Clinical Sharks power past Griquas
The Sharks consolidated their position at the top of the Currie Cup table thanks to a deserved 40-22 triumph over Griquas in Kimberley on Friday.
The win is the Sharks’ eighth successive one of the season and gives them a comfortable 14-point lead over second-placed Free State Cheetahs in the standings, although the Sharks have played one game more.
The men from Durban led 19-7 at half-time thanks to tries from Marius Louw, Jeremy Ward and Ross Geldenhuys after Kyle Steyn crossed the whitewash for the home side.
Griquas made a terrific start and three minutes after the restart Steyn went over for the opening try. This, after Ederies Arendse and AJ Coertzen combined brilliantly in the build-up before Coertzen got a pass out to Steyn who dotted down.
The Sharks did not take that lying down and five minutes later, Louw gathered a well-timed pass from Curwin Bosch, close to Griquas’ try-line, before barging over for a deserved try.
The next 15 minutes was a frantic affair as both sides gave the ball plenty of air but neither team could score points during this period. The Sharks eventually took the lead when Keegan Daniel offloaded to Ward who got over for an easy five-pointer.
And just before half-time, Geldenhuys crossed for the visitors’ third try from close quarters which gave his side a 19-7 lead as the teams changed sides.
The Sharks continued to dominate after the break and 10 minutes after the restart, Bosch again turned provider for Louw who powered his way through two tackles before scoring his second try.
The Sharks were in control now and in the 58th minute, Louis Schreuder got the ball out to Keegan Daniel who crossed for their fifth try.
To their credit, Griquas did not surrender and five minutes later Enver Brandt crossed in the left-hand corner after George Whitehead set him up nicely with a telling break in the build-up.
The closing stages were frantic as Griquas launched several attacks deep inside the Sharks’ 22 and they were rewarded in the 78th minute when Wilmar Arnoldi barged over for their third try.
The Sharks finished stronger, however, and Ward crossed for his second try just before ful-time to seal the visitors’ victory.
The scorers:
For Griquas:
Tries: Steyn, Brandt, Arnold
Cons: Whitehead 2
Pen: Whitehead
For Sharks:
Tries: Louw 2, Ward 2, Geldenhuys, Daniel
Cons: Bosch 5
Griquas: 15 AJ Coertzen (c), 14 Ederies Arendse, 13 Kyle Steyn, 12 Johnathan Francke, 11 Enver Brandt, 10 George Whitehead, 9 Renier Botha, 8 De Wet Kruger, 7 Sias Koen, 6 Wendal Wehr, 5 Pieter Jansen van Vuren, 4 Jonathan Adendorf, 3 Stephan Kotze, 2 AJ le Roux, 1 Nicolaas Oosthuizen
Replacements: 16 Wilmar Arnoldi, 17 Liam Hendricks, 18 Sintu Manjezi, 19 Shaun McDonald, 20 Tiaan Dorfling, 21 Andre Swarts, 22 Eric Zana
Sharks: 15 Garth April, 14 Odwa Ndungane, 13 Jeremy Ward, 12 Marius Louw, 11 Sibusiso Nkosi, 10 Curwin Bosch, 9 Louis Schreuder, 8 Tera Mtembu, 7 Tyler Paul, 6 Keegan Daniel, 5 Ruan Botha (c), 4 Jean Droste, 3 Ross Geldenhuys, 2 Franco Marais, 1 Juan Schoeman
Replacements: 16 Akker van der Merwe, 17 Thomas du Toit, 18 Hyron Andrews, 19 Wian Vosloo, 20 Michael Claassens, 21 Tristan Blewett, 22 Inny Radebe
Referee: Anselmi Federico (Argentina)