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Round 11 of the United Rugby Championship (URC) was expected to entertain and deliver fireworks, and it’s safe to say it lived up to those expectations.
The four South African teams—Hollywoodbets Sharks, DHL Stormers, Vodacom Bulls, and Lions—took on each other in absorbing local derbies.
It was the Sharks and Bulls who continued their winning ways, while the Lions stumbled at home, and the Stormers were blown away for a second week running.
ATR takes a look at some of the talking points from the weekend.
van den Berg (44'), Mills (80')
Tries
Vorster (9', 54'), Grobbelaar (31'), Pollard (37'), Arendse (39'), Papier (65'), Gumede (74'), Johannes (77')
Smith (45', 81')
Conversions
Pollard (10', 38', 40', 55', 66'), Johannes (78')
Smith (22')
Penalties
Bulls building something “special”
The 52-17 dominant win over the Lions was the Bulls’ third in a row after racking up two crucial victories on tour against Pau and Edinburgh, respectively.
They landed on SA shores, aiming to correct the wrongs from earlier this season when the Lions outplayed them at Loftus Versfeld to record a famous 43-33 win.
The Bulls looked like a completely different outfit and, for the first time in a while, bossed proceedings for the majority of the match.
Their forwards carried strongly, used the gain line to their advantage, and the quick, silky backs looked dangerous with the ball in hand as the game started to open up in the second half.
After leading 26-3 at the halfway mark, Johan Ackermann’s charges had a slow start in the second 40, but when it started to click, they looked almost unstoppable.
They oozed confidence and were unshakable defensively—an area they’ve struggled in for many parts of the current season.
The Lions, on the other hand, seemed to have no response, instead being one-dimensional, lacking creativity, and shut down by a team that was clearly on a mission.
It was a solid team performance by the Bulls. The forwards laid the foundation, the backs worked their magic, and at times, it was simply champagne rugby.
Changing the tide is exactly what the Bulls are doing, and the three-week URC break will allow Ackermann and his troops to regroup, plan, and forge a way forward with a busy period coming up.
Williams (11'), Hooker (24'), Esterhuizen (47'), Williams (52', 71')
Tries
Reinach (0'), de Villiers (42')
Hendrikse (12', 24', 48', 52')
Conversions
Feinberg-Mngomezulu (43')
Hendrikse (68')
Penalties
Feinberg-Mngomezulu (15', 19', 38', 40+2')
Are the Stormers getting exposed, or are the Sharks just too good?
There are two ways of looking at this; it’s either that the Stormers are starting to get caught out or the Sharks are finally finding form.
The Sharks’ second consecutive victory over the Stormers had some promising signs for the Durban side, while it exposed several cracks in the Stormers team.
Discipline, once again, was a massive factor in the game, and the Stormers were at the receiving end of a whopping 16 penalties compared to the Sharks’ 12.
The visitors were also given two yellow cards, missed 20 tackles and played all the rugby in their half for the majority of the match.
It was a masterclass from the Sharks, though, and once they opened up the lead, they looked dangerous.
Their forwards were at work, and the backline sizzled under the guidance of André Esterhuizen, who was instrumental once again.
As the game went on, you started to get the feeling that the Sharks weren’t just going to give it away, and the Stormers had to work for it, and to some degree, they did.
It was the Sharks’ defence, however, that shut them down, and their final try, scored by Jaco Williams after some bizarre play from Warrick Gelant, summed up the game for the visitors.
There will certainly be reasons for concerns in the Stormers camp, while the Sharks will be brimming with confidence when the league resumes later this month.
Can the Sharks continue this momentum and push themselves up the log? And can the Stormers bounce back? I guess we’ll have to wait and see.
