There was no intimidation for the Cell C Sharks in their Currie Cup clash with the Vodacom Blue Bulls at Loftus on Saturday evening as they ran out deserved 41-27, six tries to three victors away from home.
It was a demoralising loss for the home side whose forwards were dominated, where their home ground failed as a fortress, and where they managed to put together sustained efforts at times but were unable to capitalise against simply sublime defence.
For the Cell C Sharks, this was a deeply satisfying victory against the old foe. It came off the back of a superb forward effort, a near perfect, 80 minute, dominant performance.
The Bulls struck first blood with a penalty inside the opening five minutes, but a dominant scrum and subsequent penalty allowed the Cell C Sharks to equalise thanks to Lionel Cronje’s effort from 40m out.
The Bulls pulled ahead with a second penalty as the game approached the quarter hour mark, strangely opting for the points rather than the line from the Cell C Sharks 22.
The Bulls then lost a player to the sin bin for foul play and at the ensuing penalty kicked to touch, the Cell C Sharks mauled their opponents, reduced to 14 men and unable to stop the juggernaut that powered Dan Jooste over the tryline. Cronje converted and the Durban side held the lead in the 20th minute.
The Bulls were made to pay for their indiscipline, still at a numbers disadvantage, they conceded their second try, another penalty kicked to touch, the ball mauled up and then a number of pick-and-drive efforts finally saw Khwezi Mona diving over the defence to score, Cronje extending his team’s lead to 17-6 with just under 15 minutes of the half remaining.
Five minutes later, the Bulls were back in the game with a TMO-referred try that stood, the conversion cutting the lead to just four points, but with barely a handful of minutes remaining in the half, the Bulls conceded another yellow card. Their cynical play metres short of their tryline was once again punished as the Cell C Sharks struck immediately, again Dan Jooste scoring off the back of a dominant rolling maul for a 22-13 lead.
The Bulls had a late opportunity to score but could not make it work for them against some outstanding defence from the visitors and there was no further change to the scoreline as the teams headed for the changerooms.
The second half started well for the Bulls insofar as they managed a 13-phase attack in the midfield which showed good intensity but little in the way of forward impetus, before Murray Koster snatched an intercept and ran in for the bonus point try inside the opening five minutes, the conversion from Fred Zeilinga pushing his team 16 points ahead.
The Bulls spent the next 10 minutes dominating possession and territory, but could not make the advantage work in their favour as this Cell C Sharks character-driven defence continues to be a hallmark of their play – and recent success.
The Bulls pack continued to be on the back foot trying to defend the rolling maul, conceding more than 20m earlier than the next one that resulted in the try that pushed the Cell C Sharks into a commanding, 36-13 lead, with replacement hooker Dameon Venter scoring and Cronje converting with a quarter of an hour remaining.
The Bulls continued to hammer away at a concrete wall of defence, but turning possession into points proved nigh impossible until they finally sent the ball out wide, having found no way through the middle to score with just over five minutes remaining and reduce the scoreline to 36-20 in the Cell C Sharks’ favour.
Celimphilo Gumede rounded out a most enjoyable performance from the Cell C Sharks, his fellow forwards mauling the ball up before the replacement loose forward found himself out wide and he dived over in the corner for a 21 point lead.
The Bulls delivered a high tempo effort right at the death to score their final try with a minute remaining, scant consolation in a game where they were dominated at their own home ground.
The Cell C Sharks had come to Pretoria with a plan and the ambition and commitment to see it through. They most certainly delivered.