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Gelant sparkles as Bulls batter Sharks
By Christopher Devine
Livewire full-back Warrick Gelant scored a sensational hat-trick at Kings Park as the resurgent Bulls made it back-to-back wins in Super Rugby with an emphatic 40-10 triumph over the Sharks.
Having broken a four-match losing streak with victory over the Stormers last time out, the Bulls dominated proceedings in Durban, securing a bonus-point win to leap from fifth to second in the South African Conference.
Gelant claimed two tries in the first eight minutes following an early Robert du Preez penalty for the Sharks, the South Africa full-back latching on to Handre Pollard's clever chip over the top before crossing again from his own kick forward.
Adriaan Strauss - the scorer of three tries against the Stormers - was driven over to stretch the Bulls' advantage and, although the Sharks claimed a lifeline just before the break as Andre Esterhuizen powered to the line, the visitors effectively wrapped up their win early in the second half.
A penalty try made it 28-10, with Thomas du Toit sin-binned for collapsing a maul, and the Bulls finished with a flourish with the game long beyond their opponents.
First, Gelant completed his treble, again kicking on for himself in the 78th minute, and Johnny Kotze added a sixth Bulls try with the Sharks in disarray.
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Latest Comments
SCW really dislikes Eddie, doesn't he?
His words in 2019 before the RWC final that he now says should have resulted in Eddie's firing:
"Was Saturday’s sensational World Cup semi-final win over New Zealand England’s greatest ever performance? Yes, unquestionably, would be my answer."
So let's fire the coach one game later? Duh!
Go to commentsIreland have every right to back themselves for a win. But the key variable has little to do with recent record etc.
The reality is that Ireland are a settled team with tons of continuity, an established style, and a good depth chart, whereas NZ are fundamentally rebuilding. The questions are all about what Razor is doing and how far along he is in that program.
NZ are very close to really clicking. Against England all of the chatter is about how England could have closed out a win, but failed to do so. This has obscured the observation that NZ were by far the more creative and effective in attack, beyond the 3-1 try differential and disallowed tries. They gave away a lot of unnecessary penalties, and made many simple errors (including knock-ons and loose kicks). Those things are very fixable, and when they do so we are once again going to be staring at a formidable NZ team.
Last week we heard the England fans talking confidently about their chances against NZ, but England did not end up looking like the better team on the field or the scoreboard. The England defense was impressive enough, but still could not stop the tries.
Ireland certainly has a better chance, of course, but NZ is improving fast, and I would not be surprised at a convincing All Black win this week. It may turn on whether NZ can cut out the simple mistakes.
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