Is it really 13 years since Craig Jameson and Naas Botha marched their sides on to the field at Loftus for the defining Currie Cup final of the modern era?
Sharks supporters still measure themselves on where they were when Tony Watson got the clinching try, while Bulls supporters regard it as the day the dream of invincibility died.
On Saturday the two sides will meet again in the Currie Cup final, having somehow managed to avoid each other in the showpiece event of South African rugby since 1990. Starting with that landmark win, Natal clinched the title four times in seven years, but have not won it at all since 1996. This is a chance to kick-start a new golden era for the province.
The Bulls beat Transvaal in the 1991 final, but went into a sorry decline when their talisman, Botha, retired the following year. It would be seven years before they won it again, this time under the captaincy of Joost van der Westhuizen. 1998 was a bizarre year in many ways and the Bulls were some way short of a great side, a fact that made Van der Westhuizen even happier to castigate the press for their lack of faith.
Last year they did it again, upsetting the odds to beat the Lions in the final at Ellis Park. When the restructuring of the competition was announced midway through the season many believed that the Bulls would struggle to be part of the 2003 premiership. It took a very dubious try against the Eagles in George to ensure that they would finish high enough up the table to avoid the drop at season’s end.
Significantly the dubious try in question was scored by Derick Hougaard, a callow youth of a flyhalf who had been sent from the field on the recommendation of Van der Westhuizen after his failure to shape on his Currie Cup debut against the Leopards in Potchefstroom.
Hougaard came on as a replacement against the Eagles and kicked crucial goals in addition to his try. After that he never looked back, and in the final he broke one of Botha’s old records by scoring 26 points through a try, five penalties and Botha’s trademark, two drop goals.
It goes without saying that the Bulls will miss Hougaard on Saturday while he is attempting to keep the Springbok dream alive against Samoa in Brisbane. His replacement, Louis Strydom, is a capable enough player, but scarcely likely to take a game by the scruff of the neck in the way Hougaard can.
But Strydom’s very presence throws into sharp relief the Bulls’ remarkable achievement in reaching the final in the first place. No fewer than seven of the team that played in last year’s final are with the Springboks, including four of the tight five. They should not even be competitive, never mind in the final with home advantage.
It suggests that after the best part of a decade in the doldrums the Bulls are likely to be genuine contenders in every competition they enter for the foreseeable future. Assuming, of course, that avaricious rivals do not raid their player pool. Rivals such as the Sharks, for instance.
Sharks coach Kevin Putt has gone through the horrors this past fortnight. His side dominated the tournament to the extent that, just past the half-way point, a home final was not so much an ambition as a certainty.
A poor tactical display in a monsoon against the Lions cost them a home final, and they came desperately close to allowing Western Province in via the side door with a less-than-convincing display against Free State last week.
The fast-finishing Bulls thus have home advantage against a team that may have peaked about a month too early.
In a dress rehearsal for the final at Loftus three weeks ago the Bulls won 20-15, scoring the only two tries of the match in front of a crowd in excess of 40 000.
The erratic kicking of Butch James kept the Sharks in the game, but there were few moments of genuine panic for the Bulls.
There is little reason to believe that this Saturday will be any different, and that the Bulls will extract a little revenge from the side that rained on their parade a small matter of 13 years ago.