Plumtree won't forget the horror of the 2007 Super 14 final

SPRINGBOK great Victor Matfield recently said on social media that perhaps the greatest moment of his glittering career was the Bulls’ Super 14 final defeat of the Sharks in Durban in 2007.

- MIKE GREENAWAY

The Bulls captain’s opposite number that day, John Smit, said: “I will probably never get over it.”

This was the unforgettable match in which Bryan Habana scored in the final movement of the game, with Derick Hougaard’s simple conversion sealing a 20-19 victory. The Bulls had escaped in that epic encounter, but the door was opened for them because the Sharks were pitifully poor in closing out the game.

Their decision-making in the final frantic minutes could serve as a textbook case for coaches around the world on what not to do in a final. Current Sharks coach John Plumtree was in the coaches' box that day as assistant to Dick Muir, and he might well remind his players of the mistakes the Sharks made as he prepares them for Saturday's visit to Loftus Versfeld for the United Rugby Championship semi-final against the Bulls.