The Cell C Sharks defeated the Sunwolves 38-17 following a strong flurry of tries in the end, as Lwazi Mvovo’s hat-trick secured the Vodacom Super Rugby bonus point victory in Singapore on Saturday.
The six tries top two victory started early, a wonderfully clinical passage of play tested the Sunwolves’ defence as most of the team had hands in the movement sparked by Garth April in his own 22 and ending with Lwazi Mvovo breaking through a rare missed tackle to score out wide within the opening three minutes of the game.
April finished it off with a pin-point conversion from the touchline.
It was clear from this strong passage of play and the intent showed from there that the team was all about purpose and desire.
Despite not having much possession at all, the Sunwolves showed that they could also attack and with a strong effort of their own, a TMO confirmed try (along with the successful conversion) saw them draw level a quarter of a way through the game.
We hit back almost immediately when a scrum penalty was kicked to the corner rather than at posts and our forwards responded to the earlier try with a magnificent driving effort from the lineout, Ruan Botha bashing over and April converting.
The third try was somewhat fortuitous but also thanks to pressure as the Sunwolves took a quick tap penalty in midfield but there was a turnover thanks to strong defence and Sbu Nkosi received the ball and got away from the outstretched hand from a would-be tackler to sprint the 40m to score under the posts with April adding the regulation conversion.
The haunting sound of a wolf howling over the PA system did nothing to exhort the Sunwolves with neither side to add to their earlier points and the teams going into the change-rooms with the Cell C Sharks enjoying a three try to one, 21-7 lead at half-time.
It had been an entertaining first half, but to really put in an emphatic performance, we needed to close out more opportunities as coach Robert du Preez had said in the build-up to the match.
Unfortunately the second half failed to start as well as the first half and it was the Sunwolves who were first on the scoreboard after nearly 15 minutes. The conversion pulled them to seven points adrift.
That lead was cut to just four points when the Sunwolves kicked the first penalty of the match as it hit the final quarter, and they now trailed 21-17.
With five minutes of the game remaining, the second half deadlock was broken when Lwazi Mvovo scored his second try, running a direct and hard line at the defence, taking a lovely backhanded pass from substitute lock Etienne Oosthuizen. Crucially, the lead was now nine points and the result sewn up.
Any Sunwolves hopes were further dashed as the ball was lost on a home team attacking move near our 22 and Sbu Nkosi was too quick out wide for his 55m effort.
We weren’t finished as Lwazi Mvovo received the ball from Jean-Luc du Preez who did all the work to break through and make 20m through the midfield and a nifty back pass gave the fullback the space to score his hat-trick.
The bonus point was secured and with it, confidence into next week’s clash with the Stormers at Growthpoint KINGS PARK.
Philip van der Walt, the Cell C Sharks captain paid tribute to the home side’s tenacity, saying afterwards, “The Sunwolves played with a lot of passion and we made a lot of mistakes, although credit to our team who showed composure to get the bonus point and pull it through in the end. It was massive for us to win, we owe it to ourselves and our fans. There were glimpses of good play, although we made lots of mistakes. But we can build on this.”
The post Bonus Point in Singapore appeared first on Sharks Rugby.
Preview: Sunwolves vs Cell C Sharks:
Cell C Sharks Head Coach Robert du Preez has thrown down the gauntlet and challenged his players to deliver a rousing performance against the Sunwolves in Singapore in an important Vodacom Super Rugby match on Saturday.
Not happy with what the team delivered against the Kings last Saturday, du Preez has made it known how he feels and has made selection changes based on his dissatisfaction.
“If you play for the Sharks, we can’t tolerate sub-standard performances. We’ve spoken a lot about what it means to play for the Sharks, about pride in the jersey and the team as a whole didn’t perform well.
“We’re looking for the guys to make a huge step-up after a very disappointing game against the Kings,” he said on the eve of the team’s clash. “This is a game against the Sunwolves where nothing but every individual’s best will be good enough.”
The Sunwolves, in their second season of Vodacom Super Rugby, have had an interesting season. They started off crashing 83-17 to the Hurricanes in Week 1 and lost to the Crusaders 50-3 in Week 8.
But outside of those two big margins of defeat, they have been hugely competitive this season in pushing the Cheetahs, Stormers and Chiefs, and beating the Bulls in their only victory of the season.
Despite propping up the log with seven points in their 10 matches to date (with the Rebels one point ahead of them in 17th place, also with one win from 10 outings).
Two weeks ago, they were again competitive, this time in their away match against the Jaguares, narrowly losing 46-39. Last week they had a bye and this week will enjoy playing in front of local support against the Cell C Sharks.
Given the shock loss to the Kings last week and the strong words that would have accompanied the result and performance, there will be no underestimating a side that has nothing to lose.
The two teams have only met once, when the Sunwolves were introduced to the expanded competition last year. We defeated them 40-29 at Growthpoint KINGS PARK in the final weekend of regular competition action and in doing so, booking a place in the qualifiers.
While the knock-out rounds are still quite some way away and a top 8 finish still needs lots more action to be determined, the Cell C Sharks have a dual approach about this match.
Winning will keep them on track to go through to the next round, but the players and coaching staff are attaching more importance to a clinical, accurate and passionate performance. Some recent up and down form has not helped with the team’s momentum and continuity and a solid effort on Saturday will certainly leave smiles on the faces of all concerned.
Three injuries last weekend against the Kings does not help, but as head coach Robert du Preez said this week, those who are now in the frame must take the step up. He supports the entire squad and is looking for those players to show why they deserved selection.
“This is a team with a lot of talent, but the players need to step up and play to their potential,” he said. “There can’t be any excuses anymore. Our exits cost us dearly against the Kings and we just cannot afford to have a repeat performance with that. We also need to convert every opportunity we get.
“The boys are up for the challenge; they need to do it for themselves, they need to do it for the union, and they need to do it for the fans.”
The post Preview: Sunwolves vs Cell C Sharks appeared first on Sharks Rugby.
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