Sharks scrape past Kings
The Kings claimed just a single bonus points for their efforts as the Sharks dominated after half-time to pick up their second win of the season and leave the Kings winless.
The home side struck first whne an early fumble from Sharks flyhalf Lionel Cronje saw the ball go to flank Thembelani Bholi who raced away for his first Currie Cup try.
They followed that up with a penalty from fullback Scott van Breda after a dominant scrum, which put them 10-0 up.
Both teams were battling to build momentum in a scrappy game, and the Kings were struck a blow when wing Siyanda Grey was shown a yellow card for taking a player out in the air after 25 minutes.
The Kings' scrum dominance continued, with the Sharks' inexperienced front row under serious pressure and despite being a man down they managed to stretch their lead to 13-0 from another Van Breda penalty following a vital turnover from Bholi.
The Sharks turned down an opportunity to kick at goal late in the first half and it paid off as Joe Pietersen scored in the corner to finally open their account.
He converted his own try to send the Sharks into half-time within striking distance of their hosts at 13-7.
The Sharks made a storming start to the second half and charged into the 22 with purpose, but the Kings defence held up well under pressure and they were able to clear the ball.
However, they were not to be denied in their next visit to the Kings 22 with flank Francois Kleinhans barging his way over after a maul.
The touchline conversion from Pietersen gave the Sharks the lead for the first time in the match, and they would never look back.
The third try came courtesy of flank Dan du Preez who showed great strength to reach score, and Pietersen's conversion put them ahead 21-13 with just over 20 minutes to play.
The Sharks had all of the momentum and gave themselves some breathing room with a penalty from Pietersen before they went hunting for the bonus point.
However, the Kings would be next to score when they were awarded a penalty try after Ronnie Cooke was tackled high by Sibusiso Sithole who was sent to the sin bin for his effort.
That put the Kings back within striking distance and set up a tense final few minutes, but the Sharks held out for the win in the end.
Man of the match: Flank Francois Kleinhans and skipper Marco Wentzel were impressive, but our award goes to experienced fullback Joe Pietersen who was influential throughout.
The scorers:
For EP Kings:
Tries: Bholi, penalty try
Cons: Van Breda 2
Pens: Van Breda 2
For Sharks:
Tries: Pietersen, Kleinhans, Du Preez
Cons: Pietersen 3
Pen: Pietersen
Yellow cards: Siyanda Grey (EP Kings, 25 – Foul play, taking man out in the air) Sibusiso Sithole (Sharks, 74 – Dangerous tackle)
Teams:
Eastern Province Kings: 15 Scott van Breda, 14 Siyanda Grey, 13 Ronnie Cooke, 12 JP du Plessis, 11 Luther Obi, 10 Karlo Aspeling, 9 Enrico Acker, 8 Tim Agaba, 7 Thembelani Bholi, 6 Luke Watson (captain), 5 Cornell Hess, 4 Steven Sykes, 3 Tom Botha, 2 Martin Ferreira, 1 Lizo Gqoboka
Replacements: 16 Schalk Ferreira, 17 Edgar Marutlulle, 18 Simon Kerrod, 19 Stefan Willemse, 20 Paul Schoeman, 21 Dwayne Kelly, 22 Hansie Graaff.
Sharks: 15 Joe Pietersen, 14 Odwa Ndungane, 13 Paul Jordaan, 12 Andre Esterhuizen, 11 Sibusiso Sithole, 10 Lionel Cronje, 9 Michael Claassens, 8 Philip van der Walt, 7 Daniel du Preez, 6 Francois Kleinhans, 5 Marco Wentzel (captain), 4 Etienne Oosthuizen, 3 Gerhard Engelbrecht, 2 Monde Hadebe, 1 Dale Chadwick.
Replacements: 16 Kyle Cooper, 17 Thomas du Toit, 18 JC Astle, 19 Jean-Luc du Preez, 20 Stefan Ungerer, 21 Wandile Mjekevu, 22 Garth April
Referee: Jaco van Heerden
Assistant referees: Jaco Pretorius, Jacques Nieuwenhuis
