Bulls made to sweat by Sharks as they advance through to URC final at Loftus Versfeld

The Sharks were valiant opponents but the Bulls showed valour on defence and efficiency on attack to fight through to the final of the United Rugby Championship.

They beat the Sharks 25-13 in front of a rapturous crowd of 48 000 to ensure a final against Leinster in Dublin.

The match kicked off in an electrifying atmosphere and the players responded in kind, with breathtaking action throughout.

The first scrums had the massive home crowd roaring as the Sharks went backward at a rapid rate of knots. From one such reverse action, the ball spilled out wide and Sharks wing Ethan Hooker scooped the ball to score, but the try was disallowed because his backline had been offside.

The Bulls countered magnificently. A perfect lineout saw scrumhalf Embrose Papier break through the retreating defence, and the ball went wide to wing Sebastian de Klerk, who finished slickly.

Both Papier and De Klerk had points to prove after being left out of the 54-man Springbok squad, and they gave Rassie Erasmus something to consider.

Just as the first quarter ended, it seemed as if the Sharks had weathered the storm. Their scrum settled after the initial brutal attacks, but when Jaden Hendrikse was under pressure in the Sharks’ 22, he slipped when attempting a clearance kick and the ball stumbled forward to the Bulls. De Klerk kick-passed out wide to Canan Moodie, who finished neatly in the corner.

Jaden’s brother, Jordan, put the Sharks on the board with a well-taken penalty in the 25th minute to make it 12-3.

The Sharks were revived and when the Bulls lost a lineout, Makazole Mapimpi made a strong thrust up field and, in the tackle, Harold Vorster did not release him. The Bulls centre was yellow carded, but Hendrikse missed the shot at goal to let the Bulls off the hook.

With five minutes to go in the half, the Bulls’ scrum picked up their intensity and a penalty won was converted into three points by Goosen. At 15-3 with halftime looming, the Sharks were in trouble.

But once more the Bulls made life difficult for themselves when Cameron Hanekom tip-tackled opposite number Siya Kolisi. He was sin-binned but, interestingly, the Sharks spurned the easy three points and kicked to the corner.

They were repelled and Vorster earned his team a penalty at a breakdown. It proved to be an injudicious decision to squander the three points.

The Sharks continued their pressure as halftime approached and again won a penalty in front of the posts. Once more they chose the corner instead of the points, and this time the pressure resulted in veteran Marcell Coetzee received a yellow card for pulling down the maul

This was in the 40th minute and he joined Hanekom in the naughty corner. Somehow the Bulls survived the siege on the line and went to the change rooms 15-3 in front.

The Sharks continued their assault and five minutes into the half, Mapimpi accelerated to the corner after a series of phases from a lineout. Hendrikse missed the conversion to leave it at 15-8 to the Bulls.

Sadly, in the 28th minute URC Next Gen Player of the year, Hanekom was carted off the field with what looked to be a serious knee injury.

It was all Sharks in the third quarter and they were rewarded for their relentless pressure when space was found for Hooker out wide, and he finished superbly. Jaden Hendrikse took over the kicking duties from his brother, but missed the conversion to leave the Bulls 15-13 in front.

This hurt all the more for the Durbanites when Keegan Johannes nailed a pressure penalty with his team’s first meaningful possession of the half to make it 18-13.

The Bulls had taken a lot of punishment, and they upped their tempo, with outside David Kriel finishing a movement started by Papier.

At 25-13 with ten minutes to go, that was the ball game.

Scorers

Bulls — Tries: Sebastian de Klerk, Canan Moodie, David Kriel. Conversions: Johan Goosen, Keegan Johannes. Penalties: Goosen, Johannes.

Sharks — Tries: Makazole Mapimpi, Ethan Hooker. Penalties: Jordan Hendrikse.