Bulls beat Sharks in first outing of 2012
Physical battle caught on camera by Anton Geyser/Rugby15
The Vodacom Bulls kicked off their 2012 Super Rugby campaign with a hard fought but forgetable 18-13 win over the Sharks at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria.
It was Morne Steyn’s boot that proved to be the deciding factor in a match that took more than 60minutes to eventually come alive and saw the first points scored only in the second half.
A total of five penalties were missed during the first half with both teams struggling with communication and handling. A very rare sight to see a half time score of 0-0 in Super Rugby.
The second half started with Morne Steyn and Pat Lambie exchanging early penalties. It was then that the Sharks found themselves on the wrong side of Jonathan Kaplan’s whistle at the breakdown and Steyn quickly added another four penalties to extend the Bulls’ lead to 15-3.
The Sharks struck back with another Lambie penalty before Steyn slotted one of his trademark drop goals to make it 18-6. The Sharks however scored the only try of the match when they broke out from their own 22 and Jacques Botes stormed over. Pat Lambie added the conversion and the gap was reduced to only 5 points with 8minutes left.
The Bulls defence kept up the intensity and commitment and made sure the Sharks would not spoil the night out for almost 50’000 fans.
This match was definitely not a good advert for the sport and both teams have plenty of aspects to work on before their next outing.
Scorers:
VODACOM BULLS: 18
Penalties: Morne Steyn (5)
Drop Goal: Morne Steyn
THE SHARKS: 13
Try: Jacques Botes Conversion:
Pat Lambie Penalties: Pat Lambie (2)
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