JJ Harmse

Trust the Bulls to achieve the impossible. Again, they defied the odds, as they did in all of 2007 and for that they will be remembered. They created their own destiny and stuck to their unbelievable spirit to win the Super 14.

Again, unfortunately, there was controversy that overshadowed their victory and the unbelievable achievement of the trendsetters in South African rugby.

The way the ball was won back to enable Bryan Habana to score that final try, is now suddenly the focus in many a newspaper and Steve Walsh is quoted as saying that he got it wrong.

Yes, he did, just two minutes earlier when Albert van den Berg’s try was awarded. It was clear that there was no way that he could have awarded the try, yet no one is doubting that call or why Walsh did not go to the TMO.

There is no doubt that Habana deserved a yellow card early in the game and to be honest, if the final was played in Australia or New Zealand, a red card would have been the most likely outcome.

However, there were also other calls where Walsh and the officials got it wrong. Just as everybody was wondering, why Frans Steyn rushed his last kick, but forgets that Percy Montgomery missed two sitters as well.

And as Habana is the real hero, everybody seems to forget that it was a conversion that won the game, not the try. If Hougaard missed, he would have been ostracised, but he succeeded and now Habana is the hero!

The Bulls know how it feels to lose out in the last minute. They have been waiting to jump on the crossbar, Jaco van der Westhuyzen-style, for three long years.

In 2005, that last gasp try by the Cheetahs ripped the Currie Cup away from the Bulls. Last year, during the drawn Currie Cup final, the Bulls had to sit and wait for the Cheetahs to complete their victory lap around Vodacom Park before they could lay their hands on the Cup they came to reconquer.

During this year’s competition, the Bulls shaped their destiny week after week. Remember, they had a home game less than the Sharks and dropped one of those when a really bad call by a touch judge cost them the match against the Force at Loftus.

And a week later, when Habana scored the winning try against the Chiefs, again after the buzzer, it was the moment that finally launched them towards the title.

Their three victories in Australasia were a fantastic first for South Africa, as was that memorable day against the Reds.

Sixth on the log

That game showed fans that this team would not give up. Remember, they started that game sixth on the log and finished it second.

I suppose one can write a glowing report on the Sharks as well. But in the words of Tiger Woods, second place is first loser. And that is unfortunately the way the Sharks will be remembered by those without any affinity for the black and white cause.

It was their big chance and they could not do it. Next year there will be no AJ Venter, Johan Ackermann, Percy, Bob Skinstad, Warren Britz, Albert or even John Smit, all who deserve to go out winners. Their departure is a huge, huge loss to **** Muir. He will be back, no doubt, to fight another battle, but somehow I feel he will not be as confident in his arsenal as he was in 2007.

The Sharks fans are in despair, the Bulls’ ones ecstatic, but even it if was the other way around, you can be sure that both teams will again have massive support in 2008. Even more than the Springboks.

But then, they are not continually undermined by politicians and edgy administrators. The Bulls and Sharks coaches, Heyneke Meyer and Muir are tipped for the national set-up. I could understand if both were reluctant to leave the empires they have built for what can only be described as organised chaos.

The Bulls fan or Sharks fan is totally committed to his/her team. The mess at national level will not make those fans jump ship to join the Springbok cause.

The success of last year’s Currie Cup, rated by many as one of the best yet, and the fantastic way the Super 14 ended, should have had fans flooding Bloemfontein to see the Springboks beat the hell out of the English. After all, Bok van Blerk has been reminding us how bad the English treated us in his song De La Rey. There is a reason why the N1 past Bloemfontein has no traffic jams.

Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates fans do not miss a game their teams play, but somehow Bafana Bafana does not hold the same attraction. The rugby fan feels the same way at the moment about the Springboks. Both sporting disciplines have the same problem: meddling politicians and unsure officials.

Chiefs and Pirates were established in the bad, bad days of segregation and separate development. Yet, in the new, democratic South Africa, their fan base is bigger than ever before. Does this mean their fans are still supporting the past, the old system or are racist? Of course not.

Maybe it is time for politicians and administrators to understand that like soccer fans rooting for Chiefs and Pirates, and rugby fans that support the Springboks (or the Bulls and Sharks for that matter) are not clinging to something that was good in bad days. They just want to feel proud and part of something special that speaks to the core.

And if any politicians or administrators with those values can step up, we will be proud of them too. Until then, it seems the Bulls, Chiefs or De La Rey will have to do.

Read JJ every Sunday in Rapport

Liefling…………….!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

As jy nie `n verloor kan hanteer nie hoe gaan jy nie aangaan AS julle wen nie….as as…..as as……..Liefling…!!!!!!!!

Classic man!!!

Also I thought Matfield’s after-match comment about the Sharks being the better team for 79 minutes were well spoken. Humility and respect – makes the world go ’round.

Go watch the final again and you just might get what I ‘m talkin about.

I could not believe it!

It’s a good thing this game has come at the end of the season for fear of the team imploding with blame.

William Shakespeare last year the Sharks had the worst draw in history, having to cross the Tasmin 3 times and the Bulls still had to thank theirs and the Stormers sponsors for getting into the final.

Pieter #13 it was Mallet that stuffed up Gaffies and Dave Von Hoesselin’s career by blaming them for losing to New Zealand. Give Steyn a break the oak isn’t even 20 yet.

What about you guys who were directly involved, it must be the worst feeling that might even deprieve you your sleep. Hard luck, perhaps as they say everything happens for a reason – those young heads in your team need to know and experience how it feels to lose in those circumstances.

It might just mean winning the Super 14 Cup for the next two to three years.

I apologise unreservedly.

Sharks/Bulls

1. penalties conceded 5/10
2. missed tackles 19/11
3. handling errors 12/7
4. turnovers conceded 11/3

Despite Lady Luck being with the Sharks all the way, they botched it (a gifted intercept try and Albert’s try that should never have been awarded).

Not finding touch, missing easy conversions (they have 4 international kickers in the team).

The Bulls, on the other hand, have BMT and they scored 2 well-worked tries. All odds were against them (compare the draws).

But most important of all, the scoreboard says the Bulls were the better team.

The Sharks staff would be well advised to analyse the stats above and the positive impact of the favourable draw. Then the result would not be such a big surprise…

Who is the backup kicker for the Sharks ?

John Smit.

Thats the Bulls for you…

Shark In Africa said in 2006, not this year, 2007.

Sharks did not have the worst draw – in fact they had the best ever draw. All the stars were aligned for a Sharks win if you look at the draw. We will have to see how good they are next year when they have the Bulls’ draw. Every second year is a draw from hell. This year it was the Bulls’ turn to have a draw from hell, which was complicated by losing against the Western Force. That is why the Bulls’ business plan was to win the S14 in 2008, not in 2007 already.

The Sharks had the following tough away games:
Force, Chiefs, Blues

The Bulls had the following tough away games:
Crusaders, Brumbies, Sharks, Hurricanes, Highlanders, Waratahs (the latter faded this year after having been perrennial semi-finalists)

we don’t count away games against Cheetahs, Lions and Stormers

Don’t ask me – I’m not a Sharks supporter!