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Sharks bring some relief

Sat, 03 Apr 2010 18:56

Charging towards victory: Sharks flank Jacques Botes - Pic: Rian Botes

The Sharks finally brought some relief to South African fans when they edged the Reds 30-28 in an enthralling Super 14 match in Durban on Saturday.

South Africa breathed a sigh of relief, for Black Easter was avoided. It may have been by just two points. They had two teams at the top of the table and they came tumbling down. They had a team playing in the Sydney rain and they were washed away. And in Durban in seemed that they would end red-faced again as the Reds' ran them ragged.

The Reds' running was a delight. They ran straight, they passed to the man next to them with ordinary little passes and they strove to beat man. They were excellent in an old-fashioned way, and the best exponents were Quade Cooper of the dancing feat, such an unlikely rugby star, stocky, determined Digby Ioane and powerful, speedy Peter Hynes. They were wonderful. Opposite them the Sharks looked ponderous and bumbling  and found themselves 21-9 down at the break.

The second half belonged almost entirely to the Sharks as they squeezed the life out of the Reds who had just two chances to score. One they got and one they were oh-so close to getting to produce a dramatic finish that would have plunged South Africa into a gloom darker than Eskom manages.

The score was 30-28 to the Sharks and they were attacking, needing just to keep possession for a few measly minutes to win. And they got a penalty which they kicked out deep in Red territory, but they lost the line-out. Steven Sykes got up but knocked the ball to the Reds who started running. Sykes got stuck in to make up for what had happened but succeeded only in giving away successive penalties. At the second one, still deep in Red land, Ioane tapped and sped away. He swept past fullback Patrick Lambie and the goal-line and victory were his. Not quite his because Jacques Botes dived into his ankles from behind and brought the flying Queenslander to ground. First there was Odwa Ndungane and he won a turnover from the tackle and Pienaar hoofed the ball into victory.

It was a thrilling finish. Hats off to the Sharks for their resilience and determination as they flew back from a long trip to Australasia while the Reds sunned themselves in Durban. The second half, one thought would belong to the fresh visitors but the Sharks turned the screws and kept tightening them. Their most effective weapon was the maul - unused in the first half, profitable in the second.

The Sharks scored first when they attacked well at the start and Ben Daley was penalised. 3-0 after 3 minutes. But most of the rest of the half belonged to the Reds who starved the Sharks of possession for much of the half.

In one movement Cooper danced through two gaps. On the second occasion he danced past Botes and then JP Pietersen and scored under the posts. He converted. 7-3 to the Reds after 11 minutes.

The Sharks got back into the lead with two more penalties, one against Anthony Faingaa for throwing the ball away in touch and the other against the same player at a tackle. 9-7 to the Sharks after 22 minutes.

Ryan Kankowski lost the ball four times in tackles. On the fourth occasion the Reds seized the opportunity to attack and ex-leaguie  Will Chambers ended it by bursting past Jannie du Plessis and Riaan Swanepoel to score near the posts. 14-9 after 38 minutes.

With a change of strategy Pienaar kicked three times over his forwards and three times Hynes came running back to set his team on the attack. The third time Cooper did his dance. Chambers took a dubious pass from him and surged over under the posts. 21-9 after 42 minutes.

A break by Botes got the Sharks on the front foot. They bashed on the left, then on the right and then went left again where, under pressure, Sykes got a miracle pass away to Ndungane who had no defenders to stop him.  21-16, and it seemed that the tide was turning.

The Sharks who had no chances to score tries in the first half now had several and did not always invest them profitably. It started with a maul. The Reds had simply no legal answer to it. They went left but Pietersen  knocked  on. Andy Goode kicked a perfect diagonal to the left where Pietersen leapt high in in-goal, caught the ball but could not get it down as Cooper banged into him.  But back they went to a penalty from an infringement at a maul and the Sharks mauled from a five-metre line-out again marching it over the line where Botes grounded it. Pienaar converted.. Suddenly it was 23-21 to the Sharks with 25 minutes to play.

When the Reds overthrew a line-out Botes gabbled it and attacked. Wilhelm Steenkamp carried it on and then they went left. They shoved the Reds back in a five-metre scrum and Willem Alberts and Andries Strauss were close and the Ndungane was over the line but held up. That produced another five-metre scrum and again they bashed. Jean Deysel was powerful and as he drove towards the posts he got the ball off to Pietersen who did a twist and dive to score. 30-21 with 15 minutes to play.

Rugby is a game of consequences. The Sharks won the Reds' line-out and Goode wasted the bonus by kicking out on the full. From the subsequent line-out on their right the Reds attacked an Cooper gave a great pass to prop Greg Holmes who was over. Cooper converted from far out. 30-28 with 10 minutes to play. Cooper broke and kicked into the Sharks in-goal but Patrick Lambie saved.

Then came the dramatic ending to the tense match.

Man of the Match; Jacques Botes was outstanding - a try and a match-saving tackle apart from all his other work but we shall choose from a trio of Reds - Peter Hynes, Digby Ioane and Quade Cooper, and our lot falls on Quade Cooper, a rugby magician.

Scorers:

For the Sharks:
Tries: Ndungane, Botes, Pietersen
Cons: Pienaar 3
Pens: Pienaar 3

For the Reds:
Tries: Cooper, Chambers 2, Holmes
Cons: Cooper 4

Teams:

The Sharks: 15 Patrick Lambie, 4 Odwa Ndungane, 13 Stefan Terblanche, 12 Riaan Swanepoel, 11 JP Pietersen, 10 Andy Goode, 9 Ruan Pienaar, 8 Ryan Kankowski, 7 Willem Alberts, 6 Jacques Botes, 5 Alistair Hargreaves, 4 Steven Sykes, 3 Jannie du Plessis, 2 Bismarck du Plessis, 1 John Smit (captain).
Replacements: 16 Craig Burden, 17 Tendai Mtawarira, 18 Wilhelm Steenkamp, 19 Jean Deysel, 20 Rory Kockott, 21 Andries Strauss, 22 Lwazi Mvovo.

Reds: 15 Peter Hynes, 14 Luke Morahan, 13 Will Chambers, 12 Anthony Faingaa, 11 Digby Ioane, 10 Quade Cooper, 9 Will Genia, 8 Jake Schatz, 7 Daniel Braid, 6 Scott Higginbotham, 5 Van Humphries, 4 Adam Byrnes, 3 Laurie Weeks, 2 Sean Hardman, 1 Ben Daley.
Replacements: 16 Saia Faingaa, 17 Greg Holmes, 18 Jack Kennedy, 19 Rob Simmons, 20 Leroy Houston, 21 Ben Lucas, 22 Rod Davies.

Referee: Chris Pollock (New Zealand)
Assistant referees: Vinny Munro (New Zealand), Marc van Zyl (South Africa)
TMO: Johann Meuwesen (South Africa)

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