Bulls and Sharks set up dream URC semifinal encounter

The Citizen

2 days ago

The Bulls and Sharks will face each other in a URC semifinal for the first time, but second in the knockouts after the Bulls won their quarterfinal clash in season one.
Sharks captain Eben Etzebeth during their thrilling URC quarterfinal against Munster at Kings Park on Saturday night, that ended with the hosts winning via a penalty shootout. Picture: Steve Haag Sports/Gallo Images
The Bulls and Sharks did what was needed in their quarterfinal match-ups to set up a dream United Rugby Championship (URC) semifinal encounter at Loftus Versfeld this coming weekend.
The Bulls recovered from a halftime deficit to defeat Edinburgh 42-33 in an 11-try classic on the Highveld, while the Sharks held their nerve in a first ever URC penalty shootout to triumph over Munster, after the two teams couldn't be separated at 24-all after 100 minutes of rugby.
It was an early second half blitz from the Bulls that won them the match, after they went into halftime trailing 21-18, both sides having scored three tries, but with Ediburgh's kicker edging them ahead.
But three more tries to the hosts in a nine-minute burst, all converted, pushed the Bulls into a 39-21 lead after 52 minutes, and despite a fightback from the Scottish challengers, it was enough to see out a comfortable win in the end for Jake White and his charges.
Tooth and nail
The Sharks on the other hand had to fight tooth and nail to earn their thrilling, unprecedented penalty shootout win over Munster.
An early try to the Irish visitors saw them lead 7-0 after a scrappy first half, before the game burst to life in the second.
The Sharks battled back to take a brief lead 10-7, before Munster hit back to go 21-10 up, only for the hosts to respond to go back ahead 24-21 late in the game, followed by the visitors striking a late penalty to level the scores.
A scoreless extra time followed, leading to the kick-off, with Bradley Davids and brothers Jaden and Jordan Hendrikse slotting all their kicks, while Munster's Rory Scannell missed one of his, to see the hosts inch over the line.
Munster fight
Sharks coach John Plumtree hailed the efforts of his team, while praising the fight of Munster, in what ended up being a classic knockout encounter.
'We knew what we were faced with. They (Munster) are a proud group of players and a good rugby team. We knew it was going to be a tough one. They chucked everything at us. They can be proud of themselves and I guess it's a pity on a night like this that there has to be a winner (and loser),' said Plumtree.
'It was a tough battle, going down to the wire like that. I've never been involved in a game like this, so it was pretty dramatic. I'm sure everyone here really loved it.
'I am just proud of the boys. We didn't play particularly well in the first 20-30 minutes of the game, but then we got on top.
'We had a couple of bad moments when they got to 21-10, and then we just clawed our way back in. Going down to the kickers like that, I am just so proud of them.'
Bomb squad
Sharks captain Eben Etzebeth was proud of the effort of the team's 'bomb squad' whhich came on in the second half and put in a huge shift to help them battle back into the contest, while adding that his side had to improve ahead of a monster match-up against the Bulls.
'It was unbelievable. The scrums were great when they came on. They were good in the carries. We were down about 10 points, two tries behind and the guys fought back,' said Etzebeth.
'I think four of the last five games we have come from behind, so the guys are showing character. But hopefully we can be better and not leave it to the last minute.
'We won't celebrate much. Obviously it's a massive game going over to Pretoria. It's going to be a very tough and physical game. But the good news is that there will be one South African team in the URC final which is great for South African rugby.'
The other South African team, the Stormers, went down 36-18 in their quarterfinal against Glasgow Warriors, sending the defending champions to Dublin for a semifinal meeting with Irish giants Leinster.