bulls an attacking scrum outside the Sharks' 22-metre area but the penalty went to the visitors as Masuku gave the Sharks an attacking line-out outside the Bulls' 22 but they couldn't convert it into points.

A loose ball saw Tino Mavasere pounce on it and run it in clean beating Harold Vorster to get the Sharks' third try of the evening which Siya Masuku converted to give the visitors a 10-point lead with 11 minutes to play.

A misjudgement by Devon Williams and Sergeal Petersen off a Siya Masuku high kick saw Yaw Penxe regather the loose ball and dot down for the bonus points score in the 72nd minute.

The Bulls fought back hard in the final five minutes of the match as hooker Johan Grobbelaar managed to grab a brace in the 77th minute which Chamberlain converted.

One final Sharks attack in the Bulls' half saw the visitors get a penalty for offside which was tapped and kicked out to seal a hard-fought win.

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The scorers

For the Bulls
Tries: Wessels, Grobbelaar 2
Cons: Kriel, Chamberlain

For the Sharks
Tries: Hooker, Hendrikse, Mavesere, Penxe
Cons: Hendrikse, Masuku 2
Pen: Hendrikse

Yellow cards: Willie le Roux (Bulls - cynical play: playing the scrumhalf after a linebreak 32'), Jason Jenkins (Sharks - repeated line-out infringements 40'), Corne Rahl (Sharks - repeated line-out infringements 44'), Ntuthuko Mchunu (Sharks - repeated line-out infringements 47')

Teams

Bulls: 15 Devon Williams, 14 Canan Moodie, 13 David Kriel, 12 Harold Vorster, 11 Sergeal Petersen, 10 Willie le Roux, 9 Embrose Papier, 8 Nizaam Carr, 7 Reinhardt Ludwig (Captain), 6 Marco van Staden, 5 JF van Heerden, 4 Ruan Vermaak, 3 Wilco Louw, 2 Johann Grobbelaar, 1 Jan-Hendrik Wessels
Replacements: 16 Akker van der Merwe, 17 Gerhard Steenekamp, 18 Francois Klopper, 19 Jannes Kirsten, 20 Mpilo Gumede, 21 Zak Burger, 22 Boeta Chamberlain, 23 Aphiwe Dyantyi

Sharks: 15 Jordan Hendrikse, 14 Yaw Penxe, 13 Jurenzo Julius, 12 Lukhanyo Am, 11 Ethan Hooker, 10 Siya Masuku, 9 Grant Williams, 8 Phepsi Buthelezi, 7 Vincent Tshituka (captain), 6 Tino Mavesere, 5 Jason Jenkins, 4 Corne Rahl, 3 Trevor Nyakane, 2 Bongi Mbonambi, 1 Ntuthuko Mchunu.
Replacements: 16 Ethan Bester, 17 Ruan Dreyer, 18 Hanro Jacobs, 19 Lappies Labuschagne, 20 Jannes Potgieter, 21 Bradley Davids, 22 Francois Venter, 23 Jaco Williams

Referee: Marius van der Westhuizen (South Africa)
Assistant referees: Morne Ferreira (South Africa) & Sean Muller (South Africa)
TMO: Quinton Immelman (South Africa)