Staff Reporter.
Cell C Sharks ended their Loftus drought with a hard fought 29-22 win in their Vodacom United Rugby Championship clash on Saturday.
Both sides scored four tries so the Sharks get five points for their win while the Bulls were rewarded for their fightback with two bonus points courtesy of their tries and the bonus point they secured by losing by seven or less.
It was billed as the bigger of the two local derbies on show this weekend, but the match as a contest was far from evenly poised.
This was due to the Bulls having to play with 14 players for 69 minutes after Morne Steyn was red-carded for a dangerous tackle on Lukhanyo Am.
Referee AJ Jacobs was about to issue Steyn with a yellow card when the TMO intervened, showing several replays and confirmed that Steyn’s hit was late, made contact to the head and did so with “a high level of force”.
The evidence was enough to convince Jacobs to upgrade his initial yellow card sanction to a red.
It was a call that made the Bulls’ job infinitely more difficult, considering Steyn is the maestro around which their game is built.
Be that as it may, the Sharks cashed in on their advantage, scoring two converted tries for a 14-point lead.
As the half drew to a close, Cornal Hendricks dived over in the corner after a sustained period of pressure by the Bulls.
The second red card of the came produced a thrilling if error-riddled finish to the game.
There was, however, still time for one last kick-off before the break and that was all Am needed to land a hammer blow on the Bulls.
The kick-off from Tito Bonilla appeared to sail directly into touch, with the Bulls players keen to let it go over the touchline and even assistant referee Rasta Rasivhenge hoisting his flag.
But Am leapt high to pluck the ball out of the air on the left-hand touchline, then executed the perfect kick and chase to score a brilliant individual effort on the stroke of half time.
The result moves the Sharks three points clear of the Bulls and remain within two of South African Shield leaders the Stormers.
Scores
Cell C Sharks 29 – Tries: Henco Venter, Bongi Mbonambi, Lukhanyo Am and Makazole Mapimpi; Conversions: Tito Bonilla 2 and Curwin Bosch; Penalty: Curwin Bosch.
Vodacom Bulls 22 – Tries: Cornal Hendriks, Marcell Coetzee, Simphiwe Matanzima and Madosh Tambwe; Conversion: Chris Smith.
Meanwhile the DHL Stormers continued to build their burgeoning reputation as possible South African flag-bearers in the Vodacom United Rugby Championship as they took complete control in the second half to thump the Emirates Lions 32-10 in Johannesburg on Saturday.
Scores
DHL Stormers 32 – Tries: Hacjivah Dayimani, Seabelo Senatla, Sergeal Petersen and Deon Fourie; Conversions: Manie Libbok 3; Penalties: Manie Libbok 2.
Emirates Lions 10 – Try: Morne van den Bergh; Conversion: Jordan Hendrikse; Penalty: Tiaan Swanepoel.