Bulls go top after scare from Sharks

James gets late yellow card as coastal team’s tactics catch up with them

THIS match provided a roller-coaster ride few were prepared for.

It crackled with tension. In the end the Sharks rued not converting 16 possible points from kicks at goal.

The Bulls had to summit their own Everest to move to the top of the Super Rugby table. They are followed by the Chiefs, Brumbies, Crusaders, Reds and Cheetahs, who all cemented the positions for the playoffs.

Despite a debilitating penalty count against them, the Bulls kept their cool and the Sharks were left to lament losing two players to the sin bin for dangerous play. The Bulls profited while Bismarck du Plessis and Butch James were in the bin.

The refereeing left a lot to be desired and it says much of the Bulls’ courage that they overcame a crippling penalty count.

“We decided to stay out of the rucks and on our feet and get turnovers elsewhere,” said Bulls captain Dewald Potgieter.

“Hats off to the guys for showing so much composure. It was a real character test.”

Bjorn Basson, Deon Stegmann and Potgieter were superb for the Bulls and their superior kicking, masterfully orchestrated by Morne Steyn, kept the Sharks in check when it really mattered.

The Sharks travelled to Loftus with faint hope of progressing into the top six, but their destiny wasn’t in their own hands as the Cheetahs accounted for sixth place with an impressive win over the Blues earlier.

The Sharks resorted to subterfuge before kick-off. They made 11th-hour changes to their run-on XV which saw captain Keegan Daniel relegated to the bench, allowing Willem Alberts to wear the No 8 jersey. James was moved to flyhalf and Pat Lambie shifted to inside centre.

It was a typical derby. The collisions were ferocious and you got the sense the Sharks, in 10th on the table before the match, were desperate to leave a lasting impression — especially on Bulls bodies.

Sharks lock Edwin Hewitt, in only his second game, ran into ball-carriers with near homicidal intent, but Jacques Potgieter made his presence felt with bone-rattling force. But he made one big hit too many and needed a concussion test in the second half.

With the ball-carriers subjected to such purgatory, mistakes were inevitable. But it all contributed to the spectacle.

It was seat-of-their-pants stuff that got the crowd to their feet and though the Bulls looked the best team, principally through flyhalf Steyn, and more likely to retain their composure, the Sharks made significant inroads after the break.

They added two penalties and a spectacular Odwa Ndungane try, but the Bulls reassembled themselves to launch a spirited rearguard action. The Sharks repelled them with belligerent defence but the match tipped back in the Bulls’ favour when James was yellow-carded for a high tackle in a move which led to a try for Jano Vermaak in the 72nd minute.

The Sharks could have won it at the death, but Riaan Viljoen missed his second penalty of the evening which sent the Loftus crowd into nirvana.