The Vodacom Bulls gave themselves the best possible chance of topping the Vodacom United Rugby Championship log with a tense, four-try 26-14 win over a tough Hollywoodbets Sharks team in Durban on Saturday.
With the win the Bulls move temporarily to the top of the log, but will need to wait for the result of the Munster-Ulster derby before they know if they will have the rest of the championship at their Loftus Versfeld base.
The fourth and final crucial try came as replacement hooker Akker van der Merwe went over off the back of an exceptional rolling maul try and gave them the bonus point that would put them above fellow top four teams Glasgow Warriors and Leinster.
Munster can claim the top spot if they win with a bonus point. The Bulls have a positive points differential of 206, as opposed to Munster’s 160 before the latter started their game.
The win also gives the Bulls their first South African shield title, after the DHL Stormers claimed the trophy as the best South African franchise in the opening two seasons of the URC.
Depending on where Munster finish, the Bulls can’t finish outside the top two and will cap a season of immense improvement for Jake White’s side.
Their opposition in the quarterfinals will be either the Emirates Lions or Ospreys, depending on who finishes eighth - if the Bulls finish top, or Ulster, if they finish second on the log.
LITMUS TEST
Besides the result, the victory was an important litmus test for the Bulls, as they had everything to lose in Durban against a Sharks side that had nothing riding on the game.
But with a powerful scrum, that dominated a World Cup winning front row, and a lineout that made Bongi Mbonambi’s throw ins a misery, the Bulls dismantled the Sharks for most of the game.
And yet, thanks to a plethora of handling errors in the Durban weather, they simply couldn’t get away and at one point late in the game it even seemed as if the Sharks might steal a victory against the run of play.
In the end the Bulls got the result they wanted, and the game they wanted as they were tested to the hilt, and came away with the points they needed.
The DHL Stormers are dethroned as the best #VURC team in South Africa 👑 pic.twitter.com/T9QTTETaUs
— SuperSport Rugby (@SSRugby) June 1, 2024
WORRYING FACTOR
A worrying factor though, for the Springbok coaches, was the amount of players who had niggles during the game - Kurt-Lee Arendse, Canan Moodie, Mbonambi and others were all down at times but none looked overly serious. There will be a hope that the damage isn’t permanent after such a bruising contest. Marco van Staden also left the field with an unknown injury.
The Bulls knew they were in for a battle as the EPCR Challenge Cup winners started exceptionally well in front of their home crowd. In fact, for most of the first half the Bulls were starved of ball, and had to do with less than 40 per cent territory and under half of the possession as well.
MENTAL ATTITUDE
Their mental attitude was exceptional, as they held out, for the most part, other than a mistake from a lineout that gifted the Sharks their opening try.
Johan Grobbelaar’s overthrow was spilt backwards towards the line and Gerhard Steenekamp, who was sensational in the setpiece, tried to scoop the ball to a teammate, succeeding only in putting it in the path of Siya Masuku, who never hesitated and scored between the posts.
It was Embrose Papier who kickstarted the Bulls counter, delaying a pass for just long enough for a gap to open up and then stormed through the hole to start a nine-phase team try that saw David Kriel eventually cross the whitewash for the try.
The Bulls added a second in the first half with a rolling maul try that twisted and turned and opened up space for Grobbelaar to go through and score.
ARM WRESTLE
The second half became a real arm wrestle as the Bulls' mistakes consistently stopped them from adding to their score. Until Akker van der Merwe came on, and burrowed his way over from another rolling maul in the 55th minute.
The Sharks found some life and some desperate defence was needed to keep them out for long periods, but Dylan Richardson’s try in the 67th minute after attack that stretched the Bulls defence brough the Sharks within five points and gave them more than enough hope that they could steal the game.
The Bulls buckled down and realised time was running out, forcing three penalties to set up the lineout that allowed Van der Merwe to weave his way through bodies again and surge over untouched.
And give his side the crucial win and bonus point they needed.
SCORERS
Hollywoodbets Sharks - tries: Siya Masuku, Dylan Richardson. Conversions: Masuku (2)
Vodacom Bulls - tries: David Kriel, Johan Grobbelaar, Akker van der Merwe (2), Conversions: Johan Goosen (2), Chris Smith.