Hollywoodbets Sharks coach John Plumtree has often lamented the fact he has yet to work with his full strength pack so he will feel a point was proved when his team broke their Vodacom United Rugby Championship losing sequence with a good 22-12 victory over Ulster in Durban.
It was a much needed positive result for Plumtree and the Sharks but it will be a win that won’t just be celebrated by Durbanites as it is now incumbent upon the DHL Stormers and to a lesser extent the Vodacom Bulls to take advantage of Ulster’s loss later in the day.
Ulster were tied fourth going into the match so the loss will have dented their strong challenge for a top four finish.
It was a more emphatic win for the Sharks than the end scoreline might indicate, with the Sharks retaining their habit of making elementary errors in the red zone that prevented them from converting the pressure they were applying, particularly towards the end of a first half where towards the end the Sharks looked to be getting stronger.
A 𝙃𝙐𝙂𝙀 win for @sharksrugby! 🥳
— Vodacom United Rugby Championship (URC) (@URCOfficial_RSA) March 23, 2024
A hard fought and well deserved victory.@vodacom #URC | #SHAvULS pic.twitter.com/XHH2IiB6Nd
STARTING PROPS WERE GOOD TOO
Talking of errors though, particularly the handling variety, it always needs to be noted on humid days in Durban that the ball does become like a cake of soap.
Yes, the Sharks train in those conditions, but no amount of training can make your handling perfect when the temperature is 28 degrees and the humidity index stands at 69 per cent.
Those certainly don’t equate to conditions the Ulster players should be used to, so while it contributed to the Sharks’ error rate and the scrappiness of the game, particularly before halftime, they arguably did aid the Sharks.
Towards the end the hosts, boosted by the arrival of Bok World Cup-winning props Ox Nche and Vincent Koch on the field, were completely dominant as their opponents flagged in the heat and humidity.
Kock was making his debut for the Sharks and as it turned out he together with Nche was instrumental in forcing a penalty from his first ever scrum in Sharks colours, but it would be remiss to mention the two stars without referring to the telling contributions of the starting props Ntuthuko Mchunu and Hanro Jacobs.
Apart from giving the Sharks a telling advantage in the scrums, both of them showed up well in general play.
Mchunu, playing his 50th game at this level for the Sharks, made the thrust that created the momentum and then Jacobs was up to put in the pass to Makazole Mapimpi that led to the first second Sharks try six minutes into the second half.
It was the kind of interplay between backs and forwards that coach Plumtree will have been asking for, with Mapimpi’s little dink kick being chased down by wing Eduan Keyter.
Now THAT is some beautiful rugby. @sharksrugby lead as Eduan Keyter finishes a delightful move 😍@vodacom #URC | #SHAvULS pic.twitter.com/NAMi8qoh8g
— Vodacom United Rugby Championship (URC) (@URCOfficial_RSA) March 23, 2024
Ulster had scored a slightly fortunate earlier try - to me it looked like Lukhanyo Am had got in under the ball when Harry Sheridan drove over - to take a 7-0 lead but Phepsi Buthelezi had crossed in the 27th minute to equalise the scores with the conversion from the impressive flyhalf Siya Masuku and the Sharks were never headed again.
TWO IMPRESSIVE NEWCOMERS
Both those first two tries featured two names playing a pivotal role that weren’t big parts of the mix until the recent loss to the Emirates Lions in Johannesburg.
The first half try was the product of a brilliant long-range attack from turnover ball near their own line, with Aphelele Fassi’s kick ahead showcasing the pace of new centre Ethan Hooker, an old boy of Westville Boys High School.
Hooker easily won the race but was then unable to pick up his own kick ahead, only for Buthelezi, who was playing No 8 due to a second minute injury that saw George Cronje stretchered from the field, to come round to score.
The Sharks did make a mess of what should have been a couple of scoring opportunities in the last minutes of the half, including an overthrow at an attacking lineout, but they would have felt when they went to halftime at 7-all that they were taking control.
It was up to them to start well in the second half which they did with the aforementioned Keyter try, recruited from Griquas two years ago but who has had his opportunities in Durban limited by a long-term injury layoff. Both he and Hooker made good ground with ball in hand and look like they belong at this level.
Not that it was just the Sharks’ attacking game that impressed. There was also some good defensive work in the first half, and some crucial turnovers on the ground from the likes of skipper Lukhanyo Am and also Eben Etzebeth, while the maul defence was impressive against an Ulster team that has a good driving maul conversion rate in the red zone.
Bok 🆚 Bok = A Bok Sandwich 🥪
— Vodacom United Rugby Championship (URC) (@URCOfficial_RSA) March 23, 2024
🦈 @SharksRugby’s Eben Etzebeth & Bongi Mbonambi 🆚 @UlsterRugby’s Steven Kitshoff ⚪️@Vodacom #URC | #SHAvULS pic.twitter.com/Okyy1P4fca
Ulster were held up on a few occasions when they drove early on, although the first time that happened they did keep the ball alive and the attack going for Sheridan’s try.
SOFT SCORE
A Masuku penalty edged the Sharks into a 10 point lead seven minutes after the Keyter try, but Ulster hit back with a soft score which might have been disallowed had the TMO had the benefit of a television angle we only got to see once the debate had been settled.
Certainly it looked like there was an Ulster hand in the ruck from which the ball burst free for Kieran Treadwell to force his way over.
You always got the sense though that this wasn’t going to be a day when the determined Sharks were going to be denied and when Bongi Mbonambi dotted down from a forward drive with 12 minutes to go that was pretty much game set and match.
At the time it was 14 Sharks against 13 Ulster players after what was becoming a bad tempered atmosphere broke out into a brawl.
It was all a bit of a mess and while the high tackle that saw Ulster captain Iain Henderson yellow carded was obvious it was less clear why the Sharks’ Vincent Tshituka, who also had a good game, had to join him in the naughty chair, and for that matter centre James Hume.
Scores
Hollywoodbets Sharks 22 - Tries: Phepsi Buthelezi, Eduan Keyter and Bongi Mbonambi; Conversions: Siya Masuku 2; Penalty: Siya Masuku.
Ulster 12 - Tries: Harry Sheridan and Treadwell; Conversion: John Cooney.