Gutsy Sharks evoke fire and energy to grind out vital URC victory over Bulls

The Sharks took the field for the SA derby clash with the Bulls in front of a heaving 45000-strong holiday crowd, and clad in a curious strip of red and maroon stripes, coloured with yellow.

The Sharks’ New York owner, Marco Masotti, told yours truly that it was a one-off strip to symbolise fire and energy.

Fair enough, maybe these Americans know what they are doing, because it was fire and energy that propelled the Sharks over the line with two gutsy tries towards the end of the match, the killer blow after 70-odd minutes of arm wrestle to secure the 21-12 result.

The return of the Springbok front row of Wilco Louw, Johan Grobbelaar and Gerhard Steenekamp had changed the dynamic of a Bulls team that had lost their four previous games, and the pre-game talk was about whether the Sharks front row could cope, especially without the presence of injured Bok giant Ox Nche.

But in the early scrum exchanges, the Sharks' first line of scrumming defence — Hanro Jacobs, Bongi Mbonambi, and Phatu Ganyane — stood their ground. The question was whether they could go toe-to-toe with arguably the best front row in world rugby?

Still, the Bulls were generally the stronger starters, and the Sharks were fortunate to escape with a goal-line dropout after a Bulls maul seemed to have crashed over for a try just five minutes into the match.

The Bulls continued to be the more threatening team, and when flank Juandre Rudolph broke out from deep in the Bulls' half and thundered 40m before being tackled, the Sharks seemed doomed to concede a try; however the resulting pass out wide was brilliantly intercepted by fullback Hakeem Kunene, who took the ball 60m in the opposite direction for a try the 22-year-old will never forget.

A Handre Pollard penalty, almost from the restart, limited the damage of the against-the-run-of-play Sharks try.

The Springbok flyhalf showed his class a few minutes later when he nailed a 40m penalty from not far off the touchline.

Just as it seemed the Bulls were building a stranglehold, flyhalf Jordan Hendrikse put Ethan Hooker through a gap and the Springbok centre screamed towards the tryline. He was stopped just short, but Phepsi Buthelezi picked up and dived over.

Hendrikse was about to take the conversion when the infernal TMO intervened and ruled that the No 8 had knocked on, when it did not seem so. The try was chalked off.

Hendrikse had a chance to extend his team’s 7-6 lead but hooked his penalty attempt.

Louw won a scrum penalty five minutes before half-time, and Pollard booted the Bulls into a prime attacking position. The Sharks were on the back foot, and the pressure created a penalty for the visitors. Pollard nudged over the kick from in front of the posts.

That gave the Bulls a 9-7 half-time lead, but it could have been more — the Bulls won a scrum penalty only for Pollard to show that he is human by missing the shot at goal.

It was the tightest of games, but a neutral observer would have picked up that the Bulls’ scrum was getting on top, and a final quarter fade out by the Sharks was on the cards.

It was also a half where the Sharks would have wondered how more dangerous they could have been if their passing skills had been better. We saw Springboks in their backline passing to a teammate’s shoulder or to his feet.

Pollard made amends 16 minutes into the second half with his fourth penalty — it would mark the end of his team’s scoring.

And it signalled the Sharks’ best period of the game, and the longest time they exerted pressure on the Bulls’ line, but it was the exalted Bulls tight five that ended the threat by shoving their opponents off the ball to win a crucial turnover.

The Sharks needed a spark, and it came in the form of the Springbok captain, Siya Kolisi, who with 10 minutes to go, smashed over the Bulls’ line to conclude an impressive sequence of phases.

George Whitehead, on for Hendrikse, converted for a tenuous 14-12 lead.

That became commanding when a Jaden Hendrikse chip over the defence freed up the ball for winger Edwill van der Merwe to chase, gather and score.

Whitehead’s conversion gave the Sharks an unassailable 21-12 lead with just two minutes remaining.

Scorers

Sharks — Tries: Hakeem Kunene, Siya Kolisi, Edwill van der Merwe. Conversions: Jordan Hendrikse. George Whitehead (2).

Bulls — Penalties: Handre Pollard (4).