Super Sharks sink Bulls in Durban epic
Sat, 17 Jul 2010 19:02
Super shark: Craig Burden scores one of his two tries. (c) Gallo
The Sharks produced a thrilling second half performance to beat the Blue Bulls 34-28 in a spectacular Currie Cup clash in Durban on Saturday, with Lwazi Mvovo and Keegan Daniel grabbing two tries each.
The Blue Bulls got off to the perfect start with a try to Gerritt-Jan van Velze, but the Sharks, inspired by the individual brilliance of Mvovo and young centre Patrick Lambie, fired back in the second half with some scintillating tries.
It was anyone's game until the final minutes, when two back-to-back scores gave the bonus-point win for the John Plumtree's men.
Eight tries were scored in total, five of them going to the Sharks and three to the Blue Bulls in a match where the score and fortunes fluctuated throughout. The Blue Bulls were however mostly catching up after an early 5-0 lead.
The Sharks were simply sharper and hungrier than the Blue Bulls who started off well but then were put under pressure by the running from the breakdown and mistakes.
The Bulls had problems clearing from the scrums, despite usually counting this area as a strength. Too often Sharks scrumhalf Charl McLeod interfered with a clean heel and caught either Bulls halfback Ruan Snyman or No. 8 Gerrit-Jan van Velze in possession.
Missed tackles by the Bulls also contributed to their woes and for most of the first half they seemed a rather disjointed unit trying to cope without their 12 players in the national side and two more who are injured.
Likewise the Sharks too often missed their passes or took the wrong options in a match that was fast, furious and exciting but not always of the highest quality in the purist sense.
The Sharks, who were three times denied by the TMO - Craig Burden was the man who nearly scored on all three occasions - deserved their narrow 10-8 lead at the break.
When first Lwazi Mvovo and then Keegan Daniel rounded off
two outstanding team tries and took the lead to 13 points at 24-11 the Blue Bulls were in trouble.
Then the momentum changed. The visitors' pack took control as the Bulls can, and Dean Greyling scored a try built on patience and power (24-18).
Another sortie - with the Bulls forwards rampant for all of 60 metres -saw a Potgieter penalty shrink the lead to only three points (24-21) with nine minutes to go.
However, after the Sharks squandered and the Bulls fumbled, the home team took the ball wide from a scrum and again it was Mvovo who scored - this time for a bonus point try.
Just to rub it in, Daniel scored a great solo try - his second of the night - after a kick ahead. At 34-21 it was sealed.
The Blue Bulls were now out of contention, but then good play by the forwards ended in an excellent finish well after the hooter by Gerhard van den Heever. It was converted from the corner
by Potgieter for a Blue Bulls bonus point.
Man of the Match: Some good contenders and the young Patrick Lambie continues to show what a fantastic prospect he is. But we will give it to Lwazi Mvovo, the man with the electric pace and one of the best finishers in South African rugby.
Scorers:
For Sharks:
Tries: Burden, Daniel 2, Mvovo 2
Cons: Lambie 3
Pens: Lambie
For Bulls:
Tries: Greyling, Van Velze, Van den Heever
Cons: Potgieter 2
Pens: Potgieter 3
Teams:
Sharks: 15 Louis Ludik, 14 JP Pietersen, 13 Stefan Terblanche (Captain), 12 Patrick Lambie, 11 Lwazi Mvovo, 10 Steve Meyer, 9 Charl McLeod, 8 Keegan Daniel, 7 Michael Rhodes, 6 Jacques Botes, 5 Alistair Hargreaves, 4 Steven Sykes, 3 Wiehahn Herbst, 2
Craig Burden, 1 Patric Cilliers.
Replacements: 16 Kyle Cooper, 17 Eugene van Staden, 18 Ross Skeate, 19 Skholiwe Ndlovu, 20 Rory Kockott, 21 Monty Dumond, 22 Andries Strauss.
Blue Bulls: 15 Jaco van der Westhuyzen, 14 Gerhard van den Heever, 13 Stephan Dippenaar, 12 Stefan Watermeyer, 11 John Mametsa, 10 Jacques-Louis Potgieter, 9 Ruan Snyman, 8 Gerrit-Jan van Velze, 7 Derick Kuhn, 6 Deon Stegmann, 5 Fudge Mabeta, 4 Wilhelm Steenkamp, 3 Werner Kruger, 2 Gary Botha (captain), 1 Dean Greyling.
Replacements: 16 Bandise Maku, 17 Bees Roux, 18 Berend Botha, 19 CJ Stander, 20 Danie Faasen, 21 Francois Brummer, 22 Hayden Groepes.
Date: Saturday, July 17
Venue: Absa Stadium, Durban
Kick-off: 17.05 (15.05 GMT)
Referee: Jason Jaftha
Assistant referees: François Veldsman, Reuben Rossouw
TMO: JC
Fortuin
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