FULL-TIME, SHARKS 20-17 BULLS. A thrilling match that the Sharks snatched at the end, and thanks to taking the gamble of chipping into the in-goal area. Both sides enjoyed moments of dominance, but in the final analysis the Sharks deserved their narrow, thrilling victory! Hope you enjoyed following the action with us and we hope you enjoy the rest of your sporting weekend.
After a few broken scrums the Sharks feed the ball, win the scrum…run the line, ruck… and then Hendrikse slides the ball out from the ruck and. hacks it into touch and that's the ball game, folks!!!!!
Sharks feed the scrum 8m from their tryline…
The Bulls win the lineout ball, run right… but there's a knock-on… but the ref calls play back and gives the Sharks a final warning for an early hit in the lineout. We'll have another lineout… this time the Bulls knock-on and IT'S THE SHARKS BALL!!! MASSIVE ADVANTAGE LOST FOR THE BULLS.
DRAMA! IT HITS THE LEFT UPRIGHT AND REBOUNDS INTO TOUCH! The Sharks look to run forward but are penalised again… this time the Bulls kick to touch for a 5m lineout.
Bulls are awarded another penalty… Goosen lines it up in front of poles… but three paces inside the Bulls' half… he steps up, strikes it beautifully… it has the legs…
Bulls now feed the scrum on the halfway line… they run the ball to the left it reaches Moodie who powers forward until a third tackle brings him down as he feeds the man outside him, who is bundled into touch.
JUST WIDE! The Sharks still have it, and we're down to seven minutes worth of sand!
BULLS HAVE A PENALTY… it's nearer the left touchline and close to the 10m line… can Goosen pull them level?
PENALTY, SHARKS, HENDRIKSE! 20-17; Hendrikse strikes this one perfectly and the home side have the lead!
Sharks keep pressing… they force scrum just short of the Bulls halfway line… the Bulls are blown for a scrumming infringement… and the Sharks have another shot at goal! It's in front again and a couple of paces inside the Sharks' half.
AND HE'S MISSED!!!! Slap in front of poles from close to the Bulls 10m… he strikes it hard and high but it just slides wide of the poles! Does no-one want to win this match?
Sharks run from the line up to the Bulls 10m, but the ref blows for a penalty and Hendrikse will kick for poles in what could be the match-winning kick… plenty of time left but it's so tight we might not get many more points tonight, if any…
… but the Bulls are blown up for a foul and the Sharks kick play back upfield.
Bulls press forward and earn a lineout just short of the Sharks 22…they win the ball but the Sharks push them back to their 10m line… but the Bulls regain their ground and push to the 22…
JUST WIDE! It looked like it had the legs, but Hendrikse can't snatch a lead for the Sharks.
Penalty awarded to the Sharks from close the halfway line and Hendrikse is going for poles…
Penalty awarded to the Sharks from close the halfway line and Hendrikse is going for poles…
Mapimpi with some fine attacking play, but the Bulls gather him in both times.
The teams trade kicks and take turns storming back at each other in a quite breathless passage of play.
Both sides going full throttle now, the tackles flying in thick and fast as tension start to rise.
PENALTY TRY, SHARKS! 17-17; WHAT A DRAMATIC PASSAGE OF PLAY!
The Sharks storm back at the Bulls, Jordan Hendrikse slicing through the Bulls defence then chipping into the in-goal… two players vie for the ball as it heads to end-goal area… but Sebastian de Klerk pushes the ball out of play… and that is a yellow card offence… and it's a penalty try for denying a definite scoring opportunity. Very lucky for the Sharks… they had the guts to go for it and that can often pay off well, but they were lucky as the ball bounced right for them three or four times in that movement. But full marks for taking the gamble in the first place and not playing conservative.
Both sides take the opportunity for a counter-attack, the Bulls losing possession after a long kick back upfield runs out of play. From the restart the teams take turns kicking and running at one another…
PENALTY, BULLS, GOOSEN! 10-17; Goosen strikes his penalty home without a problem.
INCREDIBLE SCRUMMING from the Bulls, pushing the Sharks back and driving the scrum over the ball…they break and run at pace and are pulled to ground 14m from the tryline… and the Bulls are awarded a penalty! Goosen will kick for poles.
Bulls push the Sharks back into the 5m line before they gain a measure of respite, but the Bulls remain on the attack, albeit forced back past the Sharks 22 for a home scrum.
Bulls push the Sharks onto the back foot as they attack en masse.
KICK-OFF! We're underway with the second half here at Kings Park…
HALF-TIME, SHARKS 10-14 BULLS. Great play from the Bulls to turn things around after a strong start by the Sharks.
The Bulls lose possession and knock-on, the ref calling play back for a scrum on the 5m line in front of poles… the Sharks look to run but struggle to break through the Bulls' line. The eventually manage to kick free and chase the ball upfield, forcing a lineout just past the halfway line.
Ref calls play back for another Bulls scrum after the Sharks were blown for another foul.
Bulls press to the 5m line, hoist a kick into the in-goal area, but a pack of Sharks grab it… but the ref calls play back for a penalty… the Bulls electing a scrum on the 5m line.
Bulls keep ploughing forward at the Sharks who are suddenly looking ragged.
CONVERSION, BULLS, GOOSEN! 10-14; Goosen almost couldn't miss from 7m to the right of the right post as the Sharks take a four-point lead.
TRY, BULLS, VORSTER! 10-12; Bulls again win the lineout on the Sharks 22, run the ball, beating one man at a time… Sebastian de Klerk makes a great break through a pack of defenders before laying it off to Vorster, who powers over for the try. I sense a slight forward pass, but the TMO hasn't called it back so I won't say any more.
CONVERSION, BULLS, GOOSEN! 10-7; Goosen strikes his kick perfectly from a handful of metres left of the poles.
TRY, BULLS, WIESE! 10-5; Lovely, powerful set play from the Bulls from the lineout just inside the Sharks' 22… the Bulls run at pace, passing. their man… Hanekom finds a gap and bursts through, passing as he's tackled to Wiese, who powers 5m over the line for his first URC try, with a Sharks defender clinging to his jersey.
Fassi takes a quick lineout to himself and powers forward at the onrushing Bulls players, before flicking the ball left to Mapimpi, but it was too quick for the Bok World Cup hero to grab onto. Bulls win a scrum which fails to launch and the Sharks are penalised… the Bulls kicking for touch 10m short of the Sharks 22.
CONVERSION, SHARKS, HENDRIKSE! 10-0; Jordan Hendrikse converts his brother's try from right under the poles.
TRY, SHARKS, HENDRIKSE! 8-0; Brilliant rucking by the Sharks into the Bulls 22 and up to the 5m… Jaden Hendrikse spots the loose ball, picks it up and dives over the line right under the poles. Superb power play by the Sharks.
Dylan Richardson takes a heavy knock and is led off the field in a daze for a HIA but anyone watching can tell that his afternoon is done.
The Bulls are put under pressure on the halfway line, the pass out to the backline done in too much haste and it lands short of the centre, who can't help knocking on.
CLOSE! Goosen's kick just fails to reach the poles and the Sharks remain in the lead.
Bulls work the ball to the halfway line where the are brought down and wi a penalty 5m inside the Sharks half. They will kick for poles…
Bulls kick into the Sharks half, but the hosts drive back into the Bulls half before play breaks down and the Bulls win a penalty.
Bulls with the throw on the halfway line… but it's skew… and the Sharks elect to scrum on the halfway line.
PENALTY, SHARKS, HENDRIKSE! 3-0; Hendrikse has no problem slotting the penalty to open the scoring.
Great pressure from the Sharks to block a Bulls kick into their 22, and the follow up leads to a Bulls knock-on… the Bulls are penalised for a knock-on and off-side, and the Sharks will kick for poles from in front of goal and about 10m short of the Bulls 22m…
Breathtaking start as both sides mount attacks before the ref blows the Sharks for a forward pass on the halfway line.
KICK-OFF! We're underway with the first half of this South African derby!
Referee: Morné Ferreira (South Africa). Assistant referees: Aimee Barrett-Theron (South Africa), Griffin Colby (South Africa). TMO: Quinton Immelman (South Africa).
Bulls: 15 Willie le Roux, 14 Sebastian de Klerk, 13 Stedman Gans, 12 Harold Vorster, 11 Canan Moodie, 10 Johan Goosen, 9 Embrose Papier, 8 Elrigh Louw (captain), 7 Cobus Wiese, 6 Cameron Hanekom, 5 JF van Heerden, 4 Ruan Vermaak, 3 Wilco Louw, 2 Akker van der Merwe, 1 Gerhard Steenekamp. Replacements: 16 Johan Grobbelaar, 17 Jan-Hendrik Wessels, 18 Francois Klopper, 19 Sintu Manjezi, 20 Marcell Coetzee, 21 Keagan Johannes, 22 Sergeal Petersen, 23 Devon Williams.
Sharks: 15 Aphelele Fassi, 14 Yaw Penxe, 13 Ethan Hooker, 12 Andre Esterhuizen, 11 Makazole Mapimpi, 10 Jordan Hendrikse, 9 Jaden Hendrikse, 8 Siya Kolisi (captain), 7 Emmanuel Tshituka, 6 Phepsi Buthelezi, 5 Emile van Heerden, 4 Jason Jenkins, 3 Vincent Koch, 2 Dylan Richardson, 1 Ox Nche. Replacements: 16 Ethan Bester, 17 Ruan Dreyer, 18 Trevor Nyakane, 19 Corne Rahl, 20 Nick Hatton, 21 Cameron Wright, 22 Siya Masuku, 23 Jurenzo Julius.
The Bulls also won their last match, knocking Connacht over 28-14 away from home. The Bulls dotted down for four tries, with Goosen nailing all for conversions.
The Sharks won their last match (in Round 7) by beating the Stormers 21-15 at home, dotting down for three tries.
The Sharks are also enjoying a good season, with four wins from their six matches, but they have a points difference of minus-4. They are on 19 points, which is just two above 11th-placed Scarlets.
The Bulls are third on the URC table, having won five of their six games. They also have a very healthy plus-57 points difference. They are on 24 points, just 10 short of the leaders, Leinster.
The Bulls have won four of the last five matches between the two sides, with an average points spread of 32-25.
Bulls: 15 Willie le Roux, 14 Sebastian de Klerk, 13 Stedman Gans, 12 Harold Vorster, 11 Canan Moodie, 10 Johan Goosen, 9 Embrose Papier, 8 Elrigh Louw (captain), 7 Cobus Wiese, 6 Cameron Hanekom, 5 JF van Heerden, 4 Ruan Vermaak, 3 Wilco Louw, 2 Akker van der Merwe, 1 Gerhard Steenekamp. Replacements: 16 Johan Grobbelaar, 17 Jan-Hendrik Wessels, 18 Francois Klopper, 19 Sintu Manjezi, 20 Marcell Coetzee, 21 Keagan Johannes, 22 Sergeal Petersen, 23 Devon Williams.
Sharks: 15 Aphelele Fassi, 14 Yaw Penxe, 13 Ethan Hooker, 12 Andre Esterhuizen, 11 Makazole Mapimpi, 10 Jordan Hendrikse, 9 Jaden Hendrikse, 8 Siya Kolisi (captain), 7 Emmanuel Tshituka, 6 Phepsi Buthelezi, 5 Emile van Heerden, 4 Jason Jenkins, 3 Vincent Koch, 2 Dylan Richardson, 1 Ox Nche. Replacements: 16 Ethan Bester, 17 Ruan Dreyer, 18 Trevor Nyakane, 19 Corne Rahl, 20 Nick Hatton, 21 Cameron Wright, 22 Siya Masuku, 23 Jurenzo Julius.
Good afternoon and welcome to derby day in South Africa in the United Rugby Championship. It's the Sharks hosting the Bulls here at Kings Park Stadium in Durban, and we're all set for a cracking contest!