The Cell C Sharks were forced to fight hard, but delivered a character-filled Vodacom United Rugby Championship performance against the Emirates Lions to run out 29-7 bonus point victors.
The win maintained the Cell C Sharks’ 100% record against the Lions in all URC clashes and was a particularly satisfying result. They were up against a driven opposition in the first half, but were simply too good, too strong and too committed in the second half as they blew their hosts away in a completely dominant second 40.
The influence of the wet weather in the early stages of the game was telling, both sides unable to build momentum, although it was the home team that dominated possession but by the 22nd minute, had missed three penalties and had been held up over the tryline, their efforts thwarted by stern defence.
At the first sniff of quality ball, a strong build-up saw Curwin Bosch eye a gap, take advantage of space and round the defence to score under the posts from 30m out, and then convert for a 7-0 lead.
Former Cell C Sharks and Lions captain Marius Louw responded with his team’s first score of the game, also scoring under the posts and finally making good on his team’s surfeit of possession.
To their credit, the Cell C Sharks had fought an uphill battle and would have been the less despondent of the two sides going into a half-time break with the spoils evenly shared, the Lions would have rued missed opportunities and an inability to turn pressure into points.
The Cell C Sharks’ second try came after a long period of sustained defence of their 22, with some magic from Curwin Bosch whose 80m touch-finder delivered a 50-22 lineout for his team. It would prove to be a major turning point in the game and signalled a complete turnabout of fortunes, one the Lions would never recover from.
Dan Jooste broke off the back of a strong drive, was held up on the line before the ball was quickly recycled and sent wide for Thaakir Abrahams who dived under the cover defence to score in the corner. Bosch finished off the hard work with an outstanding touchline conversion.
With the shift in momentum towards the Cell C Sharks, the Lions started to have their discipline tested and after conceding a number of penalties, found themselves 10 points down, trailing 17-7 as the game approached the final quarter, Bosch striking the penalty true from in front.
The Lions survived a potential yellow card referral to the TMO, but the TMO was called for a second ruling in a matter of minutes after Fez Mbatha had been driven over from the ensuing penalty kicked to touch, awarding the try for a 22-7 lead with just over 10 minutes remaining.
Grant Williams scored the bonus point try, but once again it was that Bosch magic, a perfectly-executed grubber through the defence for his scrumhalf to run on to and score before it rolled over the dead-ball line, Bosch adding the extras.
At 29-7, there was only ever going to be one winner and try as they may, the Lions threw everything into a consolation score, but found any continuity on attack vaguely elusive.
The Cell C Sharks can look back at this character-filled performance with a strong measure of satisfaction, the victory crucial at this point in the competition.
The post Powerful Second Half appeared first on The Sharks.
Saturday’s return leg clash between the Cell C Sharks and Emirates Lions at Emirates Airline Park presents something of a watershed for the two teams chasing their individual goals and aims in the Vodacom United Rugby Championship.
The Cell C Sharks currently occupy eighth position on the log and well within a top eight finish, but with five rounds remaining, know they can ill-afford any slip-ups enroute to the knock-outs.
The Lions, in 13th place on the 16-team log will be desperate for a win, at home, and won’t be easy pickings.
Cell C Sharks Director of Rugby Neil Powell has welcomed a number of players back into the side for this game and believes they will add huge value to the team.
“It’s great to have these quality players back,” he admitted. “Dylan has had a long injury lay-off, Werner struggled with a knee injury and was off for three to four weeks, great to see those guys all back and ready for this Lions game. Grant Williams is also back and that’s a massive positive for us. I’m happy with the squad we managed to select, as well as the preparation.
“For us it’s about pitching up and making sure we are ready and focused.”
With the tournament heading inexorably towards the knock-out stages, a top 8 finish is crucial. There is pressure on every side to either fight to make it, or to maintain their positions (or even climb a little higher.
“We all know that the next three games will be important for us, but the focus has to be on us and our performances and the only thing we can control is what we want to achieve this weekend. So all our focus and energy is on our game and how we want to play. We will make sure that from a mental and physical aspect, we pitch up for this game.
“We’ve done our analysis on the Lions and the threats they will bring and we’ve planned and selected the team accordingly.”
Many teams playing on the highveld have come a cropper, not used to playing at altitude and often running out of steam later in the game, particularly if they’ve been sucked into playing a high energy game.
“It’s going to be important for us to control the tempo of the game, so it’s not always about speeding up the game but also sometimes slowing it down and controlling it, so it’s not so much about chasing the intensity and trying to speed up the game. Management of the game is going to be crucial and hopefully we get that right.”
Generally, managing the game is important, but crucial to success is starting well so that the team doesn’t find itself chasing the scoreboard
“Starting well gives you the foundation for the rest of the game and it’s crucial for us to understand that we can’t wake up 20 minutes into the match and you’re 21-nil down. So it’s about pitching up from the very first whistle and that’s something we’ve addressed.
“If we can start well like we did against them at Hollywoodbets Kings Park in the first round, it definitely helps to provide that foundation to build on for the rest of the game.”
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