At Loftus- The Bulls convincingly thrashed the Sharks 40-27 yesterday in the United Rugby Championship at Loftus Versfeld to maintain their good form in the competition. 

Over 20,000 fans, including a contingent of the Mamelodi Sundowns team, flocked to Loftus on Sunday to watch rugby, something that does not usually happen. The crowd came out in numbers for the Pink Drive match that aims to raise awareness against breast cancer.

The home team, the Bulls, were wearing their alternative pink jersey, blending in with the theme of the occasion. The energy from the crowd spurred the Bulls to a much-spirited start as they looked to claim early dominance in the match.

They managed to impose themselves on the Sharks, going hard in the tackles and collisions, which looked to work as the visitors from Durban appeared to have jitters. The Sharks lost Ben Tapuai, Dylan Richardson, and Ntuthuko Mchunu because of some crunching tackles from the Bulls.

The performance from the Sharks continued their worrying trend of being unconvincing in the URC without their Springbok players, they just can’t put on a decent showing without their internationals. The Bulls were superior in every aspect, they had dominance in the scrums, lineouts, and turnovers and looked dangerous when entering the Sharks territory.  

The Pretoria-based side dotted down the white line four times through  Marcell Coetzee, Embrose Papier, Stravino Jacobs,  and Jan-Hendrik Wessels, while the Sharks managed to do so three times via Marnus Potgieter, Aphelele Fassi and Phepsi Buthelezi.

The big difference on the day was Bulls flyhalf Chris Smith, who put in a cool, calm, collected kicking display, slotting four penalties and conversions. His kicking capacity in terms of scoring points and kicking for territory was excellent on the day. One would think he should be on the Springboks Outgoing Tour but the Boks brain trust does not rate him.