Cape Town — The Sharks showed much greater ambition on attack, but the Bulls absorbed all the pressure and struck when it mattered to advance to the United Rugby Championship semi-finals in a 30-27 thriller at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday afternoon.
Flyhalf Chris Smith was the hero with a last-second drop goal to ensure the Pretoria side reach the last-four, where they will face the winners of the Leinster-Glasgow quarter-final in Europe.
A double try blitz within six minutes early in the second half put the Bulls 27-13 ahead, and they managed to hold on with some gritty defence to stop the Sharks from pulling off a third consecutive victory over the Pretoria side this season.
Having relied on a strong kicking game all season long, Sean Everitt’s team finally loosened the shackles and took the fight to the Bulls in the opening 40 minutes. The Sharks looked to bring in their big-name Springboks such as Bongi Mbonambi, Siya Kolisi, Lukhanyo Am and Makazole Mapimpi into the game as often as possible in the early stages, and it paid off as they caught the Bulls off guard by keeping the ball alive on attack.
A powerful scrum and driving maul also put the visitors on the front foot, but they battled to turn their dominance into points, with only a lone Curwin Bosch penalty to show for their efforts in the opening 10 minutes.
Instead, it was Jake White’s team who landed the first major blow when impressive fullback Canan Moodie intercepted Reniel Hugo’s pass inside the Bulls 22 and kicked the ball ahead twice, before Madosh Tambwe gathered the ball to score.
The Sharks hit back quickly, though, as they motored through the middle of the Bulls pack via a lineout drive, and Mbonambi dotted down.
The home side nearly produced another thrilling five-pointer when Moodie chipped the ball inside, but it just bounced away from Zak Burger.
The flyhalves exchanged further penalties, and it was all square at 13-13 at halftime.
But White must have had some stern words in the change-room as the Bulls came out firing and just seemed more organised and accurate. A superb maul off a lineout saw a number of carries by the forwards, and captain Marcell Coetzee crossed the tryline.
Not long after that, some more direct carries at close quarters kept the Sharks defence busy, and the Bulls timed the pass to the backline perfectly for Cornal Hendricks to finish.
At 27-13 up, it looked like the Bulls had secured victory, but the Sharks never gave up in front of a boisterous Loftus crowd.
Yet another dynamic maul and scrum put then on the front foot, and after a terrific run by No 8 Phepsi Buthelezi, the ball was swung wide to Mapimpi, who was stopped just short, before Hendrikse dived over.
The Bulls, though, held their shape in defence and counter-rucked effectively to disrupt the Sharks’ possession, and they were well on their way to clinching victory.
But with five minutes left, some intricate offloads by Mapimpi, Am and Buthelezi led to Sikhumbuzo Notshe scoring, and suddenly it was 27-27.
The Sharks had another opportunity inside the Bulls 22 with two minutes left, but conceded a breakdown penalty, which allowed the hosts to get out of trouble.
The forwards again kept their cool with a series of carries around the fringes, and flyhalf Smith dropped into the pocket to send the ball between the uprights.
Points-Scorers
Bulls 30 – Tries: Madosh Tambwe, Marcell Coetzee, Cornal Hendricks. Conversions: Chris Smith (3). Penalties: Smith (2). Drop goal: Smith (1).
Sharks 27 – Tries: Bongi Mbonambi, Jaden Hendrikse, Sikhumbuzo Notshe. Conversions: Curwin Bosch (3). Penalties: Bosch (2).
IOL Sport