The Sharks have emerged comprehensive 53-7 victors over a young Blue Bulls XV in a Super Rugby warm up in Durban this evening.
Rob du Preez’s shadow Super Rugby team overcame an initial setback, with the Bulls scoring a quick try, to score five of their own in the first half. New man Kobus van Wyk dotted won first, with scrumhalf Cobus Reinach – in great form – adding a second. van Wyk scored twice more for a first-half hat trick, before fellow wing Lwazi Mvovo crossed for a fifth just before half time. Pat Lambie nailed three conversions for a 31-7 half-time lead.
A slew of changes in the second half disrupted rhythm, but four further tries were scored after the team settled down. Jeremy Ward again went through with his first touch of the ball, with Wian Vosloo, Chiliboy Ralepelle and S’busiso Nkosi adding the others. Replacement flyhalf Benhard Janse van Rensburg added a conversion to take the final score to 53-7, a nine try to one thrashing.
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Any injuries?
@byron (Comment 1) : I haven’t heard anything
Thats great news
@byron (Comment 3) : no, what it is is no news 🙂
ok – heard from a coach. Sounds like we’re good.
The score against basically the Bulls third team is not good. Don’t want to read too much into it but we need to learn to put teams to the sword. Trust the structures, maintain accuracy, maintain intensity regardless of opposition. We can’t only raise our game against what we deem tough competition.
Great to hear there’s no injuries!
Dare we feel optimistic….
The Bulls probably got some value out of this game, but for the Sharks it was a pure loss. Surely, when you invite another union to a warmup match, you need to verify that they are able and willing to send a decent team. Else, what is the point of the game?
From where I sit it looks like the Sharks were taken for a ride.
@fyndraai (Comment 9) : Agree 100% except not Sharks taken for ride but Sharks fans,should have played a probables against possibles open to the public trial, rather than pat ourselves on the back at smashing a junior Bulls team on a club field.
When the best thing you can say after a warm up game one week before the tournament kicks off is” phew no injuries.”
Bulls on the other hand have a morale building win against the Chiefs in N.Z under their belt.
I’d say Bulls 1 Sharks 0 in the pre season friendly stakes.
@The hound (Comment 10) : For what it’s worth, I was one such Sharks fan at the game last night and thought it was a wonderful initiative. Credit to Crusaders and whoever was involved in establishing a quality family environment where we could mingle with the players after the game. I sure didn’t feel taken for a ride.
In terms of actually taking anything out of the game – sure, we probably don’t other than another hit-out for the guys. It’s been a really low-key preseason, but hey, we’ve tried ones involving tours etc before and those haven’t gotten us too far either.
@Shakes34 (Comment 11) : The ,………(nearly said it) will be the first game of the tournament, was the Bulls way right or was ours.Bulls fully climatized and ready to go, or guys probably haven’t been given their kit yet.
@The hound (Comment 10) : Look, time will tell…
It must just be pointed out that in the last few years we had morale-boosting wins on overseas tours and it didn’t bring us much when Super Rugby time came around. In fact, in the end, most on here agreed that it was good that that particular experiment with high profile tours came to an end. The Bulls have now done what we did the last few years…also, they beat an almost completely second-string Chiefs side, that a friend of mine who was at the game said was experimenting quite a bit…is that such a big help? Well, let’s see what happens. I am not that against the approach we’ve taken. Are we better than the Bulls? I don’t know. I look forward to the game…
@Shakes34 (Comment 11) : Great stuff…I wish I could have made it with my family…
@pastorshark (Comment 13) : Me tools I said the…. will be in the…….
@GreatSharksays (Comment 6) : Well it afforded Rob an opportunity to test and experiment, which would be difficult to do against tough opposition right off the bat and is less costly in injuries. So I think it’s a weighted decision and easing us back in helps the confidence levels. We know how playing good sides straight off worked for us last year losing a lot in those openers. The season is still long let’s try to start the competitions that actually count with a full compliment.
Seems like Brendan Venter forgot to teach Italy defense again.How did this team beat the Boks.
@The hound (Comment 15) : What on earth are you on about?
@robdylan (Comment 18) : Your rules the unmentionable phrase, proof,pudding,duh.
@pastorshark (Comment 13) :
It blows my mind that South African teams that don’t have enough money to keep their top players at home yet can find money for overseas trips to play nothing games.
@The hound (Comment 19) : ah, I get it. And you are welcome to use the phrase correctly.
@fyndraai (Comment 20) : Basically the Bulls just left a week early for their tour and will be totally acclimatized for their first game including having beaten N.Z opposition,which no matter how disorganized it was must surely be a better challenge than playing their third team
@The hound (Comment 22) : Jaaaa…not really…they left on their tour three weeks early, beat a second-string New Zealand side, played a 10-man tournament – the value of which I’m not totally sold on in prep for Super Rugby – and do what now? Do they stay over there until Super Rugby starts? That must be expensive…and puts them on a 7-week tour? Surely they,come back home before going over again? Anyway, it may give them some advantages…maybe…but it is, at the very least, debatable…
So I’m sticking to my: let’s wait and see…and in my gut, meanwhile, probably agree more with @fyndraai (Comment 20) :
@The hound (Comment 17) : would love to hear the answer to that to!!! Irish murdered them and once again CJ stood out as an awesome player!!!
@The hound (Comment 22) :
This is nonsensical.
The schedule I’m looking at, says the Bulls play round 1 in Cape Town 2 weeks from now. Their 1st game in NZ is only on March 25th.
@fyndraai (Comment 25) : Well, that answers that question…sorry, lesson learned. Next time I’ll look at the fixture list before commenting…though our point stays the same…
@fyndraai (Comment 25) : Got me too I presumed they’d just gone there early,
@JD (Comment 24) : Straus was huge for Scotland as well, good player
@The hound (Comment 27) : Just for interests sake, knowing that…do you think this tour, with one 15s game and then a 10s tournament, was a sensible approach by the Bulls?
Really not sure why we are trying to read so much into preseason games. The games are purely for match practice and being able to tackle and run against people other than those you train with every day. Scores count for very little unless im not aware of log points being awarded this year for preseason games? I think because there was no rugby for so long we tend to get a bit over excited about preseason games
@SheldonK (Comment 30) : Exactly, it’s merely there to test combo’s and get physically ready for the season, scores in pre-season have never counted in anyone’s favor once the season has started.
Does anybody have an idea how the Reds and Brumbies teams are looking btw? Have they had any pre-season matches yet?
@pastorshark (Comment 29) : considering the Aus and NZ teams play this tournament every year. I suppose it does help playing it.
@pastorshark (Comment 29) : Look the season will tell if they were right.
What they have achieved is they’ve taken the team away out of their comfort zone, and done the kind of bonding that only an overseas tour does.
They have probably achieved their objectives as this is a relatively young team.
We on the other hand will only do this on the eve of the first game.
We haven’t even played out of Durban.
If we look at the various SA teams in preseason:
Sharks have won 2 games comfortably
Stormers have won 2 comfortably
Bulls have won 2
Kings have struggled to win 2
Cheetahs lost 2 comfortably
Lions have lost 2