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The Hollywoodbets Sharks overcame a tough quarterfinal penalty kick shootout over Munster, and the news since then has been dominated by winkgate. With the All South African semifinal on Saturday at Loftus Versfeld in the URC, local derby rivalry will take pole position with the winner knowing they will be the final team from SA in the competition and one game away from lifting a trophy.
The heroes last week for the Sharks were Bradley Davids and brothers Jaden and Jordan Hendrikse, following the intense penalty shootout after 100 minutes of play to earn the team their first semi-final berth ever in the URC competition.
It was another win, and that's 7 from their past 8 matches, but another ugly win for the Springbok-laden team, and as we wrote last week, they would probably take an ugly win over a tournament exit. Some of the same issues plagued the team, as they wasted opportunities and easily could have put the game out of reach for the team from Cork.
A quarterfinal Player of the Match performance from Ethan Hooker who has 7 tries this campaign, and scores from Springbok fullback Aphelele Fassi and Fez Mbatha as well as the boot of Jaden Hendrikse were all positives in what was a frustrating win for fans from Durban.
It will be experienced leaders such as Sharks captain Eben Etzebeth, Springbok captain Siya Kolisi, Lukhanyo Am, hooker Bongi Mbonambi and others who will need to grab the game by the scruff of the neck and embrace the physical challenge that awaits them and one the Bulls will be licking their lips in anticipation for.
Etzebeth was full of praise for the Sharks' replacement forwards against Munster, calling them “unbelievable” as they gave the Sharks some scrum dominance.
One of those relishing the scrum challenge is Bulls and Bok front rower Wilco Louw, who has said in the leadup this week that the Pretoria team is motivated by a desire to “live up” to the glory days of the union’s former champions. The Bulls won three Super Rugby titles and have already reached two of the three URC finals to date. Both props on the Bulls' side, Louw and Jan-Hendrik Wessels, were voted by the media in the URC Elite XV team of the season.
The Vodacom Bulls have won their last seven matches and are enjoying their best winning run in the Championship.
Louw has also pinpointed their own veteran internationals in the form of Willie le Roux and Johan Goosen, while the rising stars of Cameron Hanekom, who was acknowledged as he won the Next-Gen Player of the Season voted for by members of the media across all five BKT URC nations and is a nominee for SA URC Player of the Year, as well as Canan Moodie who is the leading Bulls try-scorer with 8.
Kolisi also expressed concern over the Bulls' threats from the lineout, which has been a good source of tries for the Pretoria side, while they have been effective in counter-attacks and the rucks.
The last two times the two sides met, the Sharks won in Pretoria 29-19 and 20-17 in Durban, and they had a good record against local opposition to claim the SA Shield this season. In the head-to-head over the past five encounters, the Sharks lead 3-2, but the Bulls will be favourites as they are at home and finished just above the KZN team on the URC log.
Sharks Coach John Plumtree praised his side’s resolve and nerves to win last weekend, but admitted they had a slow start and did not play particularly well in the first 20-30 minutes of the game, before getting on top. “We strive to win games of rugby, no matter how that gets done. We want our set piece to dominate and defence to function.”
Winning ugly doesn't seem to bother the Kiwi, and if the team from Durban find a way to beat the Bulls and win a final to lift a maiden URC title, their fans won't either.
However, to do that, they will most likely need to beat two formidable teams in blue, as Leinster will be favourites to progress to the final after the weekend’s clash with Glasgow, to face the winner of the Bulls and Sharks clash. The Bulls have also won both URC semifinals they have played at home to date.
Irishman Andrew Brace will have his hands full on the whistle for the evening match in Pretoria on Saturday, 7th June, as the Sharks and Bulls combined have incurred 31 yellow cards and 4 red cards this season, and he and assisted by Sam Grove-White and Adam Jones in the match which is expected to be a near sell-out.
