Sharks made to work hard in Durban
Sat, 29 Mar 2008 19:05
Speedster: Odwa Ndungane in action
The Sharks raised their game in the second half of their Super 14 clash against the Reds to snatch a 22-10 victory in Durban.
The Reds were very good value and pushed the Sharks hard, going into the half-time break at 10-all, but the home side scored three tries to cement second place in the log standings.
Doff your hats to the Reds! They won the first half - 10-all in points but they were well on top. And they won the end game when they got no points. They won 50 minutes of the game but ended losing, but losing so bravely you could not but admire their effort and grit - and their undoubted fitness which saw them finish better than the Lions last weekend and better than the Sharks this weekend. There is clearly a good spirit in the side.
After the match Latham said: "We did a lot better than people thought we'd do." There was pride even in disappointment.
The Sharks in the first half seemed to want to score the bonus point in ten minutes and forgot about rugby as a team game with a foundation of basics. When they got possession they kicked and kicked and kicked. Apart from the kicks which were a transfer of possession they kicked into touch so that the Reds threw in to 11 line-outs to their own five. No wonder they struggled to get possession. The second half was different. They kept the ball and built a platform for victory, a victory which they deserved.
The second half was also different because Frédéric Michalak came on for Murray. Not that he improved on Murray but because François Steyn moved into the centre. At flyhalf the young genius had simply done too much and made too many mistakes. Then, too, the arrival of perky Rory Kockott added life to the Sharks and set up their first try of the second half.
The other change in the second half was the dominance of the Sharks' scrum. In the first half tackling had wearied them; in the second half scrumming wearied the Reds.
The Sharks also profited by surprising errors by devoted John Roe. He contributed to their first try, lost the Reds a try and was the gateway to Bismarck du Plessis's try.
Absa Stadium was packed and the home crowd on a comparatively cool day enjoyed their side's victory even though it was not an elegant, flowing one. It was the sort of win South African sides do well and which was even more effective in pre-ELV days. Not elegant but a whole lot better than losing.
The Sharks started looking like a side going to snatch tries. From a maul after a line-out they worked a narrow side and Keegan Daniel raced away before giving to a flying Odwa Ndungane but Latham tackled him solidly.
There was an interesting duel between the Sharks wing and the Reds full back for above all Ndungane showed how to tackle Latham.
The Sharks attacked and were to be awarded a penalty but instead Stefan Terblanche dropped a goal. 3-0 after 8 minutes.
The Reds then attacked with pick-'n-go with David Croft twice prominent and Latham close to scoring. But the Sharks who had conceded only four tries in their previous five matches kept them out.
They had a scrum in their territory in front of the posts. While the ball was in the scrum, Ruan Pienaar ran wide to take a pass from Ryan Kankowski and was penalised for doing so. Clinton Schifcofske goaled. 3-3 after 17 minutes.
The Reds were hot on the attack when the Sharks scored their first try. Quade Cooper with some really fancy footwork secured the ball off a Pienaar kick and started a counterattack that sent Latham racing at the line. Ndungane hauled him down but the Reds continued to attack till Kankowski tackled James Horwill who spilt the ball into the hands of JP Pietersen some five metres from his line. Pietersen hoofed the ball downfield - into vacant territory.
Roe went back for the ball and got their first, fell and knocked the perverse ball on. Pietersen was on hand to pick it up and give it to Murray who gave to Ndungane who had 22 metres of freedom on a run to the posts. Pienaar converted. 10-3.
Terblanche broke out of deep defence and Steyn was well wide with a drop, but these were sporadic happenings. Most of the time the Reds attacked and the Sharks defended.
In one Red attack Berrick Barnes hoisted a diagonal from his right to his left. The ball bounced in in-goal where Roe was first to the ball which was bouncing towards touch-in-goal. The earnest flank could not control the ball which left his grasp and bounced over into touch-in-goal.
Greg Holmes was penalised at the subsequent scrum and Pienaar kicked out - not very far out but the Sharks had the throw-in and half-time was about to happen. Bismarck du Plessis threw the ball over the line-out where David Croft got the ball and gave it to his backs. This was on the Reds' left. They went right and there was Croft again taking the ball and arcing outside Pietersen and through Terblanche to score in the corner. From there dead-eye Schifcofske goaled and the sides went into the break at 10-all.
Barring the last ten minutes the second half belonged to the Sharks. They eschewed three easy penalty opportunities and took scrums instead and they put huge pressure on the Reds' scrum. They had three five-metre scrums in the early part of the half and shunted the Reds back time and again. Once they seemed certain to score but Kankowski knocked on when a try seemed certain. Before that Tendai Mtawarira had got to the line but the television match official decided that it was inconclusive if he had scored or not. This set up the five-metre scrums. Michalak and Ndungane were also close but the brave Reds held their line.
The Sharks came back to batter some more but Steyn kicked dead. But a try seemed inevitable. That said, the Sharks had attacked furiously for 20 minutes and scored not a single point.
The try came from further out. Kockott had replaced Pienaar and the burly Tongan Epi Taione was at No.8 for Kankowski who had injured an ankle. The Sharks opted for a scrum for a free kick well inside Reds' territory slightly towards their right. Taione fed Kockott who broke inside Ioane. Kockott gave to Ndungane who gave to Terblanche who had a clear run to the line. 15-10 after 62 minutes.
The Sharks immediately came back on the attack. Michalak was clever and then Steven Sykes knocked on about five metres from the line. Reds' ball. The Sharks destroyed the weary Reds;' scrum and got the ball to attack across the posts. They bashed and eventually Bismarck du Plessis plunged through Roe to score. Kockott converted. 22-10 after 67 minutes.
The Reds attacked with penalties to get them close. Latham was over the line but held up. One attack floundered when Cooper passed into touch. Another ended when Steyn rode Ioane into touch on the other side of the field. Ioane was close again and so was Van \Humphries. Roe tapped a five-metre free kick and charged to the line but the Sharks held.
The Sharks were not making contributing to the Reds' attacking opportunities by trying to run out of deep defence in search of the bonus-point try. They got out promisingly but a pass went into touch and the final whistle went, ending what Latham afterwards described as "one of the most physical games we've played"..
Man of the Match: Chris Latham, in his 107th match, and David Croft in his 88th consecutive match were great for the Reds and epitomised all that was brave and determined. For the Sharks Odwa Ndungane stood out for the same reason and so did Stefan Terblanche. Our man of the match is that unsmiling warrior Bismarck du Plessis.
Moment of the Match: The tiny moment was the way teenager Quade Cooper flipped Ruan Pienaar's kick up into his hands to set off on a counterattack. The big moment of the match was the clever organisation that ,made Stefan Terblanche's try.
Villain of the Match: Nobody really but it was not edifying to see frustrated Chris Latham grind and elbow into Brad Barritt's face.
Scorers:
For the Sharks:
Tries: Ndungane, Terblanche, B du Plessis
Cons: Pienaar, Kockott
DG: Terblanche
For the Reds:
Tries: Croft
Cons: Shifcofske
Pens: Shifcofske
Teams:
Sharks: 15 Stefan Terblanche, 14 Odwa Ndungane, 13 Waylon Murray, 12 Bradley Barritt, 11 JP Pietersen, 10 Francois Steyn, 9 Ruan Pienaar, 8 Ryan Kankowski, 7 Jacques Botes, 6 Keegan Daniel, 5 Johann Muller (Captain), 4 AJ Venter, 3 Jannie du Plessis, 2 Bismarck du Plessis, 1 Tendai Mtawarira.
Replacements: 16 Craig
Burden, 17 BJ Botha, 18 Albert van den Berg, 19 Steven Sykes, 20 Epi Taione, 21 Rory Kockott, 22 Frederic Michalak
Reds: 15 Chris Latham (captain), 14 Clinton Schifcofske, 13 Morgan Turinui, 12 Berrick Barnes, 11 Peter Hynes, 10 Quade Cooper, 9 Ben Lucas, 8 Leroy Houston, 7 David Croft, 6 John Roe, 5 James Horwill, 4 Van Humphries, 3 Dayna Edwards, 2 Stephen Moore, 1 Greg Holmes.
Replacements: 16 Sean Hardman, 17 Rodney Blake, 18 Ed O'Donoghue, 19 Poutasi Luafutu, 20 Will Genia, 21 Charlie Fetoai, 22 Digby Ioane.
Referee: Chris Pollock (New Zealand)
Touch judges: Bryce Lawrence (New Zealand), Jonathan Kaplan (South Africa)
Television match official: Shaun Veldsman (South Africa)
Assessor: Dennis Immelman (South Africa)
