Durban – The grim reality for the Sharks is that they crashed out of the URC at the quarter-finals stage but the silver lining to that cloud is they played arguably their best rugby of the year in the process, and but for the odd error and misfortune, it would be them travelling to Leinster for the semi-finals.
An irony going into the match is that it was the Sharks and not the Bulls who were billed as a one-dimensional side over-reliant on their forwards but at last, we saw the Durbanites using their backs and I felt Curwin Bosch had his best game in ages.
I have been one of his critics this season but in this game he was much better in engaging his backs. In what has become par for the course, he is being vilified by Sharks “supporters” on social media but I think they are wrong and are using Bosch as a scapegoat. But for one silly forward pass, there was not much more he could have done.
Where the Sharks blew it was in not putting the Bulls away in the opening quarter when they were totally dominant but did not cash in on the scoreboard, and then they had some cruel luck when the referee did not bring the game back for not one but two penalty advantages he had signalled for the Sharks before Reniel Hugo had his pass intercepted and Madosh Tambwe ended up scoring.
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And as for the referee, Andre Brace penalising Makazole Mapimpi for dissent and kicking the ball away… That was a shocker and the real culprit is the TMO who did not tell Brace that he had got it wrong (he appeared to be unsighted), and that Mapimpi had first been grabbed by the throat, then pushed, and in stumbling accidentally kicked the ball. The Bulls got three points from an incident where it should have been a penalty to the Sharks and a yellow card to the Bulls.
That was ten points for the home side against the run of play and it was always going to be tough from there because there would inevitably come a period in the game when the Bulls would get their hands on the ball and do some attacking of their own.
And when that came to pass, they efficiently nailed the points, as a bitterly disappointed Everitt rued after the game.
“The Bulls are clinical in the opposition 22, they have the highest completion rate in the competition in that regard; while for us giving away soft tries is the story of our season,” the coach said.
“That is an obvious work-on for us… that and improving our attacking breakdown — the Bulls made some crucial turnovers there.”
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Everitt said that his team had gone to Loftus believing they could buck the URC trend of away teams struggling in big games and that they had the plan to do the job.
“I actually enjoyed watching the game despite my blood pressure going through the roof in the last five minutes,” he said. “There was some nice rugby and I am happy with where we are. We have a reputation for being a set-piece team but we got the ball through the hands nicely on occasions.
“It is very difficult to win away from home in this competition, as all the teams have found out that travelled (for the quarter-finals), and we were so close to doing it.”
A number of Sharks fans are getting stuck into Everitt but I think frustration is incorrectly directed. The Sharks could easily have won that game and then they would be celebrating, and if there was something essentially wrong with the team, they would have capitulated when they were 14 points behind.
“The team is hurting downstairs in the change room,” Everitt concluded. “We are extremely disappointed and I am just proud of the guys for their effort and for the character they showed in coming back.
@MikeGreenaway67
