Sharks back at the top
Fri, 08 Aug 2008 21:12
The Sharks moved back to the top of the Absa Currie Cup standings with an emphatic 32-10 win over a hapless Western Province outfit in their Round Eight match at Newlands on Friday.
The Sharks outscored Province by four tries to one to race past the defending champion Cheetahs and Blue Bulls to reclaim the No.1 spot they held a couple of weeks back.
A star was born at Newlands on a chilly Friday night, and it will burn brightly. And the other tiding of great joy is that another star that seemed to be fading is again incandescently bright.
The one star was on the losing side, the other on the winning side - and for the Sharks this was a huge win over Western Province.
The star found was Nick Köster; the star which refound brightness was Ruan Pienaar. Both of them shone brilliantly.
Köster played with verve, speed and strength and with skill of hand and an intuitive eye. Teenage that he is, he was always able to get his team to go forward. Pienaar was just so good, his decision-making out of the top draw. He knew when and how to attack with speed, his passing was delight to Frédéric Michalak and his boot was always productive. He above all kept the Sharks steaming ahead.
Western Province actually did well in many aspects of the game, better than the scoreline suggests. They got good possession, tackled with a will and attacked whenever they could - sometimes from their own territory, sometimes preferring attack to kicks at goal and they always looked to counterattack.
The Sharks, too, looked to play fast. The first half was played at a furious pace which proved unsustainable, not that the second half was a sleep walk. It was a splendid match for which both teams deserve credit.
At one stage the Sharks were penalised and the Western Province immediately tapped and ran, only to be penalised at the next tackle/ruck. The Sharks then tapped and attacked. It was that sort of game.
Where the Sharks had it over Western Province was in the collisions. At the tackle they always seemed to have more men and stronger men. The crucial post-tackle turnovers belonged to them.
The official attendance was 21 364, though the great ground did not look 40% full. As happens wherever the Sharks play there was a lot of black-and-white support.
The match started with some jam on the Sharks bread. They kicked deep and Tonderai Chavhanga sliced the clearing kick, giving the Sharks an attacking line-out. Adriaan Fondse won the Sharks' ball with a knock back. Western Province would have been better off if he had not won it, for Western Province failed to clear. The ball bounced, Deon Carstens applied pressure and Johann Muller grabbed the ball and headed for the line. Skipper Badenhorst took the ball from his captain and flopped over in the corner. 5-0 in less than a minute.
Köster countered brilliantly down the left and Western Province were actually over but Gcobani Bobo's short pass to PJ Vermeulen was forward. Joe Pietersen missed a kick at goal and Gio Aplon did his electric trick, beating man after man.
In other words Western Province had opportunities but instead it was the Sharks who scored when Pienaar goaled a penalty. 8-0 after 17 minutes.
Right from the kick-off Western Province flung themselves into the attack. They had an easily kickable penalty but opted instead for a five-metre line-out. They did not maul it but instead went on the attack till Vermeulen lost the ball right at the line when a try was in the offing. When the Sharks were offside Western Province resigned themselves to not scoring a try and Pietersen goaled. 8-3 after 22 minutes.
Twice François Steyn was prominent on the attack and sent Chris Jordaan on an overlap but Chavhanga saved. In fact right throughout the match Chavhanga's tackling was shudderingly effective.
Half-time came with the score at a meagre 8-3 which seemed scant reward for the enthusiasm and effort of both sides.
Western Province started the second half with an attacking rush. Köster and Schalk Brits were prominent but they were penalised at a tackle/ruck near the Sharks line. Bobo straigfhtened and broke clean pas Steyn but Western Province lost the ball and the Sharks broke out with kicks into empty acres. They hoofed ahead and Bobo could not control the bouncing ball which Michalak grabbed. The Frenchman bounced ahead and gave to Stefan Terblanche who was over near the posts,. 15-3.
It could have been a killer blow but the young Western Province side came back on the attack and as they went left Köster took a pass and with a surge of speed was over near the posts. 15-10 after 50 minutes.
There was half an hour to play. Western Province did not score during that half an hour but the Sharks did.
They nearly scored when another jarring tackle by Chavhanga set up a loose ball. Bolla Conradie and Terblanche raced for the ball and Terblanche just managed to get there first.
The Sharks attacked with a grubber. Bobo saved but coin ceded a five-metre scrum on the Sharks right. From the scrum Michalak simply walked through Conradie to score at the posts, a try which delighted all the Sharks. 25-10 after 63 minutes.
Conraad Britz had a good run down the right as substitutes came flooding onto the field. A penalty gave Western Province a five-metre line-out and they attacked but they lost the ball and the Sharks broke out with a Pienaar kick. Matthew Rosslee got back and, under great pressure, kicked a weak kick in reply. Terblanche grabbed the ball and countered going left. Back the Sharks came right to present Albert van den Berg with an overlap and the tall lock romped over. That was the bonus point for the Sharks. 32-10 with five minutes to play. The most noteworthy happening in those five minutes was a long, impressive run by Chavhanga.
It certainly was a high level of rugby with commitment and intensity from both sides.
The scorers:
For Western Province:
Try: Koster
Con: Pietersen
Pen: Pietersen
For the Sharks:
Tries: Badenhorst, Terblanche, Michalak, Van den Berg
Cons: Pienaar 3
Pen: Pienaar
DG: Michalak
Teams:
Western Province: 15 Gio Aplon, 14 Wylie Human, 13 PJ Vermeulen, 12 Gcobani Bobo (captain), 11 Tonderai Chavhanga, 10 Joe Pietersen, 9 Bolla Conradie, 8 Nick Koster, 7 Francois Louw, 6 Pieter Louw, 5 Ross Skeate, 4 Adriaan Fondse, 3 Brok Harris, 2 Schalk Brits, 1 Wicus Blaauw.
Replacements: 16 Deon Fourie, 17 JC Kritzinger, 18 AJ Venter, 19 Conraad Britz, 20 Dewaldt Duvenhage, 21 Matthew Rosslee, 22 Morgan
Newman.
Sharks: 15 Stefan Terblanche, 14 Odwa Ndungane, 13 Waylon Murray, 12 Francois Steyn, 11 Chris Jordaan, 10 Frederic Michalak, 9 Ruan Pienaar, 8 Keegan Daniel, 7 Jean Deysel, 6 Jacques Botes, 5 Johann Muller (captain), 4 Albert van den Berg, 3 Jannie du Plessis, 2 Skipper Badenhorst, 1 Deon Carstens.
Replacements: 16 Craig Burden, 17 Robbie Harris, 18 Steven Sykes, 19 Skholiwe Ndlovu, 20 Scott Mathie, 21 Bradley Barritt, 22 Riaan Swanepoel.
Referee: Jonathan Kaplan
Touch judges: Phillip Bosch, Marc van Zyl
TMO: Shaun Veldsman
