The Sharks came away with a bonus point win against the Bulls at Loftus. Picture: Gordon Arons/Gallo Images
Sharks flanker Tinotenda Mavesere hailed his side’s maturity and in turn received praise from his coach after being awarded Man of the Match in Saturday’s game between the Sharks and the Bulls.
The teams collided in their second United Rugby Championship (URC) derby at Loftus after the Sharks took the honours by just three points in Durban in December (final score 20–17).
While the Pretoria game saw a greater win margin (final score 29–19) the match was closer than the score suggested for most of the game.
In the end, it was a 20-minute period in the second half where the Sharks scored three unanswered tries that carried their momentum and took the game beyond the reach of the home side despite a late consolation try.
All this while the Sharks received three yellow cards between the 42nd and 48th minute, taking them down to 12 men for a period.
Mavesere, playing his 11th game for the Sharks and making just his fourth start, led the tackles statistics with 15 and scored a crucial breakaway try in the 67th minute.
“I am really happy the boys pulled through despite there being a lot of yellow cards, just like the last time we played here,” the flanker said.
“It was teamwork. It was preparing [for the game] from Durban to here. Everyone was on the same page. Everyone bought in.”
He said losing Trevor Nyakane and Bongi Mbonambi early to injury compounded the challenge when the cards were dished out.
But the squad showed “character more than anything” to elevate their performance and come back with a win.
“In the past, when Springboks were away we performed really badly. Now you can see the gap is closing. It is what the new management wants. We are moving in the right direction.”
He joked he was wearing the national team’s socks but got serious when speaking of how the Sharks performance would inspire the nation just as the Springboks did.
Sharks backline coach Dave Williams said Mavesere had been in training waiting for his opportunity for a while before the game.
“I think he took it with both hands tonight. He becomes another player in the mix for that back row position so it’s great for us as well as our nation,” Williams said.
The win took the Sharks to the top of the URC’s South African shield after the Lions beat the Stormers in Johannesburg earlier in the day.
Download our app
