Sharks make hay after Steyn's red card makes for uphill battle for Bulls

When Morné Steyn walked off the field for an early shower after only 10 minutes, he dealt the Bulls a huge blow and disappeared with any realistic chance they had of getting anything favourable against the Sharks.

This United Rugby Championship (URC) match, won 29-22 by the Sharks, was locked at 0-0 when Steyn saw a red card for a dangerous tackle on Lukhanyo Am and it was always going to be a mountain to climb from there for the Bulls.

The Pretoria side mustered a strong comeback in the second half with three good tries but they could not get the much-needed home win against the Springbok-laden Sharks.

With their embarrassment of riches, the Sharks started the match with Bok stars Am, Siya Kolisi, Makazole Mapimpi, Ox Nché, Bongi Mbonambi, Thomas du Toit and Aphelele Fassi while Jaden Hendrikse came off the bench.

To mitigate the early loss of the vastly experienced Steyn, the Bulls sacrificed Lionel Mapoe and introduced Chris Smith to take charge of the kicking duties.

The Sharks did not waste time using their numerical advantage as they opened the scoring shortly after Steyn’s departure through the first try by Henco Venter that was converted by Joaquín Díaz Bonilla.

Before the opener, tempers boiled over after four minutes as Bulls and Sharks players were involved in a scuffle that forced referee AJ Jacobs to step in and calm things down.

The opening try gave the Sharks momentum and they were rewarded shortly before the half-hour mark when Mbonambi sneaked through for their second after a powerful maul.

There was more action in the closing stages of the first half as both teams scored a try each and Jacobs found himself in the spotlight again when he gave Henco Venter a yellow card.

With Venter in the sin bin, the Bulls finally registered on the scoresheet when winger Cornal Hendricks was finally rewarded for his industrious work, but his try was not converted by Smith.

Just before the hooter the Sharks scored their third try of the afternoon when Am produced a magical moment to score a beautifully-taken solo effort.

The Bulls, who had the better chances in the first half, returned from the break with purpose and got their second try three minutes after the restart to refresh their hopes of a revival, Smith again not converting.

The Sharks pulled away again when Mapimpi received the ball at the far side corner to register their fourth try of the match as they increased their advantage to 14 points.

There was more action on the field as Grant Williams was the second player to see a red card for a dangerous tackle on Chris Smith. He was stretchered off with a head injury leaving the Bulls with no specialist kicker for the remaining 20 minutes.

The Bulls scored two tries in the closing stages through the efforts of Simphiwe Matanzima and Madosh Tambwe but part-time kicker David Kriel missed both conversions and Curwin Bosch secured this victory with a late penalty.

The Bulls’ next match is against Zebre in Parma while the Sharks will return to action against Benetton in two weeks’ time as the SA teams have been given a week off for travelling to Europe.

Scores

Bulls (5) 22 — Tries: Cornal Hendricks, Marcell Coetzee, Simphiwe Matamzima, Madosh Tambwe. Conversion: Chris Smith (1). Red Card: Morné Steyn.

Sharks (19) 29 — Tries: Henco Venter, Bongi Mbonambi, Lukhanyo Am, Makazole Mapimpipi. Conversions: Joaquín Díaz Bonilla (2), Curwin Bosch (1). Penalty: Curwin Bosch (1) Red Card: Grant Williams.