Sharks pip plucky Pumas

The home side outscored their visitors three tries to two but it was the combined efforts of Juan-Claude Roos and Justin van Staden that helped the Pumas hold the league for most of the encounter as the lead exchanged hands on numerous occasions.

It took 15 minutes for the first points to be scored when Cobus Reinach broke through a half gap from the base of a ruck before passing to Wandile Mjekevu who skinned the last defender to dot down in the corner. Joe Pietersen made the conversion look easy as he stretched the lead.

The Pumas were slowly starting to find their rhythm and started a build-up from their 22 metre line and found themselves in the Sharks' red zone. Marius Coetzer showed his cheeky side when he picked the ball up from the base of the ruck and leaped over the Sharks players on the try line to get the Pumas on the board in the 23rd minute. Juan-Claude Roos added the extra points to level the scores.

The Pumas would then take the lead three minutes later when Roos slotted his second kick of the match after Francois de Klerk took a quick penalty and Reinach was penalised for not retreating the required 10 metres and was subsequently sent to the bin.

The Sharks hit back in the 30th minute when the Pumas were penalised for being offside and Pietersen stepped up to slot the kick, which brought the Sharks back on level terms. The Pumas would have the final say of the half though as Roos slotted his second penalty of the match to hand the visitors a three point lead at the break.

The Pumas found themselves down to 14 men in the 42nd minute when Jacques Momberg was adjudged to have stomped on Reinach's face when it seemed purely accidental. The Sharks took immediate advantage of the extra man when a dominant scrum on the Pumas' five metre line allowed Paul Jordaan to receive the ball at second receiver and he spun his way out of a tackle to crash over the line.

Pietersen's trusty boot slotted another conversion as he increased the home side's lead to four points.

Things got a little scrappy as the half went on but it was quick thinking by Bernado Botha, who picked up a loose ball, that got the Pumas on the front foot. His break down the touch line saw him being tackled a metre short of the line but he had the presence of mind to offload the ball to a rushing JW Bell and the fullback grabbed the easy score. Justin van Staden added the extras to take the Pumas to a three point lead.

Van Staden stretched the lead to six points with 20 minutes remaining in the match when he slotted a penalty from close range after the Sharks were penalised for an infringement at the breakdown. He would then prove just how purely he can kick it when he slotted his second penalty from just inside his half of the field

The home side remained patient and took the ball through the phases as they worked their way up the field. Jordaan came to within inches of getting his second try of the match but quick thinking by Mjekevu saw the wing grab his brace. Pietersen made no mistake with the conversion to reduce the deficit to just two points with nine minutes remaining.

The lead would change hands once again with four minutes remaining when Pietersen slotted his second penalty of the match. The Pumas went on search of a late winner and could have sealed it with a drop goal by de Klerk's delayed service put van Staden under all sorts of pressure and the home side were able to charge it down and hang on for the win.

Man of the Match: Vincent Koch made an immediate impact at scrum time while the combined efforts of Juan-Claude Roos and Justin van Staden kept the visitors in the game throughout. Francois de Klerk was his nippy and elusive throughout the contest but a slight mistake after the final hooter cost him the award. Cobus Reinach remained busy throughout the encounter but shot himself in the foot with a needless yellow card. Wandile Mjekevu got his name on the scoreboard with a brace but our award goes to Daniel du Preez, who made a nuisance of himself at the breakdowns and proved to be a menace all over the park.

Scorers:

For the Sharks:

Tries: Mjekevu 2, Jordaan

Cons: Pietersen 3

Pens: Pietersen 2

For the Pumas:

Tries: Coetzer, Bell

Cons: Roos, van Staden

Pens: Roos 2, van Staden 2

Yellow cards: Cobus Reinach (Sharks, 26 – professional foul, not retreating 10 metres), Jacques Momberg (Pumas, 42 – foul play, boot to an opponent's face)

Teams:

Sharks: 15 Joe Pietersen, 14 Wandile Mjekevu, 13 Paul Jordaan, 12 Andre Esterhuizen, 11 Sibusiso Sithole, 10 Lionel Cronje, 9 Cobus Reinach, 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 John-Charles Astle, 19 Jean-Luc du Preez, 20 Stefan Ungerer, 21 Heimar Williams, 22 Garth April.

Pumas: 15 John-Wessel Bell, 14 Bernado Botha, 13 Hoffmann Maritz, 12 Stefan Watermeyer (captain), 11 Rosko Speckman, 10 Juan-Claude Roos, 9 Francois de Klerk, 8 Jason-Colin Fraser, 7 Uzair Cassiem, 6 Jaco Bouwer, 5 Marius Coetzer, 4 Rudi Mathee, 3 Vincent Koch, 2 Jacques Momberg, 1 Corné Fourie.

Replacements: 16 Francois du Toit, 17 De-Jay Terblanche, 18 Khwezi Mona, 19 Lubabalo Mtyanda, 20 Marnus Schoeman, 21 Justin van Staden, 22 Jerome Pretorius.

Referee: Marius van der Westhuizen

Assistant referees: Craig Joubert, Jason Jaftha

TMO: Marius Jonker