In an exciting weekend, the Sharks pipped Toyota Free State 26-22 in Durban, the Vodacom Blue Bulls outplayed Border 59-3 in Pretoria and the MTN Golden Lions defeated the Leopards 32-27 in Johannesburg.
In Durban three first-half tries by the hosts combined with a superb defensive effort allowed them to build up a promising 18-7 first-half lead against the Toyota Free State.
But the Bloemfontein side staged a strong second-half comeback in which they crossed the tryline twice, which resulted in a tense second half. The Sharks, however, dashed their hopes of a victory as they increased their try tally to four, while flyhalf Jean-Luc du Plessis added his second penalty of the day to edge the team into the lead. Despite being a close match, the bonus point for four tries allowed the Sharks to stretch their lead over the third-placed Lions on the log to two points.
Scorers:
- Sharks 26 (18) – Tries: Hendrik Botha, Jean-Luc du Plessis, Nkululeko Marwana, Wion Robbertse. Penalties: Du Plessis (2).
- Toyota Free State 22 (7) – Tries: Donavan Gissing, Jan Venter, Nicolaas Lee. Conversions: Pieter Jordaan, Warren Potgieter.
Absa Under-19 Provincial Championship log – Division A:
- Vodacom Blue Bulls – 43
- The Sharks U19 – 32
- MTN Golden Lions – 30
- Leopards – 25
- DHL Western Province – 20
- Toyota Free State – 19
- Border – 1
Sparking Startups