Match Review: Anatomy of a Victory

02/17/2025 04:08 AM

In a team sport, there is no greater contribution to victory than a collective effort and the Hollywoodbets Sharks will look back at this coordinated, group contribution that led to their 29-19 Vodacom United Rugby Championship bonus point victory over the Vodacom Bulls.

Statistics tell one story, but the analysis thereof may suggest that stats alone do not win rugby matches.

The Hollywoodbets Sharks, down to 12 men at one stage managed to stem the tide when the Bulls were hunting as a pack and using their forward dominance in an effort to take control of the game and the scoreboard.

Despite the visitors enjoying only 44% possession and 46% territory, and having to make the lion's share of tackles, 19 defenders beaten as opposed to 9, a reverse in terms of tackles missed (9 to the Bulls' 19) and a superb stat of seven kicks retained to the Bulls' zero, showed that the competitive and collective effort from the Hollywoodbets Sharks was the difference in the game.

"I'm lost for words, Sharks-Bulls games are always a spectacle and all credit to the boys for pulling it off," said captain Vincent Tshituka after his team had outscored their hosts four tries to three.

"This victory means a lot to the boys, it's an honour to wear the Hollywoodbets Sharks jersey and the boys showed that in their performance today."

Down to 13 men but no conceding a single point against a Bulls side that sensed the turning of the tide in their favour, Tshituka admitted how proud he was of his team-mates to hold out against a sustained onslaught.

"I admit it was a tough time, but the important thing for us was to keep cool heads. You can't control everything that happens in a game and unfortunately a lot of things weren't going our way, but we just pulled together as a group, got everyone on the same page."

With the Bulls earning a number of scrum penalties at the set-piece, it advanced their cause while stymying the Hollywoodbets Sharks' and it required fortitude and determination from the visitors to put a stop to that.

The Hollywoodbets Sharks captain explained that a scrum penalty his side earned in the second half was a huge moment in the game at a time when they needed some respite.

"That was everything for us," he said. "We still needed to close out the game and that scrum penalty was a turning point for us, it gave the boys a lot of energy, gave the pack a huge boost and we managed to close out the game we wanted to."

The four try bonus point victory comes down to many factors, but playing for the full 80, particularly when the odds were stacked in the Bulls' favour, enjoying scrum dominance against a Hollywoodbets Sharks team missing players to the sin bin, shows just how much pride there is in this team.

"This result was a blessing, Bulls-Sharks games are always massive and we're thrilled to come out on top again."

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