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Cheetahs knock over sloppy Sharks

Fri, 19 Feb 2010 19:53

Winning captain: Cheetahs and Bok flank Juan Smith

The Cheetahs recorded their first win away from home in almost three years when they lowered the colours of a very sloppy Sharks team, beating them 25-20 in their Super 14 encounter in Durban on Friday.

In a game in which Sharks kicker Rory Kockott had a nigtmare, the Cheetahs recorded their first win on the road since they beat the Lions 16-10 in Johannesburg in May 2007.

The win was secured through five penalties - three from Naas Olivier and two long-range efforts from Rian Viljoen - and a drop-goal by Olivier, with the teams scoring one try each.

And it has given the Cheetahs back-to-back Super Rugby wins over the Sharks, after having also lowered the men from Durban's colours in Bloemfontein last year. It is a win that also lifts the Cheetahs off the bottom of the table and ahead of the Sharks in mid-table.

All the Sharks got from the game was a bonus point from a late penalty.

There was so much not to write about in this match.

There was just one memorable moment, one good moment, and the rest was dross.

Do people still talk about Natal Fever, a disease, most common in summer that reduces the province to lethargy to make a tsetse fly redundant. The Sharks played this match in a torpor of such fever - apart for one outburst of energy at the start of the second half.

At half-time their coach promised a livelier second half. There was - for three minutes. Then the Sharks lapsed into plodding. They dominated territory and possession and they lost the half 15-10.

It did not help that Rory Kockott missed  three penalty kicks at goal and a conversion. In the rain the week before the bearded scrumhalf kicked brilliantly. Now, beardless, like a Samson deprived of hair, his power went and he kicked poorly. but it was more than that. He was often absent or a last-minute arrival at the breakdowns, making winning quick ball a waste of time.

The Sharks had another disease - dropsy. They found handling such a difficult skill. Ryan Kankowski would have a promising run, heading for the line and then lose the ball forward in the tackle.

At the end of it all it took a penalty by Kockott from straight in front to give them a losers' bonus point - their second in two home matches. Two home matches, two points.

The bright moment, the memorable moment, the bright jewel on a dull background was Riaan Viljoen's try. Stefan Terblanche kicked high down to the Cheetahs 22. Viljoen caught the ball and started running. He spun Alistair Hargreaves off his hips and raced ahead. Ruan Pienaar was ahead of him. Viljoen sold and elementary dummy that left Pienaar in space, not even near the racing fullback who went on to score at the posts. It was a brilliant moment.

The good moment was the Sharks' try at the start of the second half when suddenly they burst into life, going right, then wide left then wide right. A long pass from Adi Jacobs reached JP Pietersen and his long pass found Kankowski who swerved inside Danwel Demas and then the powered through Adriaan Strauss and Riaan Viljoen to score. It was an excellent try.

John Smit came out ahead of his team, the first South African to play 100 Super rugby matches for the same team. The crowd of 22 000 applauded him.

When Heinrich Brüssow was penalised at a scrum, Kockott opened the scoring 3-0 after 9 minutes. It was a long, angled kick and did not presage the three misses that were to follow.

The first line-out of the match came after 18 minutes. The line-outs, one skew Sharks throw apart, went with throw.

Pienaar was penalised at a tackle and Naas Olivier, who had earlier missed a kick, goaled. 3-3 after  19 minutes.

Then came the wonder of Riaan Viljoen's try, which Olivier converted. 10-3 to the Cheetahs after 24 minutes.

Kockott then kicked two penalty goals in two minutes to make the score 10-9 after 37 minutes.

The referees changed at half-time. Assistant Pro Legoete took over from Jonathan Kaplan who had a stomach bug.

The Sharks hit the second half running and were rewarded with Kankowski's try which gave them a 14-10 lead.  But then the home side wound down and seemed content to stay in the Cheetahs territory and wait something to happen. When the Cheetahs managed to nudge into the Sharks' territory Olivier kicked a penalty goal and then Riaan Viljoen kicked two long penalties in two minutes. That gave the Cheetahs a 19-14 lead after 56 minutes.

The Sharks had one spurt of energy but it ended when Kankowski's, who had several chances to run, lost the ball.

The scrums in this match, a contest between two powerful front rows, were messy at times and when Western Province Nel was [penalised Kockott got the Sharks closer - 19-17, but then the Cheetahs had a vigorous attack on the Sharks line as big Riaan Viljoen picked up the back of a five-metre scrum and charged for the posts.. He was brought down and the Sharks survived. Back came the Cheetahs and Olivier dropped a goal. Back they came again and Keegan Daniel was penalised at a tackle. 25-17. The Sharks had been shoved out of bonus-point possibility.

Then, time almost up, Frans Viljoen was penalised at a tackle. Pienaar tapped and ran and Dawid de Villiers stopped him prematurely, thus giving the Sharks an extra 10 metres, just enough for Kockott to goal a bonus point.

Man of the Match: Riaan Viljoen who gave the match its memorable moment. Otherwise it would have been Juan Smith who tackled, ran and won the best line-out ball of the match. What a great player.

The scorers:

For the Sharks:
Try: Kankowski
Pens: Kockott 5

For the Cheetahs:
Try: Viljoen
Con: Olivier
Pens: Olivier 3, Viljoen 2
DG: Olivier

Teams:

Sharks: 15 Stefan Terblanche, 14 Odwa Ndungane, 13 Waylon Murray, 12 Adrian Jacobs, 11 JP Pietersen, 10 Ruan Pienaar, 9 Rory Kockott, 8 Ryan Kankowski, 7 Jean Deysel, 6 Jacques Botes, 5 Alistair Hargreaves, 4 Steven Sykes, 3 Jannie du Plessis, 2 John Smit (captain), 1 Tendai Mtawarira.
Replacements: 16 Bismarck du Plessis, 17 Deon Carstens, 18 Willem Alberts, 19 Keegan Daniel, 20 Charl McLeod, 21 Monty Dumond, 22 Andries Strauss.

Cheetahs: 15 Riaan Viljoen, 14 Danwel Demas, 13 Lionel Mapoe, 12 Meyer Bosman, 11 Jongi Nokwe, 10 Naas Olivier, 9 Tewis de Bruyn, 8 Frans Viljoen, 7 Juan Smith (captain), 6 Heinrich Brussow, 5 David de Villiers, 4 Nico Breedt, 3 WP Nel, 2 Adriaan Strauss, 1 Wian du Preez.
Replacements: 16 Ryno Barnes, 17 Coenie Oosthuizen, 18 Waltie Vermeulen, 19 Ashley Johnson, 20 Sarel Pretorius, 21 Sias Ebersohn, 22 Hennie Daniller.

Referee: Jonathan Kaplan (South Africa)
Assistant referees: Pro Legoete (South Africa), Cobus Wessels (South Africa)
TMO: Shaun Veldsman (South Africa)

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