Kolisi commends Bulls on URC win, wishes them the best for final

Sharks stand-in captain Siya Kolisi was humble in defeat as his side crashed out of the United Rugby Championship in the semi-finals against the Bulls.

He and coach John Plumtree even wished the Pretoria side the best for their final against Leinster in Dublin next weekend, with Plumtree saying he would proudly wear a Bulls shirt on the day.

The Bulls proved the more mature of the two South African sides in their semi-final, starting well and then holding onto their lead throughout the game despite a Sharks resurgence and a period when the Bulls were down to 12 men.

They won the day three tries to two (score 25–13) thanks to their excellent defence, which the Sharks could not penetrate even when they had extra men. Though they did score once when they had superior numbers, they were twice on the Bulls try line during this period and failed to finish.

They also only slotted one out of five kicks at goal.

‘We fell over our feet’

“We didn’t start well but the Bulls were really good today. They took their opportunity. We made a lot of mistakes as well but well done to them and all the best for them for the final,” Kolisi said afterwards.

The eighthman was standing in for Sharks club captain Eben Etzebeth, who picked up an injury in the week leading up to the game. Kolisi said they knew the local derby would be hard and had prepared for it. However, they failed to execute their game plan.

“We created a lot of opportunities, got to the try line a couple of times. But we fell over our feet. And their set-piece dominated us a little bit. Well done to them.”

Sharks didn’t have the best season, but Kolisi is proud

The Springbok captain added the Sharks had not clicked this season though they were still able to win close games (half their regular season wins came by seven points or less). Yet they showed grit, especially in their quarter-final win against Munster, decided by a penalty shootout.

“But we are going to build from here. We should have had a better season as a team but we were happy we were able to get to the semi-final.

“Today we were beaten by a much better team who took their opportunities and we didn’t do that. We wish them the best, hopefully they can go and win it.”

For his part, Bulls captain Ruan Nortjé thanked the Sharks for the “awesome game”.

“It was a bouncy ball, it could have gone any way. We are just really lucky to be on the winning side tonight,” Nortjé said.

“With all the yellow cards we got they put us under a lot of pressure. The lineouts as well, so credit to them. But I am just really proud of the boys.”