Cape Town — The early loss of Morné Steyn proved to be too much of a hurdle to overcome for the Bulls as the Sharks held on for a 29-22 United Championship bonus-point victory at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday.
The Pretoria side never gave up, and had a number of try-scoring opportunities in the second half, but lacked the precision to round off until it was too late, as the Durbanites got back on track following a draw and a defeat to the Stormers.
Veteran flyhalf Steyn was shown a red card by referee AJ Jacobs for a late and dangerous tackle around the neck on Sharks captain Lukhanyo Am in the 11th minute. It was totally out of character for Steyn, who had a bit of a swinging arm as he got to grips with his former Springbok teammate.
The Bulls battled to recover immediately from the shock of losing Steyn, with the Sharks taking full advantage a minute later, with flank Henco Venter charging around from a lineout drive and brushing off Madosh Tambwe to score.
Steyn’s departure soon had an impact on the Bulls, with coach Jake White bringing on Chris Smith to call the shots at pivot and sacrificing centre Lionel Mapoe.
The Bulls forwards managed to get stuck into their more illustrious opponents at the end of the first quarter, and twice wasted scoring chances.
Bok captain Siya Kolisi created a try-saving turnover on the Sharks line, and soon after that, Phepsi Buthelezi forced a knock-on from Johan Grobbelaar as the Bulls hooker tried to stretch over the line.
The visitors’ Bok-laden pack gradually regained the upper hand in the physical exchanges, and it paid off for Am’s team as hooker Bongi Mbonambi stormed away from a maul to dot down in the 28th minute.
The game seemed to be over as a contest at 14-0 to the Sharks, and they nearly got a third five-pointer before halftime, before Bulls No 8 Elrigh Louw saved the day with a breakdown penalty.
Venter, though, was yellow-carded for repeated infringements before the break, and the Bulls hit back as wing Cornal Hendricks finished smartly in the right-hand corner.
But from the resultant kickoff, the Bulls’ lack of concentration proved costly, with Am pulling off a remarkable catch close to touchline and then putting through a grubber kick that he re-gathered for a superb solo try.
It was a long road back at 19-5 down at halftime, but the Bulls came out firing for the second half, and captain Marcell Coetzee spun around to score after a number of charges at the line.
Just when it appeared as if the home side were back in the game, an unforced error would halt their momentum, while the Sharks forwards won a few scrum penalties as well to relieve the pressure.
The Sharks claimed their fourth try and the bonus point in the 58th minute through Makazole Mapimpi, after Buthelezi broke off the back of a scrum.
A few minutes later, though, substitute scrumhalf Grant Williams received a red card for leading with his head and making contact with the face of Smith, who had to go off on a stretcher.
That evened things up and allowed the Bulls to launch a thrilling fightback in the final quarter, with Simphiwe Matanzima and Tambwe dotting down to set up a tense finale.
But the Sharks survived the late onslaught, and Curwin Bosch slotted a penalty on the hooter to secure the victory.
Points-Scorers
Bulls 22 – Tries: Cornal Hendricks, Marcell Coetzee, Simphiwe Matanzima, Madosh Tambwe. Conversions: Chris Smith (1).
Sharks 29 – Tries: Henco Venter, Bongi Mbonambi, Lukhanyo Am, Makazole Mapimpi. Conversions: Tito Bonilla (2), Curwin Bosch (1). Penalty: Bosch (1).
IOL Sport