14-man Sharks win Craven Week opener

The KZN boys held out for a brave win over the Bulls despite being reduced to 14 men for more than half of the game.

A six try blitz in the opening 30 minutes all but sealed victory for the Sharks, but a red card on the stroke of half time changed the tone of the game completely. Sharks flank Dylan Kruger charged in to a ruck and cleaned out a Bulls player, but the referee ruled that the opensider had made contact with the player's head - ending Kruger's afternoon. 

The Bulls then made the most of the overlap and scored 33 points in the second half, giving the Sharks a run for their money. Only sheer determination and brutal physicality allowed the Sharks to hold on for victory – while two late scores gave the KZN outfit some breathing space. 

Sharks coach Jeremy McLaren was a relieved man after the final whistle. After such a phenomenal start to the game, the coach lamented the red card and also expressed his displeasure with the decision.

“After the game, we asked Marius Jonker to find out about the decision for us. We appealed the decision because according to all the video footage it should have been a yellow. It was quite a tough call and it obviously changed the momentum of the game,” McLaren said.

“If we never had that card we would have kept momentum. Through it all, we learned a lot out of it, I said to the boys that it was a massive show of character to pick ourselves up.”

“As a coach you’d rather take that and build on it, you don’t want to be too confident going into game two. We must humble ourselves and get back on track. It was nerve-wracking but the character they showed was phenomenal.”

In years past, the Bulls have always been physical and aggressive but they seemed shell-shocked by the Sharks attitude in the first half. The KZN side dominated collisions which allowed them to build a big lead early on.

McLaren said they’d always planned to take the game to the Bulls upfront.

“You always know what you are going to get from the Bulls and if you deny them front-foot ball and possession they are going to struggle. Our boys were so keen for it, they just knew they could take them on and be physical and I think we won that battle.”

The Sharks will take on SWD in Thursday main game. Kick-off is at 15h30.