Vodacom Bulls flyhalf Chris Smith sent an injury-time drop goal sailing through the posts to send his side into the Vodacom United Rugby Championship semifinals with the tightest of margins in a 30-27 win over the Cell C Sharks at Loftus on Saturday.
In an epic slugfest for the ages, where both sides never let up on each other, it was going to take something special to win a match that was so evenly poised and so tense throughout.
In the end that something special came before Smith’s drop goal - in a turnover by captain Marcell Coetzee as the Sharks were marching towards their line.
Smith’s drop goal will garner the headlines and for good reason - it send the 22 394 fans that turned up at Loftus into rapture and his team-mates into a celebration as if they had won a final.
But it was Coetzee’s turnover, which came after the Sharks had rallied back from 27-13 down, scored two tries and had swung the momentum and the refs eye it seemed in their favour to draw level, that made the crucial difference.
Just before the turnover the Sharks looked as if they were heading for the tryline again.
But the turnover came at the right moment, and the ensuing lineout downfield gave the Bulls the chance to snatch the game.
They made heavy work of it, using the pick and go to good effect to rack up the phases. But the Sharks were defending as if their lives defended on it, and the Bulls were making little progress.
Slowly the poison was taking effect and as Smith lined up behind the ruck for the crucial drop goal attempt, the Sharks crept closer.
It took another phase, then another, for the Bulls needed to be sure. And finally when Embrose Papier bulleted the ball into his hands, Smith made no mistake and the ball sailed between the uprights to end a gruelling contest.
SMALL MARGINS AND MISSED CHANCES
But while this game may have been won and lost it underlined the desperate need for fans again at rugby games, and clashes that mean something. For many who turned up in the winter sun it would be well worth it. It was a clash for the ages. And the ending served it well.
The strange way the championship works means no matter who wins in Dublin, the Bulls will play away from home in the semifinal next week and after this bruising clash, that won’t be an easy task.
And while the Bulls claimed the win, the Sharks were true championship contenders, with the pedigree of Makazole Mapimpi, Lukhanyo Am, Bongi Mbonambi, Phepsi Buthelezi and Thomas du Toit shining in their defeat.
In the end it was the small moments that made the difference, and the Sharks will look back on wayward passes and knock-ons at crucial times when they were in the Bulls red zone that probably cost them the game.
For the Bulls their battle has been a tough one and the fact they won this despite being under the pump late in the second half will serve them well. It will be lessons learnt underneath the smiles that board the flight this week for the semi.
But when the 85 minutes will be analysed by both sides this week when the dust has settled it will underline just how thin the margin between winning and losing was and how both sides missed chances to settle the encounter.
It will come back as a game where those watching got not only their money's worth, but also a reminder of the glory and cruelty of sport, and how it enthralls us all.
On the park the Sharks could have made more of their chances in the first half, and looked as if they were going to stumble when the Bulls pulled away in the second, but their quality shone through to send the game into the ending it deserved.
The match started with the Sharks dominating, and putting the first points on the board through Curwin Bosch’s boot.
But the Bulls poached a try against the run of play, as Canan Moodie intercepted, got away from the defender and then grubbered downfield for a straight sprint with Mapimpi.
MOMENTUM SHIFT
As they got close to the line, Mapimpi shouldered him out of the way and the ball bounced for a chasing Madosh Tambwe to grab the try. If he missed it would have probably been a try in any case for Mapimpi’s push.
The Sharks hit right back to retake the lead as Bongi Mbonambi rumbled over from the back of a maul and while both sides had several further chances as they headed towards halftime, it was the boots of Smith and Bosch that left matters at 13-all at the break.
The Bulls upped the ante early in the second half, as they took advantage of an overturned penalty, kicked to the corner and drove towards the Sharks line.
First it was Elrigh Louw and then Ruan Nortje that made metres and eventually after all the pressure a flying Coetzee added another try by going just a bit wider to beat the stretched defence.
The Bulls added another five minutes later, as a downfield kick caught Mapimpi in possession and the winger was forced out. Their trademark pick and go hammered the Sharks defence until the perfect moment when the ball was sent wide and Cornal Hendricks cut back inside to score.
It looked as if the Bulls would cruise to the win, but the momentum shift turned back the Sharks way.
A massive run by Phepsi Buthelezi got them on the front foot after a good lineout maul. The Bulls scrambled well but Mapimpi’s class shone through as he cut back to wrong foot three defenders and be stopped short of the line. It was the easiest of dives for Jaden Hendrikse to cut the lead.
The score-levelling pass was just as good to watch as twice Am used short pop passes to find Mapimpi and Sikhumbuzo Notshe, with the latter eventually finding enough space to surge towards the line.
It seemed like the slugfest would end in a draw, and extra time would be needed. But then Coetzee’s turnover woke the Loftus crowd up and the hum that was so silent for two long years started to become a fervent drone. The crowd rose behind the Bulls and their players didn’t disappoint.
All that was left was a finish that would inspire a thousand braai fire stories.
And Smith, in the moment that mattered, didn’t disappoint.
SCORERS
Vodacom Bulls - tries: Madosh Tambwe, Marcell Coetzee, Cornal Hendricks. Conversions: Chris Smith (3). Penalties: Chris Smith (2). Drop goal: Smith
Cell C Sharks - tries: Bongi Mbonambi, Jaden Hendrikse, Sikhumbuzo Notshe. Conversions: Curwin Bosch (3). Penalties: Bosch (2).