Etzebeth blow for Sharks on eve of URC semi-final against charging Bulls at Loftus

Daily Maverick

13 hours ago

The United Rugby Championship semi-finals featuring the Bulls versus the Sharks, and Leinster against Glasgow, all take place this weekend.
As if a trip to Loftus to face the Bulls in the most important game of the year weren't a challenging enough prospect for the Sharks, they will have to do it without their totem Eben Etzebeth.
The Springbok great's injury-plagued season continued with a 'head knock' that will keep him out of the United Rugby Championship (URC) semi-final against the Bulls in Pretoria.
Etzebeth's performance in last week's dramatic semi-final win over Munster, which went to a penalty shootout, was immense. His quality and experience is irreplaceable.
Missed four months
More worryingly though, Etzebeth missed nearly four months of the season with complications from a concussion. Another head injury, which is severe enough to keep him out of the URC semi-final, is reason for concern for the player.
For the Sharks team, it's obviously not an ideal situation either. The up side is that the Sharks are littered with quality in other positions and have spent most of the campaign without Etzebeth's services.
So, it shouldn't be as big a disruption as it might have been. Replacement Corne Rahl has enjoyed significant game time this season, knows the systems and gameplan well and is an honest toiler.
He will join Emile van Heerden in the second row.
As for the rest of the Sharks lineup, there is vast experience, albeit not in URC play-offs, much proven quality and some new rising stars such as wing/centre Ethan Hooker.
In fact, the dry, highveld conditions might better suit the Sharks style than the often slippery, hot and humid conditions they endure in Durban.
Calm face from coach
Coach John Plumtree presented a calm face before the game.
'He (Eben) got a head knock at training, but like I say, he's feeling a lot better already,' Plumtree said. 'He took a knock at training and we decided that it's best not to risk him this week, so we made a pretty early call.
'He's feeling a lot better, by the way, he's been communicating with me and the team, and I'm not overly concerned about it, I'm pretty sure that if we go through (to the final), he'll be available next week.
'Best lock in the world'
'How much of a loss (is Etzebeth)? Eben's probably the best lock in the world so it's a big loss, but the thing is it's a team game; one person doesn't make this team and we've won games without him this year.'
The Sharks will also be without the services of one-cap Bok Jason Jenkins. The lock suffered an injury against Munster, further depleted the Sharks' second row stocks.
'Jason is a big loss for us too. He played a pivotal role for us, with Eben being out for so much; he's played at four, and he's played at five,' Plumtree said.
'It's really disappointing not to see him in the Springbok squad at the moment as well. I think he deserves to be there.
'Obviously Corne is a different player to Emile, in so many ways. Corne's more abrasive, and Emile's the ball winner, and a smart player and a good developer in his leadership as well. We've got full backing of the boys, and the boys are really pleased they've got this opportunity.'
Semi experience
The Bulls will tread a well-worn path with their third appearance in the URC semi-finals.
For the men from KwaZulu-Natal, a URC semi-final is uncharted territory, although a visit to the cathedral of rugby in Pretoria, is not.
Overall in the URC, the Bulls lead the head-to-head 3-2 at Loftus. But the Sharks have had the Bulls' number this season.
Plumtree's men have won both games in the 2024/2025 URC campaign, including a 29-19 win in round 11 back in February.
The Bulls's set piece will obviously be a weapon, one which they love to deploy. They have won the most scrum penalties this year (60) and made the most maul metres (439) off the back of their impressive lineout.
Tighthead prop, the colossal Wilco Louw, who stands 1.85-metres and weighs 144kg, has been a huge part of that set piece impact.
He and the rest of the pack have provided a strong platform for the likes of dazzling No 8 Cameron Hanekom and fullback Willie le Roux to shine.
'Wilco is a wonderful person off the field… he's almost among those hidden figures of the squad, who are so instrumental to our work do not get the praise that is probably deserved,' Bulls coach Jake White said after Louw was nominated for URC Player of the Year.
'It's amazing to see someone like Wilco being shortlisted. It's something that is very rare, to see a prop being given the spotlight, especially someone like him, who just goes about his job — a man of few words.'
His actions have positive consequences though.
When it comes to making 22-metre entries count, the Bulls are lethal with an average of 2.7 points per entry.
Minimise errors
The key then for the Sharks, is keeping the Bulls away from the red zone.
An intelligent kicking game, and controlling possession, are ways to achieve that, especially as centre Andre Esterhuizen, wing Makazole Mapimpi and Hooker are such penetrative weapons.
Esterhuizen is the bludgeon while Mapimpi and Hooker are a combination of power and finesse. Hooker made two line breaks last week and beat 10 defenders — the most in the match.
Mapimpi made four clean breaks last week, showing that despite being 34, he is still one of the best wings in the country.
Unsurprisingly, Esterhuizen has made the most dominant carries in URC this season with 46, while also making the second-most post-contact metres (219). When it comes to giving a team attacking momentum, there are few better than Esterhuizen.
In No 8 Cameron Hanekom, the Bulls have one of the sport's true rising stars. He operates almost like an auxiliary back, making significant post-contact metres — he made 32 metres in the quarterfinal against Edinburgh last week.
There are salivating match-ups everywhere but like most play-offs, collectively doing the basics well will be more important than individual flair.
One missed tackle, one dropped pass, or moment of ill-discipline, can undo the best work in an instant. Play-offs come down more to eliminating errors than flashes of brilliance.
Leinster desperate
After three seasons of near misses and a barren trophy cabinet, Leinster have a chance to atone for their failure in the European Champions Cup again, by winning the URC for the first time.
They have to beat defending champions Glasgow in Dublin though, to advance to face either the Bulls or Sharks.
And history has shown that for all their pedigree, Leinster have battled to close the deal in recent seasons.
Leinster have lost three semi-finals in succession — twice to the Bulls and once to Munster. They need to put that right.
'You have to handle the pressure of the game. It's not about peaking. You have to handle the pressure of a knockout game because there is a lot more pressure,' Leinster coach Jacques Nienaber said this week.
'If you think South Africa played in the World Cup and lost to Ireland, yeah it's bad, but it's not defining. Knockouts are defining. You can be as good as you want to and play as brilliant rugby as you want to in the league stage of the competition.
'Where it counts is you just have to make sure you are a little bit better than the team you play against on that specific day of a knockout game. We must just be better than Glasgow this weekend. That's all. Like last weekend, we just had to be a little bit better than Scarlets.' DM
Fixtures:
7 June