The Cell C Sharks went down 40-27 to the Vodacom Bulls in a frustrating Vodacom United Rugby Championship derby at Loftus in Pretoria on Sunday afternoon.
The lead and momentum see-sawed through-out, with the Bulls holding the early advantage, followed by a period of Cell C Sharks dominance, before three second half tries took the home team into an unassailable lead and the catalyst for the win.
The opening 10 minutes of the game were intensely contested, with the Cell C Sharks having the best opportunity to score, only for a lineout steal to deny them after a penalty was sent to the corner rather than through posts in the quest for the ultimate reward.
That period ended on a sad note when Ben Tapuai left the field after taking a knee to the head in the process of trying to make a tackle which wasn’t a disruption the Cell C Sharks would have liked that early on in the game.
The home side raised the flags first, a penalty following a strong attack on the quarter hour and five minutes later nearly scored the opening try of the game, playing the pressure game effectively but denied with a forward pass, and then foul play to release the pressure they had built up.
However the Bulls did add a second penalty after 25 minutes with both sides battling with discipline, before the Bulls conceded a scrum penalty on the halfway line and Boeta Chamberlain showed that he can kick from anywhere, converting from 50m out.
Bulls flyhalf Chris Smith added a third penalty five minutes before half-time following a scrum penalty, an area of the game that was hotly contested from both sides.
Another area of interest was the breakdown and two steals from the Bulls got them into a strong attacking position and Marcel Coetzee rounded off the home side effort to score the first try of the game just before half-time, the conversion taking the Bulls into a 16-3 lead.
The response was as swift as it was devastating, the Bulls conceding two incidents of penalty advantage which wasn’t needed in a ruthless attack, Marnus Potgieter showing why he is so highly rated as he brushed off the initial defence and then rounded the final line to score under the posts, handing Chamberlain the easiest of conversions to reduce the lead back to six points for the sides to go to the change rooms with the Bulls leading 16-10.
There was a sense of renewed confidence from the Cell C Sharks who dominated the early stages of the second half, the Bulls making a number of kicking and disciplinary errors that cost them dearly as the best try of the game came with half an hour remaining and put the Cell C Sharks into the lead following a beautiful pass to Aphelele Fassi in the midfield and there was no-one near him as he cantered over after the forwards had done the business at an attacking lineout.
As the game went into the final quarter, the Bulls retook the lead with a penalty for a breakdown infringement, 19-17 in front, only to see the Cell C Sharks restore their lead, earning a breakdown penalty from the kick-off.
The lead continued to see-saw, but a double-strike from the home side took the game away as they scored their second try in fortuitous circumstances, and then a third moments later, referred to the TMO for a forward pass as the Bulls went into a 13 point lead with 10 minutes remaining.
Five minutes later the bonus point try came, the fired up Bulls forwards relentless in their driving maul.
There was a late fightback, with Phepsi Buthelezi marking a massive game with a wonderful try, but it came too late, as Chamberlain’s conversion saw his team trailing by 13 points with moments left to play.