Following Ulster’s 34-26 victory over the Sharks in Durban, here are our five takeaways from the United Rugby Championship clash.
Top line
Ulster’s unbeaten run to the URC season continues as they trounced a Springboks-laden Sharks team on the East Coast and did so rather emphatically despite what the scoreboard suggests.
Nathan Doak masterminded the side’s first win on the road in quite some time with a brilliant tactical kicking display and an impressive showing of game management, which earned him the man of the match award.
He was at the centre of the visitors’ first try with three touches, the last of which saw Mike Lowry canter away over the try line with Werner Kok haunting his former employers as he skinned Andre Esterhuizen on route to grabbing Ulster’s second score in the 21st minute. Doak added the extras on both tries and a penalty to open up a 17-point lead before the Sharks finally opened their account as Springboks captain Siya Kolisi broke off the maul to power over the line.
That was all the hosts could muster in the first half as Ulster went into the sheds up 20-5 with Doak nailing another penalty before the half-time whistle sounded.
The Sharks threatened a comeback in the second half, mostly through their scrum dominance, with Grant Williams sending Makazole Mapimpi over after a wonderful skip pass that left the veteran winger with little to do but score. However, the wheels quickly came off for the Durbanites as Vincent Koch was yellow-carded for a tip tackle on Lowry.
Ulster wasted no time in punishing the 14-man Sharks as Tom Stewart powered over from close range with Mapimpi following Koch to the sin bin for a similar tackle on Lowry – this time the incident was upgraded to a 20-minute red card.
Again, the Sharks muscled up as the scrum eked out a penalty try, but a quick response from the visitors took the wind out of the hosts’ sails as Callum Reid barged over the try line.
Esterhuizen’s sharp and aggressive line saw the centre score his first try of the new season, and even with a brilliant drop goal conversion from Jordan Hendrikse after the ball fell off the tee, the Sharks were left with too much to do as Jacob Stockdale hammered the ball into the stands in his 100th appearance to seal the win.
Coach killers
The knives and pitchforks will be out demanding John Plumtree’s head after today’s showing, and an underwhelming start to the season.
The dismay from the Durban faithful is certainly understandable, considering the star-studded nature of the squad, but today’s display does require some context.
Sure, there were 13 Springboks in the starting XV, but most haven’t pulled on a black and white jersey since May, and the two structures certainly differ. One cannot expect them to simply hit the ground sprinting; the cohesion is just not there.
Additionally, there were just so many coach-killing moments. The first lineout was easily stolen after a bang average throw. The second won, but Ulster got possession soon after, with the visitors punishing some poor defensive reads to score.
First big opportunity in the Ulster 22, completely wasted by double banking at the maul, giving the visitors an easy-out. Players repeatedly rushing up into an offside position is not a defensive system issue but an individual player issue, and so many Sharks were guilty of that.
Throw in two yellow cards, one upgraded to a 20-minute red, for dangerous tackles, poor tactical kicking executions, loose passes, and loose ball carries, and it starts to create a perfect storm.
Nathan Doak class
It’s hard to believe that Nathan Doak is just 23 years old, and even more so that he doesn’t get the attention of the Ireland coaching team that he deserves.
Sure, he doesn’t bring the same tempo and swagger in attack as the likes of Jamison Gibson-Park and Craig Casey, but his control and tactical kicking are a real asset for Ulster and would translate easily to the highest level.
Today, he caused all kinds of problems for the likes of Siya Masuku, Edwill van der Merwe and Ethan Hooker in the backfield with perfectly placed kicks. He pitched in with a wonderful 50:22 that Kok wasted with a forward pass.
He showed his temperament too, with a calmly slotted place kick after the ball fell off the tee twice, with the one major blight on his game being his cardinal sin of selling loosehead prop Sean Crean down the river, telling referee Ben Whitehouse that he didn’t feed the ball into the scrum because the front rower’s knee was on the ground. The big man won’t forget that, come the fines meeting.
That aside, it was another assured performance from the scrum-half that has an air of Ruan Pienaar about him, and plays with a calm and coolness beyond his years. It looks as if it will be a tough task for him to catch the Test selectors’ attention, but if he continues to perform in this vein and being a catalyst for Ulster, surely he can’t be snubbed for too much longer.
Ulster’s best moment came through him today, whether it was his accurate kicking, his brilliant support play and his excellent decision making.
Brian O’Driscoll: Ireland are the laughing stock of world rugby
Springbok muscle
There is no hiding from the fact that the return of the Rugby Championship-winning Springboks to the Sharks’ matchday 23 was underwhelming, but there were shoots of promise that will give the fans some hope.
Most notably, the performance of the scrum that sent the Ulster pack into reverse and regularly won penalties. The combination of Ox Nche, Bongi Mbonambi and Vincent Koch was incredibly lethal, even when the latter was sin-binned and Ruan Dreyer took over, the tide did not turn.
That all-Bok front rower power hasn’t always transferred into the black jersey, but today it did, and Plumtree and his coaching team will want that to continue as the season continues.
Sticking with the power game, and there was no better example of just how lethal the Sharks can be than the performance of Esterhuizen, who was quite easily the side’s best player today. The powerhouse inside centre, who moonlights as a flanker for the national team, shunted his opposite number, Stuart McCloskey, to ground with incredible ease in the first half and did the same to replacement hooker Rob Herring, both Ireland internationals, to score his first try of the URC season.
With Jurenzo Julius having moments of excellence, Hooker also contributing more positives than negatives and Lukhanyo Am in the mix, the Sharks midfield does look to be good nick but just needs to find the right combination.
Rassie Erasmus’ verdict on Springboks featuring in midweek games against the All Blacks
Ulster’s charge, Sharks’ redemption?
After a winless four-game start to the new season, the Sharks will be out for redemption when they tackle the lowly Scarlets in a basement battle at Kings Park next weekend.
The pressure was on the Sharks to perform before the first whistle of the new campaign, and now the pitchforks are out. It’s simple, a reply is needed and quickly. Drastic change is unlikely, but the investors’ patience will eventually run out, particularly considering the quality of the squad; results have to be better.
As for Ulster, the fans will be smitten with the start to this season, particularly after last campaign’s struggles. Richie Murphy and his squad will have their tails up, and rightly so, as they head to Johannesburg next week. The province has found away wins hard to come by in recent times, but the Lions were far from convincing today, and a four from four start is well within their reach.