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SARugbymag.co.za highlights five talking points after national rugby returned to South Africa with Super Fan Saturday in Pretoria.
White takes the Bulls back to the roots
The Vodacom Bulls got their new era under rugby director and head coach Jake White off to a spectacular start after beating the Sharks in a 49-28 win after leading 35-7 at halftime.
After undergoing a team review during the six-month break imposed by Covid-19, the Bulls were expected to return to their traditional strengths of a forward-dominated approach and with heavy kicks.
As it would happen, the Bulls put on a tactical masterclass, opening up an early lead through a maul attempt, a disputable kick attempt and a loss attempt.
Even as the Sharks gained momentum in the first half, they found themselves stifled by a Bulls defense to their face, putting them under a lot of pressure in the collapse.
It was certainly a declaration of intent against the team that had topped the Super Rugby rankings and was comfortably the best team in South Africa in March.
ALSO READ: Bulls Outperform Sharks
Seven stars to add the X factor
While the Bulls pack received a lot of praise for the way they outperformed the Sharks, the performance off their backs also garnered attention.
Cornal Hendricks was surprisingly named in the inner center. The 32-year-old has been used primarily on the Bulls’ right wing, but was tried as an outside center under former head coach Pote Human with mixed success.
Outside of Hendricks, there were two Blitzboks in Stedman Gans and Kurt-Lee Arendse. Gans had previously played for the Bulls at the Currie Cup level, while Arendse was playing his first official game of fifteen since playing for the University of the Western Cape in the Varsity Cup.
However, the trio put up excellent performances, bringing pizzazz and cunning to a Bulls bottom line that seemed lost in ideas in March. Gans scored a try after chasing down a Morne Steyn kick and helped another when he executed an excellent line on a Steyn pass to set up Travis Ismaiel. Arendse got a couple of tries, one of them coming from an 80-meter dash when the Bulls won a loss within 22.
Meanwhile, the Sharks also had a former sevens star in Werner Kok, who was playing in his first outing for the team since arriving from Toulouse. While he ended up on the losing end, Kok grafted in well and looked like one of the most dangerous players on the Sharks’ backline.
ALSO READ: The Bulls showed a trick or two on Super Saturday
Gelant will add a new dimension to Stormers
With all the changes that had come with the Bulls team, the Stormers also benefited by bringing fullback Warrick Gelant back to the Western Cape.
The Stormers would have been delighted with the performance of their star signing, who has spoken of becoming a more complete fullback with the team.
Gelant not only helped Damian Willemse control the game with some well-placed kicks, but he also constantly tested the line and took a try when he broke through defense after seeing two Lions forward rowers ahead of him.
Players show aptitude at altitude
A big concern for the coaches of the South African franchise would have been how their players adapted to their first real outing, with the risk of injury to the star players.
The good news, however, was that all four teams made it through the day relatively unscathed, despite it being the first competitive part of rugby the players had experienced in six months.
Stormers coach John Dobson, who only brought a 25-man team to Pretoria, was especially pleased with the way his team had coped with the game at height.
“We didn’t bring in 30 players because we wanted some of them to play the full 80 minutes and the Lions almost caught us. I thought we were very lucky to hold out, but we showed a reasonable amount of character.
“Spending 80 minutes at altitude after a wet winter in the Cape and getting a result makes me proud of Siya and the team,” added Dobson.
ALSO READ: Stormers outperform Lions
South African rugby has a bright future
With many of the coaches naming expanded 30-man squads for Saturday’s action, there was a chance that some relatively unknown names would land a first run for their top teams.
Many of these players are likely to be involved in the five-team Under-21 Championship in October, which will be played in a ‘bubble’ in Johannesburg.
The Sharks had several youngsters involved in their outing against the Bulls, with another sevens player in Muller du Plessis starting on the wing, while loose forwards Evan Roos and Celimpilo Gumede, as well as hooker Dylan Richardson, sought the challenge against. a more experienced player. Pack of bulls. Junior Springbok scrum half Jaden Hendrickse brought a fair amount of control to the proceedings, while hooker Dan Jooste, a Western Province signing, scored a well-deserved try in the second half.
The Bulls also gave their fans a glimpse into the future when they removed young mainstay Jan-Hendrik Wessels, someone Jake White compared to the great Os du Randt of the Bok in preparation for Saturday.
While the Stormers got tired in the second half, forward Nama Xaba, who replaced captain Siya Kolisi at halftime, was a constant threat in the breakup and delivered a series of great tackles.
The Lions were able to welcome another promising player to the team in Gianni Lombard after he recovered from a terrible knee injury suffered in 2019.Lombard had already made his Super Rugby debut and was paired with Elton Jantjies in a combination. from 10-12 last year. .
COLUMN: Control the controllable
Photo: Sydney Seshibedi / Gallo Images
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