A late try by Springbok winger Edwill van der Merwe secured a massive 21-12 victory for the Hollywoodbets Sharks over the Vodacom Bulls in their Vodacom United Rugby Championship derby in Durban on Saturday night.
The late-game slump trend for the Bulls continued as they surrendered the lead and now have lost their fifth game in a row, compounding the pressure on new coach Johan Ackermann.
The opposite is true for new Sharks coach JP Pietersen, who will be relieved in ending on the right side of a contest that will lift the Sharks from their lowly 15th position at the start of this match.
The Bulls went into the last 20 minutes 14-12 in the lead, thanks to four penalties from Springbok flyhalf Handre Pollard, but while it may sound oversimplified, the change of personnel from both sides changed the complexion of the game.
The Sharks brought on Springbok halfback Jaden Hendrikse, who set up Van der Merwe’s try with a chip kick over the ruck that flummoxed the defence for the winger to pounce. Hendrikse also grabbed the last gasp chip the Bulls put up at the end to try and get a bonus point, and was certainly a super-sub.
By contrast, the Bulls lost momentum when they put on their subs, and especially when they lost their Springbok front row, which gave them front-foot ball and dominated the scrum, winning a penalty almost at will.
DEMOLISHED SCRUM
The Sharks scrum was so demolished in the first hour that it was hard to see how referee Griffon Colby didn’t even give their front row a warning, but given that both sides struggled with his interpretations of the game, it wasn’t a surprise.
Still, it was a game that is traditionally never a classic - thanks to the humid and slippery conditions that Durban rugby in December seems to offer. Both sides looked like they were bereft of confidence and were more desperate than anything else not to lose.
The pressure on the Bulls will be even more now. Their record of conceding 46 tries in nine games - there were only three tries on the night and all for the Sharks - is close to the worst in the competition. Ackermann may have had a rough hand dealt to him to start the season, but last season’s finalists are now bordering on a crisis, and their next game is against the log leaders, the DHL Stormers in Cape Town on January 3, hardly a match to take away the pressure.
The decision by the Bulls to go for Ackermann but keep the assistant coaches that clashed with Jake White was always a strange one, and somehow at the moment it isn’t gelling, and the Bulls seem to fall off the game in the last quarter.
It happened like that against Glasgow, the Lions, Bordeaux, Northampton and now against the Sharks and while Ackermann deserves sympathy for his plight, it does raise questions about firing a coach who had taken them to two finals and giving the assistant coaches and players an inordinate amount of power.
POSITIVES FOR PIETERSEN
Luckily for the Bulls, the season is still long, and if there is enough patience, Ackermann will see a bit of light at the end of the tunnel.
For Pietersen, the light is already here. The Sharks may have problems in the setpiece, but they disrupted the Bulls' lineout exceptionally well, while their backline is one of the most potent in the competition. The victory over Saracens and the Bulls will build momentum, and they will be confident ahead of facing the Lions.
And the fact that in the last two games they have battled to a win, despite their own shortcomings, shows character, and Pietersen will be drumming that home.
The stats will show the Sharks dominated possession and territory, but in reality, it felt the opposite. While they seemed to dominate the aerial battle, the game felt a lot more even, and only when the Sharks' bench came on did the momentum shift their way.
The Sharks' first try came against the run of play, as the Bulls broke and Elrigh Louw put Jeandre Rudolph through a hole. The recycled ball was passed into the hands of Hakeem Kunene, who sprinted 70 metres to score.
The second came late in the game as the Bulls received back-to-back penalties and were five metres from their own line. A surge got them close to the line, and Siya Kolisi dived over to put his side into the lead.
Then came the Jaden Hendrikse kick and Van der Merwe’s pounce, and the game was done. Durban was in a festive mood, and the sold-out stadium started dancing. But for the Bulls, the mood was a lot more sombre, especially with injuries to Willie le Roux and Cobus Wiese adding to the problems Ackermann has to face.
SCORERS
Hollywoodbets Sharks - tries: Hakeem Kunene, Siya Kolisi, Edwill van der Merwe. Conversions: Jordan Hendrikse, George Whitehead (2).
Vodacom Bulls - penalties: Handre Pollard (4)