Blue Bulls victorious in marathon duel
Sat, 05 Jul 2008 19:43
The Blue Bulls have gone top of the Currie Cup standings, after a convincing 35-14 win over the Sharks at Loftus Versfeld.
The introduction of time-saving ELVs to the Southern Hemisphere was however cancelled out today by an inexplicable amount of Television Match Official (TMO) referrals, the final whistle blowing well after 100 minutes of rugby.
The 'official nightmare' began right from the first minute of the game, where Derick Kuün was sin-binned for an alleged infringement - though tele-replays failed to provide any proof of the said act.
With only 14 men on the field, it was the Bulls who opened the scoring, as Wynand Olivier set up Tiger Mangweni's first try with some expansive ball distribution.
Some old-fashioned Bulls rugby was what really got the better of the opposition, subduing the Sharks defense at the breakdowns and producing some scintillating running mauls.
Wynand Olivier emphasised the Bulls dominance with a try in the 21st minute, while Mangweni was awarded his second try in the 29th minute - but only after a lengthy referral to TMO Michael Cupido.
The Sharks had been kept in the loop by flyhalf Monty Dumond, who slotted over three penalties in the first half.
The Durban side also managed to put a fair amount of pressure on the Bulls front row thanks to some excellent scrumming by the likes of Bok discard BJ Botha, but failed to take much from it.
With a 41kg advantage in the forwards, the Bulls dominated possession, as the Sharks missed tackles and were generally out-played.
Before half-time JC Fortuin referred once again to the TMO for an alleged eye-gouging on Pedrie Wannenburg, much to the growing frustration of the Loftus faithful who had to sit through a number of such unnecessary interruptions on a crisp winters evening in Pretoria.
The half-time score was 25-9 to the home side.
In the second half the Blue Bulls ran with intent - with a notable performance from Danie Rossouw - thrusting bodies forward in an attempt to get an early breakthrough to secure the all important bonus point.
As much as the Bulls gained momentum on the front foot, they could hardly get within striking distance for the Sharks' try-line as the visitors defended with all their might.
Steyn missed an early penalty which would have stretched the Bulls' lead even further but stood up to the task in the 63rd minute when he slotted over a penalty to give the Bulls a 19 point lead and one the Sharks struggled to nullify.
Five minutes before Steyn's successful penalty, Springbok forward Danie Rossouw had scored what looked like a legitimate try but Cupido ruled a double movement, awarding the Sharks a penalty.
In fact, for the better part of the game, referee JC Fortuin failed to commit himself to any decision and opted to refer each one to the TMO - completely killing the spirit of the game with prolonged pauses in play.
For all their efforts and under a relentless attack from the Bulls team, the Sharks were able to string together a few encouraging movements, and their efforts were duly rewarded when Albert van den Berg scored among a pile of bodies (which again was referred to the TMO) to add some respectability to the scoreboard with the Sharks still trailing 28-14 in the 71st minute.
The final blow in the Sharks' last ditch attempt however was from replacement scrumhalf Francois Hougaard, who picked up the ball from the base of the ruck and dived over to ensure victory for the Bulls and oust the Sharks at the top of the Currie Cup log.
Scorers:
For the Blue Bulls:
Tries: Mangweni 2, Olivier, F Hougaard
Cons: Steyn 3
Pens: Steyn 3
For the Sharks:
Tries: Van den Berg
Pens: Dumond 3
The teams:
Blue Bulls: 15 Tiger Mangweni, 14 Akona Ndungane, 13 Marius Delport, 12 Wynand Olivier, 11 John Mametsa, 10 Morné Steyn, 9 JP Joubert, 8 Pedrie Wannenburg, 7 Wikus van Heerden (captain), 6 Deon Stegmann, 5 Wilhelm Steenkamp, 4 Danie Rossouw, 3 Werner Kruger, 2 Derick Kuün, 1 Jaco Engels.
Replacements: 16 Bandise Maku, 17 Rayno Gerber, 18 Francois van Schouwenburg, 19 Jacques Burger, 20 Francois Hougaard, 21 Derick Hougaard, 22 Zane Kirchner.
Sharks: 15 Stefan Terblanche, 14 Chris Jordaan, 13 Waylon Murray, 12 Andries Strauss, 11 Henno Mentz, 10 Monty Dumond, 9 Scott Mathie, 8 Keegan Daniel, 7 Nic Strauss, 6 Jacques Botes, 5 Johann Muller (captain), 4 Albert van den Berg, 3 BJ Botha, 2 Skipper Badenhorst, 1 Deon Carstens.
Replacements: 16 Craig Burden, 17 Jannie du Plessis, 18 Alistair Hargreaves, 19 Skholiwe
Ndlovu, 20 Charl McLeod, 21 Riaan Swanepoel, 22 Albert van den Berg
Referee: JC Fortuin
Touch judges: Christie du Preez, Cobus Wessels
TMO: Michael Cupido
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