The Cell C Sharks scored a thrilling 31-24 victory over the Emirates Lions at JONSSON KINGS PARK in a high-paced, action-filled Vodacom Super Rugby clash on Saturday evening.
A second half revival after training 21-11 at half-time saw the Cell C Sharks take a seven point lead with the game winding down and pressure to convert their newfound confidence after the break.
It was a game of two halves but we prevailed in the end with a heroic team effort.
The match started off at a frenetic pace, the Lions fielding the kick-off but pressured into a short clearance. From their, the Cell C Sharks hammered away before earning a penalty 5m from the tryline. The ball was kicked to touch and although the Lions initially repelled the drive, once it was set and the crowd urged the forwards on, eighthman Dan du Preez was driven over in the corner for the first try of the match in only the third minute of the game.
The touchline conversion struck the upright but it was a statement of intent from the home side and an indication of the passionate effort the Cell C Sharks came here to deliver.
The Lions aren’t South Africa’s most recently successful team in the tournament for nothing and five minutes later struck back with a sweeping move that ended in the corner. Jantjies’ conversion from out wide was the difference on the scoreboard but already it was clear that both sides had come to play.
Another strong effort from the Cell C Sharks yielded points when an attack broke down but the referee called back play for a penalty on the 10m line and du Preez made no mistake from 40m out to retake the lead.
The joy was short-lived as the Lions sent a kickable penalty to touch and although we managed to hold them off, from the subsequent attack from the halfway line, the ball went wide and down the touchline for their second try with Jantjies adding the two for a 14-8 lead at 20 minute mark.
The teams hammered away at each other for the remainder of the half with the Cell C Sharks surviving two TMO calls for possible Lions tries, but in both cases enough evidence showed that there was no score.
The Lions held the upper hand at scrum time, earning a couple of penalties at the set-piece, while we stole a few lineouts to even the score somewhat.
The Lions, under pressure on defence, conceded a kickable penalty which du Preez sent confidently through the posts.
The Lions struck back on the stroke of halftime, two against one out wide for the inevitable try, taking them into a 21-11 lead at the break.
The teams smashed away at each other for the third quarter with the Lions again enjoying the majority share of possession and territory but failing to turn opportunity into points as our defence was committed and simply too good.
The crowd went wild following a great effort that saw Andre Esterhuizen crashing over in the corner, the TMO again called to adjudicate, this time happy with the grounding. Du Preez converted from the touchline to make it a three point game with 20 minutes remaining.
A second scrum penalty allowed us to draw level, du Preez again on song from 40m out, only for the Lions to regain the three point lead with a penalty directly from the kick-off.
But the too-ing and fro-ing continued and with the Lions looking dangerous on attack, Lwazi Mvovo intercepted well on his 40m line and sprinted untouched to the tryline. Du Preez converted magnificently from out wide for a four point lead with 10 minutes of the game remaining.
Another du Preez penalty took us into a 31-24 lead with the Lions staring down a first defeat to a South African team since 2015.
It was a tense final 10 minutes with the Lions looking to steal a draw, but ultimately we were too composed and committed and fully deserved what was an outstanding victory.
In the earlier, curtain-raiser game there was jubilation for Ricardo Loubscher’s Cell C Sharks XV team who performed admirably in their comprehensive 55-12 Super Sport Rugby Challenge quarter-final victory over the Lions XV to set up a place in the semi-finals next week.
They were in command from start to finish and never looked in trouble as the Lions couldn’t deal with the pressure from the home side, while the Cell C Sharks XV commanded proceedings with some outstanding attacking rugby, threatening throughout.
The post Heroic Victory appeared first on Sharks Rugby.
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