The Sharks defied conventional rugby wisdom at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday, securing a remarkable 29-19 victory against the Bulls despite being dominated in the set-piece and reduced to 12 men at one point.
The bonus-point win, achieved through clinical counter-attacking and resolute defence, moves them within touching distance of their rivals in the United Rugby Championship standings and capitalises on a weekend where other results went their way.
Despite missing several Springboks including Ox Nche, Eben Etzebeth, and Siya Kolisi, the visitors showed tremendous character to weather an early storm and capitalise on the Bulls’ profligacy. The match began with intense forward exchanges, and it was the Bulls who drew first blood when loosehead prop Jan-Hendrik Wessels crashed over, with Willie le Roux adding the conversion.
The Sharks responded swiftly through Ethan Hooker, who finished off a well-worked backline move. Jordan Hendrikse’s conversion levelled the scores, and he later added a penalty to give the visitors a slender 10-7 lead at the break. It was a half marked by the Bulls’ set-piece dominance but also their inability to convert territory into points, with David Kriel hitting the upright with a penalty attempt.
The Bulls suffered an early setback when Willie le Roux was shown a yellow card for playing the man from an offside position. However, they regained momentum in the second half as Johan Grobbelaar powered over from a rolling maul. Yet their lead would prove short-lived.
The match’s most dramatic phase unfolded as the Sharks were reduced to 12 men, with Jason Jenkins, Corné Rahl, and Ntuthuko Mchunu all shown yellow cards for repeated infringements. The Bulls had multiple opportunities during this period but couldn’t capitalise on their numerical advantage.
Instead, it was the Sharks who struck decisively against the run of play. Jurenzo Julius carved through the Bulls’ defence, setting up Jordan Hendrikse for a magnificent try. The visitors then delivered a devastating double blow – first through Tino Mavesere, who showed remarkable opportunism to scoop up a loose ball and sprint 65 metres to score, followed by Yaw Penxe, who pounced on confusion between Bulls duo Devon Williams and Sergeal Petersen to gather a bouncing ball and cross the line.
The Bulls mounted a late comeback attempt, with Grobbelaar securing his second try, but it proved too little too late. The conversion from Boeta Chamberlain could only reduce the final margin to 29-19.
In a game of stark contrasts, the Bulls dominated the set-piece and enjoyed significant territorial advantage but struggled to breach the Sharks’ defensive line. The visitors, meanwhile, demonstrated clinical finishing, turning their rare visits to Bulls territory into points through pace and opportunism.
The victory was made more remarkable by the early loss of Springbok prop Trevor Nyakane to injury, while fellow Bok Bongi Mbonambi also had to leave the field after showing signs of discomfort. Despite these setbacks, and a mounting penalty count against them, the Sharks’ defensive resolve never wavered.
Sharks captain Vincent Tshituka embodied his team’s resilience after the match: “I am lost for words. Bulls-Sharks games of late have been a spectacle to say the least. It just shows what the team means to the boys. It’s an honour and a privilege to play for the Sharks and I think the boys showed that on the field.”
Reflecting on the period with multiple yellow cards, Tshituka added: “It was incredibly tough. The biggest thing was just to keep cool heads. A lot of things weren’t going our way, but it’s all about the mindset. You can’t undo what has been done, you focus on the next job and complete the next job. We just pulled together.”
Man of the Match Tinotenda Maversere, who topped the tackle count with 17 and scored a spectacular try, was equally effusive: “It was a team effort. Everyone was on the same page, everyone bought in. We had a couple of yellow cards, but showed character more than anything. We are heading in the right direction. It’s really special.”
Bulls captain Reinhardt Ludwig was frank in his assessment: “I am definitely disappointed. We dominated set-piece, we were good at scrum time, put them under pressure in the maul, but they won the scraps all the time. Credit to the Sharks, well done. But there is still a lot to play for. In the URC, anything can happen.”
Bulls coach Jake White cut a sombre figure post-match, reflecting on his team’s inability to contain the Sharks’ pace. “They’ve got like sevens rugby players at the back there, and once they made line-breaks, it was not like we could catch them,” he said. “There is no substitute for speed… That’s the frustrating thing, because once they got behind us on a line-break, we generally have been good enough to catch them from behind.”
White also acknowledged his team’s wastefulness in attack: “It is a concern because when you play against these teams, they don’t give you freebies. If you get there, you’ve got to take that chance.”
For the Sharks, backline coach Dave Williams praised his team’s resilience. “The Sharks as an organisation is a united front, and we have been building a squad that can qualify for playoffs and wins tournaments,” he said. “Being able to utilise the whole squad is important to the team’s success, and the group that travelled to Pretoria had a lot of belief.”
Williams was particularly impressed with how his team handled their period with multiple players in the sin bin: “We had those three yellow cards, but the fight and persistence we showed in that period was amazing. From the beginning of the season, our goal has been to make the playoffs and win the quarter-finals, semi-finals and final – and this game was part of our journey to that end.”
The victory marks the Sharks’ second win over the Bulls this season, following their 20-17 triumph at Kings Park in December. The result leaves the Sharks just one point behind the third-placed Bulls, with both teams having won seven of their ten fixtures this season.
