URC Grand Final berth at stake in Pretoria

There will be no love lost when the Vodacom Bulls host the Hollywoodbets Sharks in their all-South-African Vodacom United Rugby Championship semifinal in Pretoria on Saturday, where a place in the Grand Final of the cross-hemisphere showpiece will be up for grabs.

The match, which marks the Vodacom Bulls’ second successive Vodacom URC home semifinal, and the first time ever that the Hollywoodbets Sharks vie for a place in the top two, will kick off at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday evening.

Leinster will go head-to-head with the defending champions, the Glasgow Warriors, in the other semi-final at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin in the afternoon, with that result set to determine where the Grand Final will be hosted.

A victory for Leinster will guarantee them a home final in Dublin as the top-ranked team on the standings, however, should they suffer a defeat, the final will be in South Africa, for the fourth season in a row.

There will be no shortage of motivation in the Vodacom Bulls and Hollywoodbets Sharks camps, as the men from Pretoria hunt their third final berth in four seasons and try to prove to their fans that they can correct the wrongs of the last few years (in which they suffered defeats in two finals), while the Hollywoodbets Sharks will be determined to continue making history by advancing to their first Grand Final.

Spicing up the clash even more, the Vodacom Bulls suffered defeats in both their matches against the Hollywoodbets Sharks in the league stages this season, going down by three points in Durban and 10 points at home – results that will undoubtedly inspire the visitors and psyche up the hosts.

NEAR-PERFECT RECORD

Interestingly, those losses marked two of only four defeats in total for the Vodacom Bulls throughout their campaign, while the defeat at home was the only blemish on a near-perfect record in Pretoria so far this season, where they are currently on a six-match winning run.

Both teams showed grit in their quarter-finals against Edinburgh and Munster respectively to progress to the top four, but it will only show on Saturday whether the Hollywoodbets Sharks’ marathon 100-minute rally and an emotionally-charged penalty shootout against the Irish giants, will inspire them or count against them, especially with the altitude factor also coming into play.

Statistically, the Vodacom Bulls – who have won their last eight matches on the trot – have been more effective on attack and defence this season, with 124 more points scored and 32 fewer conceded, but history and the results in the last two outings between the sides have proved that this could be irrelevant.

While the Vodacom Bulls would have placed a big emphasis on their defence, in particular, this week after leaking 33 points against Edinburgh, the key focus area for the Hollywoodbets Sharks would have been on converting their point-scoring chances into points after failing to capitalise on numerous chances against Munster last week.

Both coaches named sides loaded with Springboks, which will set the scene for a nail-biting encounter.

Vodacom Bulls coach Jake White made only one change to his starting lineup that defeated Edinburgh, recalling Springbok flyhalf Johan Goosen, which means Keagan Johannes is now on the replacements’ bench.

Hollywoodbets Sharks coach John Plumtree, meanwhile, made two changes to his starting team that defeated Munster in a penalty shootout last week after losing Bok locks Eben Etzebeth and Jason Jenkins to injuries, which will see Corné Rahl partner up with Emile van Heerden in the engine room. There are also two changes on the bench, with Deon Slabbert and Jurenzo Julius included amongst the replacements.

TEAMS:

Vodacom Bulls: 15 Willie le Roux, 14 Canan Moodie, 13 David Kriel, 12 Harold Vorster, 11 Sebastian de Klerk, 10 Johan Goosen, 9 Embrose Papier, 8 Cameron Hanekom, 7 Ruan Nortje (Captain), 6 Marcell Coetzee, 5 JF van Heerden, 4 Cobus Wiese, 3 Wilco Louw, 2 Johan Grobbelaar, 1 Jan-Hendrik Wessels. Replacements: 16 Akker van der Merwe, 17 Simphiwe Matanzima, 18 Mornay Smith, 19 Jannes Kirsten, 20 Marco van Staden, 21 Zak Burger, 22 Keagan Johannes, 23 Devon Williams.

Hollywoodbets Sharks: 15 Aphelele Fassi, 14 Ethan Hooker, 13 Lukhanyo Am, 12 Andre Esterhuizen, 11 Makazole Mapimpi, 10 Jordan Hendrikse, 9 Jaden Hendrikse, 8 Siya Kolisi (Captain), 7 Vincent Tshituka, 6 James Venter, 5 Emile van Heerden, 4 Corne’ Rahl, 3 Vincent Koch, 2 Bongi Mbonambi, 1 Ox Nche. Replacements: 16 Fez Mbatha, 17 Ntuthuko Mchunu, 18 Hanro Jacobs, 19 Deon Slabbert, 20 Phepsi Buthelezi, 21 Bradley Davids, 22 Jurenzo Julius, 23 Yaw Penxe.

Semifinal match information:

Vodacom Bulls v Hollywoodbets Sharks

Date: Saturday, 7 June

Venue: Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria

SA Time: 18h15

Referee: Andrew Brace

TV: SuperSport