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Blitzbok Kurt-Lee Arendse celebrated his Bulls debut with a couple of tries
Like a cricketer who takes a network session almost too seriously, the Bulls ushered in the Jake White era with a dominant 49-28 victory over the Sharks at their Super Fan Saturday meeting at Loftus on Saturday night.
It was a pretty flattering score for the Durbanites.
Not much was expected from the match, especially as both teams were playing their first competitive match since mid-March.
Yet the Bulls, with their rugby manager continually stating in preparation for the restart that he would like to win every game regardless of context, were powerful and precise, delivering the kind of performance that one might jokingly suggest that they’ve peaked too soon.
White’s pack was dominant, attacking vigorously and winning the collisions.
Given the Sharks ‘competition in that regard during their short but successful Super Rugby campaign, it was a feather in the Bulls’ cap that their loose and star-studded trio of Marco van Staden, Arno Botha and Duane Vermeulen led the breakdowns.
And then there were White’s pocket rockets, spearheaded by Blitzbok Kurt-Lee Arendse, who scored a couple of attempts and was well supported by the glowing fingers of his sevens captain Stedman Gans and the 38-year-old evergreen Gio Aplon.
The result was an electrifying display in the first half that led the Bulls to a 35-7 lead.
It took a clumsy high tackle from Sharks midfielder Jeremy Ward, who sent him in the trash, to get the hosts going.
His nearly 12-minute absence proved immensely costly as the Bulls crossed the shutout three times, starting with hooker Schalk Erasmus completing an efficient maul almost immediately after Ward’s penalty.
Blitzboks captain and outside center Stedman Gans then flaunted his running prowess, pouncing on a gorgeous Morne Steyn bomber that got hit and then taking a delicious step inside to beat the former provincial teammate and fullback of the Sharks, Manie Libbok.
The incisive counterattack showed again when Arendse, following an ingenious volley from Jacques van Rooyen, picked up the pace before changing angles and finishing off a good 80-meter run.
Arendse, another exponent of sevens who seems ready to add value to the fifteen-man game, was back in when Erasmus secured a missed lineout and some deft short passes, particularly from Cornal Hendricks, gave him space in the left corner.
When Gans unknowingly received crucial extra space after Sharks youngster Thaakir Abrahams slipped after running off defense, threw a crazy, scorer pass to right wing Travis Ismaiel, the result was almost stitched.
The Sharks, who generally lacked cohesion in offense, suffered multiple lapses on defense and did not clean effectively, chained more phases after the turnaround as the Bulls made wholesale changes and scored three attempts to add some respectability. to the marker.
However, Loftus’ men nonetheless managed to show dexterity and power in attack to score twice more in the second period, with replacement David Kriel the beneficiary both times.
Scorers:
Bulls
Attempts: Kurt-Lee Arendse (2), David Kriel (2), Schalk Erasmus, Stedman Gans, Travis Ismaiel
Conversions: Morne Steyn (5), Chris Smith (2)
Sharks
Attempts: Grant Williams, Marius Louw, Dan Jooste, Jaden Hendrikse
Conversions: Curwin Bosch (3), Jordan Chait
