By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
Vodacom Bulls booked their place in the United Rugby Championship (URC) final against Leinster after they beat the Sharks 25-13 in their semi-final clash at Loftus Versveld Stadium.
The Bulls dominated the scrum battle and scoreboard, leading 15-3 despite ending the first half with 13 men. Man of the Match Sebastian de Klerk opened the scoring after Embrose Papier’s electric break from near halfway, with fit-again flyhalf Johan Goosen converting.
Canan Moodie extended the advantage through De Klerk’s pinpoint cross-kick, catching fellow Springbok speedster Makazole Mapimpi napping out wide before going over in the corner.
Flyhalf Jordan Hendrikse’s solitary penalty summed up the Sharks’ response after missing two attempts. The Bulls’ discipline crumbled inside the second quarter as centre Harold Venter, No 8 Cameron Hanekom and flanker Marcell Coetzee all saw yellow.
However, the hosts twice held firm in defence of their tryline as the Sharks pressed before the break.
Mapimpi struck first for the visitors after the restart, exploiting a two-man overlap to score out wide, Hendrikse again missing the conversion.
Winger Ethan Hooker’s ninth try of the campaign brought the Sharks within two points, but Bulls replacement Keagan Johannes steadied the hosts’ nerves with a crucial penalty. He missed his second attempt before midfielder David Kriel capped off a scintillating break ignited by Papier and lock Cobus Wiese.
Johannes converted to complete the scoring and secure the Bulls’ third appearance in the URC decider in four attempts, while avenging two league-stage defeats to the Sharks this season.
Meanwhile a report by PwC commissioned by SARU found disciplinary steps should be taken against CEO Rian Oberholzer and head of legal Chantal du Pisani.
The probe was linked to allegations that Oberholzer misled rugby union bosses about approximately R200 million in commissions that were part of the failed R1.
This follows the failed bid by Ackerley Sports Group to buy a 20% stake in SA Rugby for $75-million (R1.4-billion).
Saru had taken the step to set up a review by an independent audit firm of its management of the failed deal.
Last year, SARU members resolved to reject a proposal to accept a private equity investment in the sport’s commercial rights.
The proposal failed to reach the 75 percent majority required for such a transaction to be approved. Seven of the 13 member unions with voting rights opposed the proposal.
In a statement on Friday, SARU revealed the following process that was followed:
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- Upon receipt of the auditor’s report, the President [Mark Alexander] appointed a sub-committee to undertake a review of the report’s findings.
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- The sub-committee, comprising the independent chairpersons of the Audit and Risk Committee, the Social and Ethics Committee, the Finance Committee, and the deputy president, reviewed the report’s findings.
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- The subcommittee, supported by the President, instructed its external legal consultant to review the report and provide guidance on the necessary actions to address its findings and recommendations.
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- The external legal consultant had certain queries with the auditor’s report and requested its own forensic team to consider the auditor’s report.
- The external legal consultant’s forensic team conducted an independent assessment and thorough evaluation of the auditor’s report. It made its own findings as well as recommendations on various remedial actions to strengthen governance and mitigate risks for the organisation.