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The Sharks had their opportunities but were unable to finish most of them, allowing the Bulls to secure the win in their URC semifinal.
Sharks wing Makazole Mapimpi goes over for the first of their two tries during their URC semifinal loss against the Bulls at Loftus over the past weekend. Picture: Johan Orton/Gallo Images
The Sharks’ inability to finish their opportunities cost them dearly in their United Rugby Championship (URC) semifinal loss against the Bulls at Loftus over the weekend.
The Bulls emerged victorious 25-13 to set up a blockbuster final against Irish giants Leinster at Croke Park in Dublin this coming weekend, while the Sharks ended a much improved season on a disappointing note.
After their previous URC campaign, where they finished a disastrous 14th on the log, the Sharks turned that around this season, finishing third overall to host a quarterfinal for the first time, beating Munster on a historic penalty shootout, to then qualify for their first ever URC semifinal.
But they were unable to fire on the night, something that has troubled them over the season as a whole.
They importantly still found a way to come out on top, including in a five-game winning run heading into the semi, but they weren’t able to repeat the trick again in the playoff clash.
It will have been a frustrating watch for Sharks coach John Plumtree, as despite dominating possession and territory in the first half, they couldn’t get over the tryline, while he then had to watch them fall away after briefly fighting back at the start of the second.
It was during a period from the 27th to 49th minutes, when the Sharks had a man advantage the whole time, that they should have been able to battle ahead.
Sebastian de Klerk first got a yellow for a professional foul, followed by Cameron Hanekom for a tip tackle and Marcell Coetzee for pulling down the maul after a warning from the ref, which meant they played from the 36th to 46th minutes two men down against the visitors.
One score
But the Sharks could only score once in that period, Makazole Mapimpi going over in the 44th minute, before the hosts were back to their full complement, followed by an Ethan Hooker try in the 52nd minute making it 15-13, but the Bulls then pulled away again.
“We had plenty of opportunities (to score) before half time. We put the Bulls under pressure and they got three yellow cards, but we weren’t quite good enough to finish them off. We should have been closer to 15-15 at half time, but didn’t cash in close to the line,” explained Plumtree.
“We got held up over the goal line just before half time which was an absolute disaster. But I was still pretty confident at half time. We were starting to get our game going and had the territory we needed.
“We scored a couple of good tries (in the second half) to get back into the game, but weren’t quite accurate enough and they managed to get that try (from David Kriel) that broke our backs.
“We were a bit off our game on attack. Sometimes we played too deep when we had momentum and sometimes too flat when we didn’t.”
Goal kicking was also a problem for the Sharks over the game, with flyhalf Jordan Hendrikse missing three shots at goal, two penalties and a conversion, while only slotting one penalty, while his brother, scrumhalf Jaden missed a conversion, as they left 10 points out there.
