Sharks show their teeth in Durban
The Sharks scored seven tries past the Boland Kavaliers to record an emphatic 46-10 Currie Cup victory at the Absa Stadium.
The Sharks scored seven tries past the Boland Kavaliers to record an emphatic 46-10 Currie Cup victory at the Absa Stadium in Durban on Friday.
The defending champions bounced back in fine fashion from last week's opening loss to Western Province, snatching first place on the championship table albeit temporarily.
It was important that the Sharks showed they had overcome the loss of their Springboks and other players to injury, and proved they have the depth to compete. But coach John Plumtree and his troops will realise that there is plenty of work to be done before they face the Blue Bulls next weekend.
The winning side scored some good tries, and the Boland side's nightmare outing was highlighted when Sharks lock Albert van den Berg intercepted to run 80 metres after the final hooter.
The overall memory of the match will be the whistle of referee Joey Salmans that worked overtime, with the Sharks' discipline in the first half letting them down about as much as the Kavaliers' handling.
The Sharks did some things well, some outstanding, but they will be disappointed with the lack of structure sometimes forced on them by an abrasive but somewhat disjointed Boland team that brought very little to the match but guts.
The home side started off like a runaway train, doing everything including cleaning out the breakdowns at speed. Their first try by Riaan Swanepoel was a gem and came within the first minute. That promised more than just the big win that materialised.
The Sharks poor first-half discipline on their own goal line helped Boland to threaten for about ten minutes, but where a more competent side would have pounced, turnovers cost them in this period as it did virtually throughout when they had possession.
That fact that an average display by the Sharks was enough to take a 29-3 half-time lead is an indictment of the losers' strength.
Having said that, it took four excellent tries by the Sharks to run up this half-time score, with a 40-metre sprint by prop Deon Carstens the most exciting and the first try scored by Keegan Daniel of the same quality as Swanepoel's after some good work by the speedy Lwazi Mvovo.
The game lost some structure as both teams threw the ball around in the second half but not always with reward. Boland played bravely and looked to make the most of their efforts, and while they did create and close out an opportunity when centre Deon Scholtz scored their only try, they simply could not match the Sharks' firepower and attacking prowess.
Stefan Terblanche embraced his captaincy with glee as he had an outstanding game, positionally correct and outstanding on attack as he sparked a number of creative opportunities.
Few highlights followed after the Kavaliers' seven-pointer, until Van den Berg brought some excitement with a third second-half try for the winners.
The scorers:
For Sharks:
Tries: Swanepoel, Carstens, Burden, Daniel 2, Van den Berg
Cons: Kockott 3, Dumond
Pen: Kockott
For Boland:
Try: Scholtz
Con: Harris
Pen: Peach
Yellow card: Guy Cronj̩ (Sharks, 60 Рfoul, play, spear tackle)
Sharks: 15 Stefan Terblanche (c), 14 Odwa Ndungane, 13 Andries Strauss, 12 Riaan Swanepoel, 11 Lwazi Mvovo, 10 Guy Cronjé, 9 Rory Kockott, 8 Keegan Daniel, 7 Jean Deysel, 6 Jacques Botes, 5 Albert van den Berg, 4 Steven Sykes, 3 Patric Cilliers, 2 Craig Burden, 1 Deon Carstens.
Replacements: 16 Skipper Badenhorst, 17 Wiehahn Herbst, 18 Nikolai Blignaut, 19 Justin Downey, 20 Ross Cronjé, 21 Monty Dumond, 22 Luzuko Vulindlu.
Boland Kavaliers: 15 Justin Peach, 14 Mark Harris, 13 Deon Scholtz, 12 Dewey Swartbooi, 11 Sogidashe Luvo, 10 Elgar Watts, 9 Marnus Hugo, 8 Alwyn Bester, 7 Wendall Wehr, 6 Zolani Mofu, 5 Rito Hlungwane, 4 Frikkie Spies, 3 Jacobie Adriaanse, 2 Conrad Burke (c), 1 Janro Van Niekerk.
Replacements: 16 Lewis Clemin, 17 Jane du Toit, 18 Grant le Roux, 19 Karel Hoffman, 20 Angelo Brinkhuys, 21 Alvin Hugo, 22 Hein Myburgh.
Referee: Joey Salmans