More than 50 000 Loftus fans were shocked into a stunned silence

Last week, the Sharks packed themselves off to a reclusive residence in Rustenburg, far from the madding crowd and the niggling negativity that had dogged their stuttering Super Rugby campaign, and an immaculate plan was hatched to beat the champion Bulls and record one of the most famous wins in Sharks and Natal rugby history.

More than 50 000 Loftus fans were shocked into a stunned silence – not unlike in 1990 when Natal pulled off the biggest upset in Currie Cup final history – and the farewell to eternal Bulls heroes in Victor Matfield, Bakkies Botha and Fourie du Preez had been transformed into a funeral by the party poopers from Durban.

While the Pretorians ponder the failed defence of their title, the Sharks are packing for New Zealand and tomorrow night (Tuesday) begin a long trek to rustic Nelson on the South Island where they will play the seven-time champion Crusaders in a play-off match. And if they scale that mountain, they will proceed to Brisbane to play the Reds in one of the semi-finals. In the other semi, the Stormers will host the winner of this week’s other play-off match between the Blues and Waratahs in Auckland.

But back to the beating of the Bulls … In the build-up, there was hardly a rugby pundit in all of Christendom that backed the Sharks, and this was perfect motivational fodder for the Sharks in their Pilanesberg retreat.

“Being written off by everybody really galvanised us,” coach John Plumtree said yesterday. “Nobody picked us to win, and we fed off that, I guess. And we honestly believed that we could win as long as we got our game plan spot-on and then implemented it with 100 percent commitment. Games between the Sharks and Bulls are always tight and we never doubted we would have a chance. ”

Plumtree said that the decision to train away from the Shark Tank had been a masterstroke.

“Coming up earlier to the Highveld gave us a couple of training sessions at altitude and freed us from any distractions we might have had in Durban,” he said. “We could concentrate on how we would deal with the enormity of the occasion – sold-out Loftus and the last games there for some of their greatest ever players.

“And it was everything we thought it would be. It was a test-match atmosphere, a massive crowd and a wonderful rugby occasion, and it was good that we were able to contribute to it …” he added with understatement.

The Sharks had taken heart from the manner in which the Stormers and the Highlanders had beaten the Bulls at Loftus earlier in the season. The Bulls hardly ever lose at their fortress but on those two occasions the bullies became the bullied.

The Sharks players gave a bloody nose for each they received, and as a result the Bulls were harried out of their usual ruthless rhythm.

“We had to be totally committed,” Plumtree said. “We talked about the foot being flat on the accelerator for 80 minutes. We had to have full intensity in everything that we did, whether we had the ball or not. And the boys did exactly that.”

It was indeed a proud performance and it will be talk of the town for years to come. The Sharks started brilliantly, were on the back foot for ten minutes either side of half time, and then finished the better side.

“A big part of the plan was to disrupt their game. We couldn’t go up there and allow them to dominate the advantage line, so the breakdowns and collisions were an area we had to target,” Plumtree explained. “We managed to have a big presence in those areas, which was great, and that broke up their game. We were able to win some vital turnovers, although you could say they did the same to us. That was always going to happen in this type of contest.”

Crucially, and perhaps miraculously, the Sharks emerged from the battle with no injuries, and depart Sunday night with a full squad.

by Mike Greenaway