Steyn: Twenty-two points
An immense defensive showing from the Bulls saw the men from Pretoria claim an invaluable 32-23 win over the Sharks.
In what was a scrappy encounter, the difference between the two teams was clear to see; where the Sharks bumbled forward the Bulls were clinical, making use of whatever possession came their way.
One of the Sharks' most effective tactics thus far this season has been using Willem Alberts and since his return from injury, Jean Deysel, as battering rams. On Saturday the Bulls rendered this largely ineffective, with dedicated, accurate defence putting a stop to the duo's surges before they started.
The Sharks' line-outs were an unadulterated mess, with Bismarck du Plessis missing his jumpers time after time. With the all-Springbok front row failing to dominate both in the tight and the loose, the Sharks were unable to build a suitable platform from which the backs could attack.
Hamstrung by persistent handling errors the home side couldn't string the phases together and the Bulls made them pay for their lack of control with the boot of Morne Steyn punishing the Sharks on countless occasions.
Francois Hougaard crossed for the first of the Bulls' two tries in the eighth minute, and it came as a result of an error at line-out time from the Sharks. Inside his own 22, Du Plessis couldn't find his jumper, the loose ball was snapped up by Steyn and recycled to Hougaard, who shrugged off the attentions of Alberts to dot down under the posts.
Missed tackles again cost the home side in the fifteenth minute when Dean Greyling busted through the Sharks midfield before Bakkies Botha dived over from the base of the resulting ruck. It was ugly rugby from the men in black but the Bulls deserved credit for taking their chances.
Patrick Lambie kicked over a penalty on either side of the two tries but with Steyn adding a penalty of his own as well as drop goal, the Bulls headed into the break with a well deserved seventeen-point lead.
As was the case in the first forty, it was Steyn who opened the scoring with an early penalty after the Sharks were penalised at scrum time.
But it was the Sharks who began to show glimpses of class and they were rewarded in the 54th minute, with Bismarck du Plessis diving over the whitewash after McLeod had gone close after taking a quick tap.
The Sharks began to control the game more but were their own worst enemy, with unforced errors preventing them from making the most of their chances.
With Steyn adding two penalties in the final quarter to Lambie's one, the Bulls maintained a healthy advantage. As such, an Adrian Jacobs try six minutes from time was not enough to give the visitors too much to worry about in the final stages.
Lambie missed a kickable penalty after the hooter to ensure the Sharks would not be picking up a late bonus point, capping off what was a miserable night for the men from Durban. Conversely, the Bulls are looking stronger and stronger ever week and are at last starting to look like the defending Super Rugby champions.
The scorers:
For the Sharks:
Tries: B du Plessis, Jacobs
Con: Lambie 2
Pen: Lambie 3
For the Bulls:
Tries: Hougaard, B Botha
Con: Steyn 2
Pen:Steyn 5
Drop: Steyn
Sharks: 15 Louis Ludik, 14 Odwa Ndungane, 13 Stefan Terblanche (c), 12 Meyer Bosman, 11 JP Pietersen, 10 Patrick Lambie, 9 Charl McLeod, 8 Willem Alberts, 7 Jean Deysel, 6 Jacques Botes, 5 Alistair Hargreaves, 4 Steven Sykes, 3 Jannie du Plessis, 2 Bismarck du Plessis, 1 Tendai Mtawarira
Replacements: 16 Craig Burden, 17 Eugene van Staden,18 Gerhard Mostert, 19 Marcell Coetzee, 20 Conrad Hoffmann, 21 Adrian Jacobs, 22 Lwazi Mvovo.
Bulls: 15 Zane Kirchner, 14 Bjorn Basson, 13 Jaco Pretorius, 12 Wynand Olivier, 11 Francois Hougaard, 10 Morné Steyn, 9 Fourie du Preez, 8 Pierre Spies, 7 Dewald Potgieter, 6 Deon Stegmann, 5 Victor Matfield (c), 4 Bakkies Botha, 3 Werner Kruger, 2 Chiliboy Ralepelle, 1 Dean Greyling.
Replacements: 16 Gary Botha, 17 Rossouw de Klerk, 18 Flip van der Merwe, 19 Danie Rossouw, 20 Derick Kuün, 21 Francois Brummer, 22 Gerhard van den Heever.
Referee: Bryce Lawrence (New Zealand)
Comments
Ramage says...
Trinats you better stay up with the Bro-in-laws next week and week after and watch first the Sharks then the Bulls end the hopes of the Waratahs for this season (once again). Im sure with the teams winning you better stack up on the 4xs (beer for non Queenslanders) cos Im sure they will have something to celebrate.
Posted 15:41 22nd May 2011
martinmarais78 says...
Same old Super season for the Sharks... Get rid of your foreign Kiwi coach and players and start growing talent from your own pool of youngsters that may just provide you with real passion that is not based on money! Well done to the Bulls, bloody boring but efficient game plan with Morne as pivot.
Posted 08:49 22nd May 2011
Ramage says...
Well what a game and an expected result for the Bulls are hitting their straps, but is it too late? We shall see. Hope you watched this game Trinats for as a local derby, this was no schoolboy romp. The intensity and passion was there for all to see not an inch given or received. Just about everything turned to jelly for the Sharks as the Bulls outmuscled them and thoroughly deserved their win. Compare this to the limp schoolboy affair dished up to the supporters and viewers in the game at Perth. What a disgrace. I wonder if the Bulls and the Sharks had a similar scoreline they would have been happy in finishing the game in the same way as Giteau did in raising the white flag. I feel passion and lack of it was there for all to see in both games. To the Bulls and Sharks thanks for such a great game. There are some more to come and a rematch to look forward to.
Posted 05:26 22nd May 2011
cayzam says...
Say what you will about John Smit, he rarely misses his jumpers. Bismark is a beast in the loose and one of the strongest men in world rugby, and I love watching him play, but he does have days when he couldn't hit his own arse with a banjo. Has anyone else noticed how badly Jannie is playing these days? - dropping a lot of balls, falling off tackles, and putting in a lot of cheap shots to compensate for his poor play.
Posted 22:23 21st May 2011