Gelant hat-trick does it for Bulls
IN A RETURN to Super Rugby after a near monthlong break, the Sharks failed to fire when losing to the traveling Bulls 30-17 here last night.
It was damp squib of a game for the home side, who never got out of first gear with mistakes dogging them for the full 80 minutes.
But for the lowly Bulls it was a game without pressure that saw them shine like never before this season.
The talk before this game was that the Bulls had nothing to lose and therefore could play with reckless abandon and entertaining freedom.
Perhaps that is the brief they should have been given at the start of the season as it was one of the better Bulls performances seen all year.
The Sharks struggled to shake off the rust as they faltered under pressure.
Defensive patterns were lacking, attacking plans stuttered, and the Sharks looked as if they were starting a new season afresh.
This was always going to be a game with a lot of feeling out with the players remembering what it’s like to wear their Super Rugby colours.
However, when the dam wall broke and Nic de Jager got a freebie of a try from an errant line-out, the Bulls suddenly switched on, leaving the Sharks to chase the game.
Mistakes led to all of the tries for the Bulls in the first half as firstly, camped on their five-metre line, Sharks hooker Franco Marais missed his jumper Stephan Lewies with some poor timing, seeing the ball overthrown into the waiting De Jager’s hands to flop over the line.
The Sharks, to their credit, did take that as a wakeup call as they finally got their hands going.
Some slick off-loading and passing from veteran Odwa Ndungane saw the ball eventually recycled short of the line, only for Cobus Reinach to thread a pass to Thomas du Toit to barge over.
The turning point in the opening stanzas, however, came as the Sharks tried a little too much with Garth April throwing an off-load that went loose.
The Bulls pounced and countered the home team’s counter, and with some more skilful passing and off-loading, Warrick Gelant was over to extend the visitors’ lead.
Gelant got his second soon after as the Bulls took advantage of the mismatch in defence, lock Stephan Lewies being rounded by Springbok centre Jan Serfontein to break the line, sending Gelant away for another score in the first portion of the game.
The second half was a little more cagey, but the Bulls still held the ascendancy as substitute Tian Schoeman added points from the boot. He could have done more if it was not for a relatively straightforward miss.
The Bulls would go on to rue that as their lead was soon cut down thanks to some good work by the props. Lourens Adriaanse and Du Toit were instrumental in getting over the advantage line, setting Curwin Bosch away for a try that cut the lead to three points.
However, as the cliche goes, you are always the most vulnerable when you have scored tries, and Bulls fullback Gelant was back in the action, breaking the line off a deep kick that didn’t find touch. Serfontein was the man again to have the vision to make the pass to Gelant outside for him to grab his hat-trick.
As time ticked away, the Bulls made sure of the game with a late penalty and a 13-point lead, leaving the Sharks with a lot of questions to answer in the coming bye week, before the Lions arrive in a fortnight.