Scintillating Sharks blow away Bulls
6 Jul 2012
RYAN VREDE reports on an excellent all-round performance from the Sharks that saw them get the bonus point in beating the Bulls 32-10 to keep their Super Rugby campaign alive.
If the Sharks can replicate the characteristics that earned them this most critical of victories – energy, purpose, physicality, accuracy of execution and killer instinct – they will be formidable opponents going forward. Their inconsistency has undermined their cause in recent matches, but tonight they were largely flawless in their approach and execution when they most needed to be.
The Bulls, laden with Springboks, are no soft touch, even away from home. But they were comprehensively outmuscled at the collisions and seldom allowed to get any momentum into their attacks. The Sharks would score four tries, but this win was built on their industry, accuracy and brutality on defence. With their key strike runners nullified, the Bulls’ potency was significantly diluted. Furthermore, the Sharks played above themselves at lineout time and their scrum fronted to further stifle the Bulls.
The Sharks starved them of possession and pinned them in their territory for the first 30 minutes of the contest, scoring two converted tries and two penalties to establish a 20-3 lead at the break, then struck the telling blow of the match three minutes into the second half. The Sharks’ first five pointer came after erosive phase play, Marcell Coetzee setting up Bismarck du Plessis for a try with a deft offload. Their second came after they punched up left then snapped right, JP Pietersen rounding off in the corner.
The Bulls were stunned and their response reflected this, loose, unstructured attacks marking the second quarter. Lwazi Mvovo scrambled well to deny Akona Ndungane a try in the 34th minute and the Bulls couldn’t convert subsequent pressure into the points they needed to stir belief going into the change rooms.
The Sharks then fractured the Bulls’ psyche further when Keegan Daniel alluded the cover defence after another wave of pressure had depleted the numbers in their defensive line.
But the Bulls’ resolve is well known and they rallied in search of what would have been one of the great comebacks. Zane Kirchner finished close to the corner with Morne Steyn converting. And while they enjoyed plenty of time on the ball in the period that followed, their play became increasingly desperate in the face of the Sharks’ immense tackle fight and rabid breakdown contest, the latter yielding numerous turnovers.
Having negotiated the best the Bulls could offer the Sharks set about capturing the five-point win they so needed to improve their chances of making the play-offs. The composure and intelligence they showed in achieving that goal was inspiring and their wild celebrations upon Louis Ludik touching down said everything about how much they had invested in achieving this crucial result.
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711 Comments
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7 Jul 2012, 00:45 am
@nama1(nama1)-449:
I watched this game with some neutral people who had been watching the tennis before the rugby and were interested to see the result of the game.
halfway through second half one of the ladies who had been watching the tennis remarked that the rugby played by these teams compared to what she saw in the morning game between Crusaders and Chiefs was like chalk and cheese and why is our rugby so poor in comparison.
We got some way to go to be competitive to that level and our Bok coach should realize who in fact his best 22 are.. because I doubt he does after watching his selection process vs England
7 Jul 2012, 00:46 am
adios
7 Jul 2012, 01:05 am
Lekker slaap, Skop.
7 Jul 2012, 01:12 am
Where those traitorous twats who reckoned they would rather see Sharks lose to get rid of Plum…
Take that… 32 strokes… to 10 Lucky ones… And no ordinary team beats the mighty Bulls by 22 points… Fark me
The Fat Lady hasnt sung yet and these Sharks are a match for any team in the Comp at the moment…
Any team… anywhere…
Could this be the winning hand… I CAN feel it…
BOOM!
7 Jul 2012, 01:13 am
We are BLACK
We are WHITE
We are
We are
Farken DYNAMITE!
7 Jul 2012, 01:17 am
Talk about blowing your load before the fat lady has even undressed!……but then thats a bigheaded guppy for you
7 Jul 2012, 01:35 am
Big head with no stuffing.
7 Jul 2012, 02:24 am
Stormers to finish top would be the perfect result.
7 Jul 2012, 02:27 am
@NZINCHINA(NZINCHINA)-458:
The Stormers will finish top, because they are the best TEAM. And have the best supporters
7 Jul 2012, 02:33 am
@KeurboomPark(KeurboomPark)-459:
Crusaders will come to CT beat you there and then an all NZ final, perfect.
7 Jul 2012, 04:13 am
Well played Sharks. So far two good results for the Stormers. Now to make the most of it.
7 Jul 2012, 06:10 am
Well done Sharks Bonus point too
Knk Daniel and Coetzee must better than Spies, ” flop” and Dewald
Steyn’s presence big in the midfield .
Hope HM is taking note Bulls rugby not the answer
7 Jul 2012, 06:17 am
I dont think there is one Bull forward and not too many Sharks forwards who can off load in the tackle
Some how the South African game is based on forwards driving up and taking the tackle and going to ground and the support player is never expecting a pass so they never put them selves in position to keep the ball alive. The closet forwards are just there to clean out
True sometimes its best not to pass but watching Bulls players take the ball and flop to the ground time after time.
7 Jul 2012, 06:19 am
Most underrated player and captain Daniel
Can play 6 ,7 and 8 and has the speed plus outsmarts Spies to score the try
7 Jul 2012, 06:19 am
Ok well I am in the black hole time zone here on keo
7 Jul 2012, 07:01 am
Coach on a dry track the Bokke will get beaten by Aus and Ab’s this year, Meyers game plan is outdated and the forwards he selects aren’t skilled enough, Daniels is a1 far better option for the Bokke
7 Jul 2012, 07:01 am
@CoachPete(CoachPete)-464:
Daniel needs Albert and Deysel/Coetzee to team up with to be effective, I certainly agree he has plenty skills and brain for playing at the loose.
When getting into an undersized loose combo situation he becomes much less effective because he needs to put much more defensive emphasis into his game, thus he got lost in the motion.
The Bulls trio yesterday posed no real challenge, many tend to forget but the Bulls have lost 4 out of their last 5 games and the one which they won last week was nothing but a fraud by Marius Jonker!
7 Jul 2012, 07:11 am
@NZINCHINA(NZINCHINA)-466:
What’s the HM’s game plan? have seen none
The Series win vs the Poms is a hollow one, we know under honest refereeing the Boks would have lost it to a physically strong but otherwise lousy Pom test team, we know the shots calling chief M Styen is inadequate for the job and his partnership with Hougaard is disastrous one?
7 Jul 2012, 07:24 am
Just another fixed game to get 3 SA sides into the playoffs, like the Chiefs, ‘Saders game this morning tried to do for NZ.
Let’s be honest, how could any side beat a team containing Spies, Hougaard, Morne and Olivier without it being fixed?
7 Jul 2012, 07:29 am
congratulations to the sharks and all their fans…
your team looked every bit championship material…
7 Jul 2012, 07:30 am
@Heavens Game(Heavens Game)-454: at the Stadium supporting my team, the Sharks and then celebrating! Just a small correction, we were NOT willing them to lose! We ALL knew the team could play like that! Yet they produced performances that made them lose to the Lions! Where is the problem then? Had we played like this from getgo we would be topping the log!
7 Jul 2012, 07:33 am
Congratulations Sharks Supporters… Your team was superb – played like real champions and made the Bulls team look really mediocre.
@Sharksgirl(Sharksgirl)-471:
Ignore the trolls! We know how dedicated you are to your team and well done to them too…
7 Jul 2012, 07:33 am
466 true but forward dominance based around Steyn kicking for territory seems to be what they are attempting the execution has been poor though
ufo they will have to travel a long way and win
7 Jul 2012, 07:38 am
@NZINCHINA(NZINCHINA)-473:
stating the obvious bud… but yes they would… and with the way they played last night i wouldn’t bet against them doing just that…
they do/did travel well…
SharksGirl
I echo Bill’s thoughts… you don’t have to convince anyone… you know what you feel and think… that’s all that counts…
7 Jul 2012, 07:39 am
Mcleod had a great game, if he plays well, the Sharks play well. Completely outshined Hougaard. If we had Lambie in the flyhalf position it would have been all over by halftime. Comparing Kanko with Spies is unfair, Kanko did more in that first half than Piertjie Masterbeurtjie did the entire season.
For next week, I would like to see:
1. Beast, 2. Bissie, 3.Jannie, 4. Sykes, 5. Du Toit, 6. Coetzee, 7. Alberts, 8. Kanko, 9. Mcleod, 10. Lambie, 11. Mvovu, 12. Frankensteyn, 13. Jordaan, 14. JPP, 15. Ludick
Herbst, Burden, Bresler, Deysel, Daniel, Freddie, Odwa – on da bench.
7 Jul 2012, 07:48 am
UFO they’ll probably face the Brumbies so a 50 50 game which is a lot better than going to Chch, bye bye Bulls
7 Jul 2012, 07:49 am
@David(David)-469:
Bulls’ scrum was notably weak yesterday, bailed out by Peiper who is smart enough a lawyer then to implicate himself in such a one sided game, he did help the Bulls by not pinging them on many occasions where he should
The Bulls still have some quality players in Dewald, Greyling, Kruger and Hougaard if played a roaming wing.
You are right about Spies: just too many in SA from various sections and opinions wrote him off a while ago, they can’t all be that wrong.
7 Jul 2012, 07:51 am
@fitz1ella(fitz1ella)-451:
Come on boet. The NZL brand of rugby is more attractive to the ‘non rugby fan’. But not always more effective.
But I see your point on the best 22 (HM still needs to find it).
7 Jul 2012, 07:52 am
I hope Heineke Meyer watched the game and realised how mediocre some of his previous Blue Bok selections were. Steyn, Olivier, Basson, Potgieter, Spies, Werner, Greyling… They are so weak and over-rated it is embarassing…
7 Jul 2012, 07:53 am
Frans Steyn adds 20% to the Sharks game. The guy is brilliant!!!
7 Jul 2012, 07:56 am
478 the NZ brand of rugby can play tight or loose when required
7 Jul 2012, 07:56 am
Damn this is funny.
Is anyone surprised at the Sharks team’s ongoing battle what I call, “A fragile mental state”? Just look at the fans….Their team win in a wonderful fashion, and Sharks fans (who last week were frantically signing petitions to get rid of Plum, and coming up with justifications like: It is better for the Boks if the Sharks lose…) run onto this blog and instead of celebrating their team – they start taking aim and swipe at the Stormers
This dear friends, is indication of the fragile mental state that enshrouds Sharks rugby. If the fans toughened up a bit, the team might just do so as well.
C-L-A-S-S-I-C.
7 Jul 2012, 07:57 am
@coma(coma)-475:
How many more dropped passes will Mvovo get away with?
He systematically runs ahead of the passer and when realises the pass is a hospital one he simply drops it with a matching show boat of ‘remorse’
Sure, he did put a tackle on the geriatric tortoises Ndungane who can’t side step and never able to cut inside on a one on one situation.
7 Jul 2012, 07:58 am
@Sharksgirl(Sharksgirl)-471: Stick to your guns girl.
You are saying that ending 6th year in and out is not good enough – many would and DO agree.
7 Jul 2012, 07:59 am
@The Sharks rugby pedigree is packaged by Mad Eye Productions.(The Sharks rugby pedigree is packaged as dog food)-482:
They are all of a sudden the best in SA!!! I like it though… BUT
…if this Shark side can be more consistent then they could be a pretty decent side…
7 Jul 2012, 08:02 am
@CenturionShark (aka LondonShark)(londonshark)-480:
Both Sharks centres did a man job, unlike the bickering here, WO, JJ and Hougaard actually attacked the middle and often so,,,,
7 Jul 2012, 08:02 am
Where is Whitney…
Hey you said the Sharks loose trio wasn’t good enough to man up to the Bulls. You obviously forgot that it was two against three as Britney would go missing in action and yes she did… How unusual…
7 Jul 2012, 08:04 am
Tac please come and give your unbisased take on the game…
7 Jul 2012, 08:06 am
@Gumboots(Gumboots)-485: Those who I refer to know who they are
I think their Stormers obsession gets in the way of any reasonable thinking at times. I’m just relieved that the Sharks realised the Stormers are SA’s best hope in this tournament. They did what they did last night for us……..
7 Jul 2012, 08:07 am
@The Sharks rugby pedigree is packaged by Mad Eye Productions.(The Sharks rugby pedigree is packaged as dog food)-489:
Yes they did! I raise my glass to them…
I know who you referring too…
7 Jul 2012, 08:08 am
@The Sharks rugby pedigree is packaged by Mad Eye Productions.(The Sharks rugby pedigree is packaged as dog food)-489: J Potgieter and Spies…..If there has been a more woeful display from 2 loosies in the tournament thus far, I would like someone to name the game.
But, sure as Sunday – their names will be there come rugby championship, and that alone makes me feel physically sick.
7 Jul 2012, 08:08 am
@Hondo(Hondo)-483: I am on here allot, hardly ever comment, but know enough to realize you dislike any player that’s not Lilly white. Mvovu has always given it his all – get on with life man!
7 Jul 2012, 08:10 am
@NZINCHINA(NZINCHINA)-476:
hehehe…
i’m not saying bye-bye anyone… there have been plenty of significant upsets this season so i will not be taking anything for granted…
bulls will bounce back i have no doubt…
this could still go any which way but the expected…
7 Jul 2012, 08:17 am
@ufo(ufo)-493: Anything can still happen. For us though – the pressure has been taken off somewhat (which is not necessarily a good thing, as it might have been interesting to see what we would have done today if the Bulls had got 5 out of the game: would we have gone for broke, or the 4 point win?)
I still think the boys should go for broke today – we have a real chance of topping the log, and if it backfires, we have the safety net in place courtesy of the Sharks.
7 Jul 2012, 08:19 am
As Shark supporters we are not oblivious to the fact that we are our own worst enemies, hot one week, not so the next. I believe Plum is good coach, but he is not great, definitely not that far off AC and Ludeke . I would love to see what a guy like Mallet can do with this team with Campo coming back for another stint as backline coach. Potentially, we are the best team in the SA conference, hands down!
7 Jul 2012, 08:19 am
As we nearly always do speak about these things on keo with all our surfing and diving buds…
another shark attack… in the cape… but not fatal thank goodness…
Rico Menezies, NSRI Stilbaai station commander, said:
“At 17h15 on the afternoon of Friday, 06th July, NSRI Stilbaai volunteer sea rescue duty crew and the SA Police Force and Cape Nature, were activated following reports of a man bitten by a shark while surfing at Sandstrand (Sand Beach), Jongensfontein, 20 kilometers up the coast from Stilbaai – North East of Cape Town, approximately half way between Cape Town and Mossel Bay.
“NSRI Stilbaai volunteer sea rescue duty crew, Cape Nature and Police responded to the scene where the victim was found on the beach suffering two serious lacerations to his left upper leg and serious lacerations to his left knee with serious blood loss but conscious.
“NSRI Stillbaai medics and local doctor, dr. Pieter Joubert, treated the man on-scene, stabilizing him using tournique bandaging and intravenous fluid replacement, to compensate for massive blood loss, and oxygen therapy, and an ER24 ambulance was summoned and the patient has been transported to hospital in a serious but stable condition.
“He was surfing with friends and we believe that his fellow surfers, who reportedly witnessed the incident, removed him from the water.
“Initial estimates, based on the eye-witness accounts, and from the bite marks we estimate the shark to have been between 4 and 4.5 meters but the species of shark is not yet confirmed.
“The victim, 29 year old Jacque Mostert, from Eldorado Park, Centurion, Gauteng, was on holiday with friends.
“The parents of the victim, in Centurion, have been informed and they are reassured that their son is doing well and in good care.”
7 Jul 2012, 08:20 am
and this update…
NSRI spoke to Jacques Mostert, 29, from Centurion, this morning by telephone and he is in good spirits and recovering well in a Mossel Bay hospital.
He told us that his friend had exited the water while they were surfing and on his way out of the surf he was circled by a shark which bit him and he managed to swim out of the surf after being bitten and his friends ran into the water to help him out of the water before raising the alarm.
Hospital staff and doctors at Life Bayview hospital in Mossel Bay stitched his wounds last night and he remains in hospital receiving treatment but he is out of danger.
7 Jul 2012, 08:23 am
@coma(coma)-495: I would put it this way: You have an extremely talented pool of players, who as a team SHOULD always be right up there, near the top.
Until your consistency is sorted out, you have an obvious weakness, which costs you dearly on a regular basis. This means – you are not the best, because the best still win: even when they dish up utter garbage on the field.
7 Jul 2012, 08:24 am
@The Sharks rugby pedigree is packaged by Mad Eye Productions.(The Sharks rugby pedigree is packaged as dog food)-494:
i don’t believe the pressure is off really…
but i do agree that the guys should go for broke today and get the bonus point to try and top the log… a home final would be a great bonus if we are to really win this thing…
but a long way to go in terms of getting there… IF we get there…
got the cheetahs to worry about today… that’s all i’m looking at…
7 Jul 2012, 08:25 am
@coma(coma)-495:
I agree with you that the Sharks team on paper is good. Individually they are very good players. The problem is that they don’t always gell as a team. Rugby is a team sport and you need to gell week in and week out. The Lions Currie Cup team of last year was an example of a team that gelled with no real stars. They do have the potential to be the best no doubt.
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