Bitter Pill – Featured Durban Blog

The Cell C Sharks were defeated 38-30 by a rampaging Free State side in a hugely physical, passionate Currie Cup clash at Growthpoint KINGS PARK on Saturday evening.

They suffered an early setback when Philip van der Walt had to leave the field after a nasty clash of heads directly after the first kick-off forced him from the field in the first minute of the game.

Losing your captain and an influential ball-carrier is a blow that few teams want to suffer, and it came off the back of the late withdrawal through injury of regular captain Keegan Daniel on Friday.

But they shrugged off their loss and with a strong scrum, they earned a penalty right in front, allowing Curwin Bosch the easiest of conversions to put his team into a three-nil lead in the opening five minutes.

It was clear that this top of the table clash was to live up to expectations, the sides smashing into each other in a high tempo match. What was also obvious was that Free State had come to Durban to maintain their unbeaten status; there was no just ‘pitching-up’ here.

And it was pressure on defence, forcing a scrum, which then saw Free State too strong and claiming a penalty try to get themselves onto the scoreboard.

But the Cell C Sharks were also up for the game and immediately pounced at kick-off time, earning a penalty and Bosch added the three. Great defence kept Free State out before they worked their way back into opposition territory, and another scrum penalty allowed them to take the lead, Bosch converting a 45m effort with aplomb.

But once again, the lead changed hands in a see-saw fashion when a kick was charged down in their 22 and Free State added a second try on the half hour mark to take a 14-9 lead.

Bosch had a difficult shot from over 40m, the ball striking the upright, and then further disappointment as Odwa Ndungane was injured late in the half, another senior player forced to leave the field.

A late penalty pushed the visitors into an eight point lead, but the hooter sounded as a monster, 53m penalty attempt sailed on a true trajectory through the posts as Bosch showed his composure to maintain the pressure and the sides went into half-time with Free State enjoying a 17-12 lead.

The Cell C Sharks carried on the second half where they left off, on the up, and were rewarded for their urgency on attck when Bosch kicked a fifth penalty to reduce the margin to just two points.

But the visitors, ever-threatening, took full advantage of their strong scrumming to force the home side onto the back foot and managed to disrupt the ball with scrumhalf Tian Meyer doing the damage with a TMO referred try. With the conversion, Free State held a handy 24-15 lead with half an hour’s play remaining.

But a sixth penalty by Bosch kept his team within striking distance, never allowing Free State to build up any breathing space. However, things appeared to fall apart as the kick-off wasn’t safely gathered and Free State pounced to score the fourth try. In the build-up, Jean-Luc du Preez had made a dangerous tackle and was yellow carded to add to their woes.

As the game hit the final quarter, the Cell C Sharks found renewed energy and a sustained build-up from the forwards was rewarded when Francois Kleinhans managed to drive over. Bosch’s conversion meant it was a six point game, but playing some innovative rugby, Free State added another try from a planned lineout move to once more extend their lead.

But in almost identical fashion to the first, this time Thomas du Toit rumbled over following a strong build-up by the forwards to bring a glimmer of light back into the game.

Sadly, there was to be no more scoring as Free State managed to hold out for the victory.

There was mixed success for the juniors in the earlier games, with the Under 19s defeating Free State 29-15 to leap-frog their opponents into fourth spot on the SA Rugby Under 19 Provincial Champs log while the Under 21s had to contend with a late onslaught from Free State who stole the game in the end, eventually running out 24-18 victors after a strong fightback.