The Cell C Sharks defeated the Highlanders 38-12 at JONSSON KINGS PARK in an enthralling and entertaining Vodacom Super Rugby bonus point clash on Saturday afternoon.
A beautiful autumn afternoon greeted the teams, the stadium bathed in sunshine at kick-off with conditions perfect for a great game of rugby. And what a game it turned out to be.
With a good track record as far as performances go against New Zealand opposition this season, the Cell C Sharks stepped up to the plate once again with a performance that showed just what this team is capable of.
Although a bye can have the counterproductive effect of bringing rustiness into the return, the Cell C Sharks were in quite sublime form for this match and deserved the five log points they took out of the match.
The Highlanders came into the match off the back of a victory against the Bulls last week that came in the final play of that match The Cell C Sharks couldn’t have scripted the start any better, the Highlanders losing early possession, captain Ruan Botha latching onto the high ball and then making major inroads before offloading to Akker van der Merwe who outpaced the defence to score in 36 seconds.
There should have been a second try when Andre Esterhuizen – quite brilliant on the night – lost the ball over the line, but Mapimpi made sure of the try moments later with some nifty interplay featuring Thomas du Toit, Beast and Robert du Preez before the speedster got over in the corner.
Du Preez converted from the touchline to make it 14-0 with less than 10 minutes of the game played.
The following 15 minutes saw both sides ruing missed chances to build on attacking opportunities before the Highlanders finally had something to celebrate, a driving maul off an attacking lineout resulting in their first try of the match, halving the distance between the two teams.
The lead was pushed to 10 points after the Highlanders failed to field a high ball to concede a scrum. Beast Mtawarira smashed his opposite to earn the penalty which Robert du Preez converted from 40 out.
The first half ended with some drama as the Cell C Sharks pushed for a last score, before emotions ran high with pushing and shoving without further points added as we took a 17-7 lead into the half-time break.
The second half started off in similar fashion to the first, although Mapimpi’s outstanding effort was cut short with a try-saving tackle in the corner after Robert du Preez then Andrew Esterhuizen had combined quite beautifully in the midfield.
But within minutes, Mapimpi was involved again, quickly getting Lukhanyo Am into space before he fed Daniel du Preez for the try, his brother Robert adding the two. At 24-7, it was a healthy lead but there would have been warnings about the Highlanders ability to score with barely a sniff of possession as per last week’s victory over the Bulls last week.
Although there was no further scoring for the next while, it wasn’t from lack of trying, although it must be said that the Highlanders probably had more possession than the home side during this phase of the game, but the sense of urgency and that renewed energy spoken about during the week was in evidence as the Cell C Sharks put up a spirited performance to pressure the Highlanders into all kinds of errors.
With a raft of changes coming on, there was a new spring in the step as quite the most outstanding passage of play led to the bonus point try, the offloads sublime and the awareness quite clinical. Sbu Nkosi rounded it off after Robert du Preez nudged the ball into the corner, but it was a wonderful team try.
The fifth try came with over 10 minutes of play remaining, Curwin Bosch receiving the ball in his own half and somehow threading his way 40m upfield before sending Robert du Preez into space, and then converting for an unassailable 38-7 lead.
Ben Smith showed why he’s such a dangerous player with an lovely break from his own half before a long pass for his team’s second try, but with five minutes remaining, it was too little too late.
The Highlanders did push hard in the final minutes, another try would remove our bonus point, but as the defence had been all game, we managed to contain them and held on for the five log points.
It would probably be a little unfair on a quite magnificent team effort to choose a Vodacom Man of the Match, but Andre Esterhuizen was a deserving recipient.
The post Outstanding Performance appeared first on Sharks Rugby.
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