Bulls flyhalf Morne Steyn kicked five penalties and a drop goal, all in the second half, as the three-time champions clung on for an 18-13 win over the Sharks on the first day of the Super 15 season on Friday.
The Bulls finally found their feet in the South African conference opener at Loftus Versfeld after neither team could score in the first 40 in a rusty, error-strewn start by both.
However, Springboks No. 10 Steyn kicked four goals in a 10-minute spell early in the second half and his drop in the 68th gave the Bulls an 18-6 cushion.
Photo: EPA
Replacement flanker Jacques Botes crossed for a try for the Sharks in the 71st, bursting onto a short pass to finish an 80-meter attack, but the Bulls held on to start their new era without former stalwarts Victor Matfield, Bakkies Botha and Fourie du Preez with a victory.
The Bulls were without 13 players from last season through retirements and transfers, including retired former skipper Matfield and fellow Springboks Botha, Du Preez and Danie Rossouw, who have moved on.
Steyn missed two shots at goal in the first half, and the Sharks missed three, but the Bulls finally found their traditional forward dominance in the opening 20 minutes of the second half to take control.
Photo: EPA
Despite a late surge from the Sharks, where Botes scored and the visitors from Durban ramped up the pressure in the last five minutes, the Bulls held out to go top of the early Super 15 standings.
“We knew it was going to be tough,” new Bulls captain Pierre Spies said. “Nil-nil at halftime, we knew we needed hard work in the second half, luckily the boys got some momentum and Morne made the difference. That’s why it’s -important to have guys like that in your team.”
Matfield is now dividing his time between TV commentary work and his role as Bulls lineout coach, and presented an unfamiliar image in a suit and tie and holding a microphone on the sidelines at Loftus — where he played for a decade before retiring following last year’s World Cup.
South Africa flyhalf Steyn also wasn’t himself as he pushed shots wide of the right-hand post in the 12th and 24th minutes. Sharks No. 10 Pat Lambie missed two kicks in the first half and teammate Riaan Viljoen was off target with a 60-meter effort.
Steyn and Lambie swapped penalties in the first five minutes of the second to finally get the scoreboard working, but with the Bulls on top their No. 10 slotted over again in the 49th, 54th, 56th and 58th — the last after a weaving break from Francois Hougaard, Du Preez’s replacement at scrumhalf.
Lambie added a second penalty only for Steyn to reply with a drop from in front as a bunch of handling errors from both teams prevented any clear cut try-scoring opportunities until the last 10 minutes.
Replacement back and South Africa Sevens player Paul Jordaan began the Sharks’ long-range attack, wing Lwazi Mvovo motored down the left side of the pitch and Botes eventually took a short pass from the ruck to carve through.
Lambie’s conversion closed it to five points and the Sharks launched two late attacks, but the Bulls wouldn’t budge.
Juandre Kruger, Matfield’s replacement in the blue No. 5 jersey, won the man of the match award after an impressive show in the middle of the Bulls lineout.
“He’s a legend of the game and I appreciate all his help for the team,” Kruger said of Matfield, his new lineout coach.
A sumo star was born in Japan on Sunday when 24-year-old Takerufuji became the first wrestler in 110 years to win a top-division tournament on his debut, triumphing at the 15-day Spring Grand Sumo Tournament in Osaka despite injuring his ankle on the penultimate day. Takerufuji, whose injury had left him in a wheelchair outside the ring, shoved out the higher-ranked Gonoyama at the Edion Arena Osaka to the delight of the crowd, giving him an unassailable record of 13 wins and two losses to claim the Emperor’s Cup. “I did it just through willpower. I didn’t really know what was going
The US’ Ilia Malinin on Saturday produced six scintillating quadruple jumps, including a quadruple Axel, in the men’s free skate to capture his first figure skating world title. The 19-year-old nicknamed the “Quad god,” who is the only skater to land a quadruple Axel in competition, dazzled with an array of breathtakingly executed jumps starting with his quad Axel and including a quadruple Lutz in combination with a triple flip and a quadruple toe loop in combination with a triple toe. He added an unexpected triple-triple combination at the end to earn a world-record 227.79 in the free program for a championship
Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter is being criminally investigated by the IRS, and the attorney for his alleged bookmaker said Thursday that the ex-Los Angeles Dodgers employee placed bets on international soccer — but not baseball. The IRS confirmed Thursday that interpreter Ippei Mizuhara and Mathew Bowyer, the alleged illegal bookmaker, are under criminal investigation through the agency’s Los Angeles Field Office. IRS Criminal Investigation spokesperson Scott Villiard said he could not provide additional details. Mizuhara, 39, was fired by the Dodgers on Wednesday following reports from the Los Angeles Times and ESPN about his alleged ties to an illegal bookmaker and debts well
MLB on Friday announced a formal investigation into the scandal swirling around Shohei Ohtani and his former interpreter amid charges that the Los Angeles Dodgers superstar was the victim of “massive theft.” The Dodgers on Wednesday fired Ippei Mizuhara, Ohtani’s long-time interpreter and close friend, after Ohtani’s representatives alleged that the Japanese two-way star had been the victim of theft, which was reported to involve millions of dollars and link Mizuhara to a suspected illegal bookmaker in California. “Major League Baseball has been gathering information since we learned about the allegations involving Shohei Ohtani and Ippei Mizuhara from the news media,” MLB