Home > Rugby > Sharks v Bulls: Super 14's new South African era puts Kiwis and Aussies in the shade

Sharks v Bulls: Super 14's new South African era puts Kiwis and Aussies in the shade

The Blues and Crusaders from New Zealand and the Brumbies from Australia have dominated Super Rugby for 12 seasons. That is about to change.

by Hamish McBrearty on 17 May 2007

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Butch James: Match-winner for the Sharks (Gettyimages.com)

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The Super 14 Final will be played in Durban this weekend between the home-town Sharks and the Bulls. This marks the first time the final has been played in South Africa, and the fourth time it has been contested by two teams from the same country.

The Sharks, playing their third Super Rugby final, defeated the Blues in the first semi-final to claim their spot. The victory over the Blues was almost a reflection of how the Sharks' season had gone -a strong start, somewhat faltering at the midway point, before an emphatic finish.

After two unsuccessful semi-final appearances, the Bulls were finally able to qualify for the final with a hard-fought victory against defending champions Crusaders. In a tryless game, it was the boot of Derick Hougaard which propelled the Bulls to victory with eight penalties and a drop goal. The Crusaders’ goal line was only threatened once in the entire match, but hooker Gary Botha dropped the ball as he stretched out.

Fans are in for a clash of styles in this final, between the fast and open play of the Sharks and the methodical and tight play of the Bulls. This clash did not go well for the Bulls all the way back in Week One where they went down 17-3 to the Sharks in Durban.

The Sharks toned down their attacking instincts a little in the semi-final, playing a slightly more forward-based game, but when asked to cut loose, the Sharks backs did exactly that. Flying centre Waylon Murray scored one try and caused trouble for the defence all game, while first-five Butch James controlled play well in the pivot role before scoring the match-winning try himself. No.8 Ryan Kankowski had a storming game, emerging as a top Springbok prospect, with his loose-forward partners AJ Fenter and Jacques Botes dominating the breakdown.

The Bulls’ formula for success is very simple; grind your opponents down with bruising forward play, kick penalty goals and then put the tired opposition away with their explosive backs. It is a formula that has worked well so far this season but will be sorely tested on Saturday. The main strength of the Bulls, their big and dominating forward pack, is also their weakness. If teams are able to move the ball wide quickly, the big Bulls’ forwards struggle to keep up, which is exactly the type of rugby the Sharks play.

In a World Cup year, an all-South African final is good for world rugby. Many pundits were already crowning the All Blacks as world champs and writing off everyone else. But the resurgent Springboks could change all that.

So who has the greater power, the Sharks or the Bulls? Post your comments below or, better still, write an article for Sportingo.

Comments (1)

by Scott on May 20, 2007

I believe the emergence of both of these sides and the demise of the all conquering New Zealand sides (Crusaders mainly) is brilliant for the competition as a contest. I think the fans and Crusaders were getting bored with the status quo. It is exciting seeing some exciting players emerge from the Republic especially but also the NZ teams with the reconditioning programme.