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Sharks expecting physical battle against Bulls

Sharks expecting physical battle against Bulls

eNCA7 hours ago

PRETORIA - Siya Kolisi will lead the Sharks in the United Rugby Championship semi-final against the Bulls this weekend.
The Durban franchise will be aiming for nothing less than a victory when they take on their rivals at Loftus.
The Sharks are bracing for a fiery game.
"There have been some great contests, and it's the same when the Bulls come to us, so yes, there is a great rivalry between the two clubs, and hopefully that will last forever because that's what this game is about," said Sharks coach John Plumtree.

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Plumtree regrets Sharks' missed opportunities but praises Bulls' defence in their URC semi-final win
Plumtree regrets Sharks' missed opportunities but praises Bulls' defence in their URC semi-final win

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Plumtree regrets Sharks' missed opportunities but praises Bulls' defence in their URC semi-final win

Sharks coach John Plumtree rued his team's missed opportunities in Saturday night's 25-13 loss to the Bulls in the URC semi-final but praised the Bulls for keeping his team out. The Bulls are through to the final against Leinster in Dublin on Saturday. 'Overall, we were disappointed with our performance; we had plenty of opportunities to win the game,' Plumtree said. 'With five minutes to go before half-time, we put the Bulls under pressure, they conceded two yellow cards, but we were not good enough to finish them off.' Plumtree said that it should have been closer to 15-15 at half-time. Instead, the Sharks were behind 15-3. 'After half-time, we felt that if we got our game going a bit more, and played a bit flatter on the gain line, we could up the pressure. We did that and scored a few nice tries. 'Later in the game, we were not good enough. Credit to the Bulls — their defence was outstanding, especially in defending their line. They had a massive crowd cheering them on, and that made it a pretty tough nut to crack tonight.' Plumtree said the game lived up to the pre-game hype that it would be a South African clash of giants. 'It was very physical out there. There were a lot of injuries. I hope Cameron (Hanekom) is not too badly hurt,' Plumtree said of an unfortunate sight of the Bulls' No 8 being taken off the field on a golf cart. 'It was great to see so many people here tonight. We get the best URC crowds here in South Africa. 'From my side, I have loved this season with the boys to get to this point, but we are disappointed that we have not kicked on. 'We had plenty of territory and plenty of ball, but we could not convert it into points. We have to congratulate the Bulls. They were pretty good, and we were just a little bit off tonight.'

URC semifinal: Bulls beat Sharks
URC semifinal: Bulls beat Sharks

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timean hour ago

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URC semifinal: Bulls beat Sharks

The Bulls were the better team over the 80 minutes, winning most of the key moments to eventually earn a comfortable win over the Sharks. The Bulls were on point in their massive United Rugby Championship (URC) semifinal against the Sharks, as they clinched a comfortable 25-13 win at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria on Saturday night. The hosts weathered an early storm, to take a 15-3 lead into the halftime break, and after a brief Sharks fightback in the second half, pulled away again to secure a third appearance in four URC Grand Final's. They will be heading over to Dublin to face Irish heavyweights Leinster, who they stunned in Ireland in the semifinals of URC one. Here are four key talking points from their win over the Sharks: The scrum The Bulls absolutely dominated the Sharks scrum over the match. From the first two scrums the hosts set the tone, Jan-Hendrik Wessels getting the hit on Vincent Koch with the first, and Wilco Louw getting it on Ox Nche with the second. However they didn't take full advantage in the first half, getting the ball out quick from a big scrum in their own 22m, only to almost concede after an intercept pass. But they did earn a penalty in the Sharks 22m later that Johan Goosen booted over to put them 15-3 up, which they took into halftime. The second half was a much tighter scrum battle, as the Sharks got their act together and became more competitive, but the Bulls were still the better team and earned a late scrum penalty to see out the win comfortably. Early turnaround The Sharks thought they had gotten off to a dream start when the Bulls handed them an early try, after a huge scrum in their own 22m they got the ball out quickly and tried to run from their own line, David Kriel throwing an intercept for Ethan Hooker to intercept and score. But the hosts were lucky, as the TMO spotted the whole Sharks backline offside at the scrum, to chalk off the score. That allowed the Bulls to go up the other end, thanks to a stunning break from Embrose Papier off a lineout, with Sebastian de Klerk brilliantly finishing it off to put them up 7-0. De Klerk was again on hand to send a wonderful cross kick to Canan Moodie to score in the 21st minute, after Jaden Hendrikse slipped trying to clear the ball on his own line, giving the Bulls a 12-3 lead, which they turned into 15-3 at the break. Sharks comeback It was a disastrous end to the first half for the visitors. The Bulls were handed three yellow cards, to Harold Vorster for cynical play, Cameron Hanekom for a tip tackle on Siya Kolisi, and Marcell Coetzee for pulling a maul down after a warning from the ref. That saw them play with a man down from the 27th minute and two men down from the 36th to 46th minutes. That allowed the Sharks to dominate the final few minutes of the half on the Bulls tryline but they couldn't score. However they bounced back at the start of the second half, utilising the two-man advantage as Makazole Mapimpi scored on the overlap, while Ethan Hooker also worked space out wide to go in at the corner bringing it back to 15-13, but that was as good as it got as the Bulls then pulled away. Kicking woes The Sharks could say they lost the match on the kicking tee after they saw a slew of shots at goal go wide of the mark over the game, with both Hendrikse brothers missing crucial attempts at poles. Jordan was the kicker in the first half. He took three shots at goal from range, missing the first and third, while slotting the second. He also missed the conversion attempt from their first try in the second half, after which the Sharks changed kickers. But Jaden promptly missed his conversion attempt as well. On the Bulls side Johan Goosen slotted a conversion and penalty in the first half, missing one conversion from the sideline, while Keagan Johannes nailed a penalty from an angle, missed one from the side, and converted from the sideline to give them an important 25-13 lead which the held to the end.

Bulls made to sweat by Sharks as they win through to URC final with semi-final win at Loftus Versfeld
Bulls made to sweat by Sharks as they win through to URC final with semi-final win at Loftus Versfeld

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Bulls made to sweat by Sharks as they win through to URC final with semi-final win at Loftus Versfeld

SHARKS prop Ox Nche's efforts were not enough to the Durbanites go past the Bulls in the URC semi-final at Loftus. | ITUMELENG ENGLISH/Independent Newspapers Both Papier and De Klerk had points to prove after being left out of the 54-man Springbok squad, and they gave Rassie Erasmus something to consider. The Bulls countered magnificently. A perfect lineout saw scrumhalf Embrose Papier break through the retreating defence, and the ball went wide to wing Sebastian de Klerk, who finished slickly. The first scrums had the massive home crowd roaring as the Sharks went backward at a rapid rate of knots. From one such reverse action, the ball spilled out wide and Sharks wing Ethan Hooker scooped the ball to score, but the try was disallowed because his backline had been offside. The match kicked off in an electrifying atmosphere and the players responded in kind, with breathtaking action throughout. They beat the Sharks 25-13 in front of a rapturous crowd of 48 000 to ensure a final against Leinster in Dublin. The Sharks were valiant opponents but the Bulls showed valour on defence and efficiency on attack to fight through to the final of the United Rugby Championship. David Kriel soars over the try line as the Vodacom @BlueBullsRugby go one step closer to the Grand Final ✈️ @Vodacom #URC | #BULvSHA Just as the first quarter ended, it seemed as if the Sharks had weathered the storm. Their scrum settled after the initial brutal attacks, but when Jaden Hendrikse was under pressure in the Sharks' 22, he slipped when attempting a clearance kick and the ball stumbled forward to the Bulls. De Klerk kick-passed out wide to Canan Moodie, who finished neatly in the corner. Jaden's brother, Jordan, put the Sharks on the board with a well-taken penalty in the 25th minute to make it 12-3. The Sharks were revived and when the Bulls lost a lineout, Makazole Mapimpi made a strong thrust up field and, in the tackle, Harold Vorster did not release him. The Bulls centre was yellow carded, but Hendrikse missed the shot at goal to let the Bulls off the hook. With five minutes to go in the half, the Bulls' scrum picked up their intensity and a penalty won was converted into three points by Goosen. At 15-3 with halftime looming, the Sharks were in trouble. But once more the Bulls made life difficult for themselves when Cameron Hanekom tip-tackled opposite number Siya Kolisi. He was sin-binned but, interestingly, the Sharks spurned the easy three points and kicked to the corner. They were repelled and Vorster earned his team a penalty at a breakdown. It proved to be an injudicious decision to squander the three points. The Sharks continued their pressure as halftime approached and again won a penalty in front of the posts. Once more they chose the corner instead of the points, and this time the pressure resulted in veteran Marcell Coetzee received a yellow card for pulling down the maul This was in the 40th minute and he joined Hanekom in the naughty corner. Somehow the Bulls survived the siege on the line and went to the change rooms 15-3 in front. The Sharks continued their assault and five minutes into the half, Mapimpi accelerated to the corner after a series of phases from a lineout. Hendrikse missed the conversion to leave it at 15-8 to the Bulls. Sadly, in the 28th minute URC Next Gen Player of the year, Hanekom was carted off the field with what looked to be a serious knee injury. It was all Sharks in the third quarter and they were rewarded for their relentless pressure when space was found for Hooker out wide, and he finished superbly. Jaden Hendrikse took over the kicking duties from his brother, but missed the conversion to leave the Bulls 15-13 in front. This hurt all the more for the Durbanites when Keegan Johannes nailed a pressure penalty with his team's first meaningful possession of the half to make it 18-13. The Bulls had taken a lot of punishment, and they upped their tempo, with outside David Kriel finishing a movement started by Papier. At 25-13 with ten minutes to go, that was the ball game. Scorers Bulls — Tries: Sebastian de Klerk, Canan Moodie, David Kriel. Conversions: Johan Goosen, Keegan Johannes. Penalties: Goosen, Johannes. Sharks — Tries: Makazole Mapimpi, Ethan Hooker. Penalties: Jordan Hendrikse.

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