24 October 2026
The Vodacom Bulls U20 cruised to a resounding 45-12 victory over the Hollywoodbets Sharks U20 GEN to book their place in the SA Rugby U20 Cup final next weekend. Having finished top of the regular season standings, the Pretoria outfit will host the final at Loftus Versfeld against the Fidelity ADT Golden Lions U20.
The young Hollywoodbets Sharks side caught the hosts cold right from the kick-off. Loose forward Divan Fourie crashed over for an early try with only two minutes on the clock, which Stefan Moolman converted to hand the visitors an early 7-0 lead.
The Pretoria outfit quickly found their rhythm and launched a devastating four-try blitz before the break. Luan Van der Berg ignited the fightback in the 19th minute, followed shortly by a five-pointer from Pieter Van der Merwe to wrestle back momentum. Flyhalf Viaan Mentoor then controlled the game, dotting down a try of his own before setting up Brooklyn Newman on the stroke of halftime to establish a commanding 26-7 cushion.
The Durban side showed plenty of fight early in the second stanza when Khuti Rasivhaga crossed the whitewash to bridge the deficit to 14 points. However, the Bulls bench brought renewed energy, and Kebotile Maake breached the Sharks' defensive line in the 59th minute to restore complete control for the light blue jerseys.
The final quarter saw the Sharks' defensive discipline completely fall apart under relentless pressure from the Bulls' pack. The visitors conceded four yellow cards in the final ten minutes, leaving gaping holes in their defensive line. Chinedu Amadi and Hendré Schoeman both capitalised on the numerical advantage to round off a comprehensive seven-try performance.
The victory sets up a massive trans-Jukskei clash for the silverware next weekend at Loftus. The Golden Lions U20 secured their final spot yesterday after defeating the DHL Stormers Bolts 38-18 in Johannesburg.
Scorers:
Vodacom Bulls U20: Tries: Hendré Schoeman, Ruben Pienaar, Kebotile Maake, Luan Van Der Berg, Pieter Van Der Merwe, Viaan Mentoor, Brooklyn Newman, Chinedu Amadi. Conversions: Ruben Pienaar, Viaan Mentoor (3).
Hollywoodbets Sharks U20 GEN: Tries: Khuti Rasivhaga, Divan Fourie. Conversion: Stefan Moolman.
Teams:
Vodacom Bulls U20: 1 Aphiwe Shelembe, 2 Ethan Van Dyk, 3 Luan Van Der Berg, 4 Raphael Ajibade, 5 Heinrich Theron, 6 Kebotile Maake, 7 Thomas Beling, 8 Juliun Cosmo, 9 Brooklyn Newman, 10 Viaan Mentoor, 11 Lindsey Jansen, 12 Pieter Van Der Merwe, 13 Marnus Rademeyer, 14 Leskin Samuels, 15 Liyema Nela. Replacements: 16 Stefan McDonald, 17 Duwan Potgieter, 18 Bongani Dlamini, 19 Migael Turner, 20 Chinedu Amadi, 21 Hendré Schoeman, 22 Ruben Pienaar, 23 Riwan Van Aswegen.
Hollywoodbets Sharks U20 GEN: 1 Rambo Kubekha, 2 Liam Van Wyk, 3 Aiden Botha, 4 Jake Jansen, 5 Claud Steyn, 6 Luann Olivier, 7 Sipho Nonyalela, 8 Hendrik Jordaan, 9 Zirk Meyer, 10 Stefan Moolman, 11 Khuti Rasivhaga, 12 Janco Purchase, 13 William Ridl, 14 Lizwe Mtetwa, 15 Divan Fourie. Replacements: 16 Clinton Agu, 17 Jeffrey Singo, 18 Cruzz Davey, 19 Zian Erasmus, 20 Imivuyo Kemka, 21 Liam Simpkins, 22 Pieter Bergh, 23 Gregan Jansen.