The Cell C Sharks cannot be usurped at the top of the Currie Cup log following our 24-10 victory over the Golden Lions at a wet Growthpoint KINGS PARK on Friday evening.
While the player warm-up was taking place, the Toto classic Africa was played over the public address, and boy was it serendipitous as the rain truly came down, shades of last week’s match also played in exceptionally wet conditions.
While the wet ball hardly meant this would ever be a performance that could be rated 10/10, our 10th successive victory in the competition secured top of the table status regardless of the final two weeks action before the knock-outs, and ensured that the Cell C Sharks won’t travel again in the competition for as long as we remain in it.
It was clear from the outset that this was going to be hugely combative as the teams smashed away at each other, with an early penalty – in the 4th minute – sent through the posts by Curwin Bosch to get the scoreboard turning over. Given the conditions, it was important that any scoring opportunities were taken instead of chasing tries and the Cell C Sharks had no compunction about going for the three points instead of kicking to touch and chasing the try.
But the try did come soon afterwards, the Lions kicking the ball ahead on attack but Michael Claassens latched onto it and made a break before kicking the ball up-field for the chasers. The Lions got back, but the ball was stolen and then the forwards got stuck in with Thomas du Toit finally driving over.
The scoreboard continued to tick over with a strong attacking build-up in the Lions’ 22 being thwarted, but not without conceding a penalty in front of the posts which Bosch had no trouble converting for a handy 11-nil lead around the 20 minute mark.
Moments later, the Lions had a pushover try disallowed before referee Stuart Berry made the call to postpone the game for safety reasons given the lightning that was regularly flashing around the stadium.
Just over a quarter of the game had been played when the break in play came but fortunately the storm abated as did the rain and 15 minutes later the teams returned to the field to play out the half.
The Lions probably enjoyed territorial advantage in the second quarter but up against our stern defence, had no real answer and failed to trouble the scorers as the half closed out with the Cell C Sharks maintaining our 11 point lead.
The second half battled to get out of second gear with the slippery ball not making handling at all easy with attacking play regularly breaking down in mid-stride. The Lions finally broke the duck with a scrum penalty in the 53rd minute, their first score and the first of the half.
Not two minutes later, Bosch cancelled it out with a penalty of his own, this time the Lions blown up at the scrum.
The game sparked into life with a fantastic break from Garth April who made serious inroads into Lions’ territory and although the visitors regained possession and managed to clear from their 22, Odwa Ndungane latched onto the ball and managed to elude three defenders enroute to the tryline.
Bosch converted from out wide and at 21-3 up with 17 minutes of the match remaining, the Cell C Sharks looked in control.
The Lions, forced to chase the game were attacking from deep in their own half, reluctant to kick ahead and relinquish possession, but in the panic, they couldn’t hold on and the ball was stolen, we countered and Bosch was fed the ball in the channel to convert a neat drop-goal.
With 45 seconds left on the clock, we conceded a runaway try for the Lions to have the last word on the scoreboard, but it was too late for any consequence.
The post Ten out of Ten appeared first on Sharks Rugby.
Preview: Cell C Sharks vs Golden Lions:
The Golden Lions come to Durban looking to not only secure a top four finish in the Currie Cup, but even move up the ladder when they take on the Cell C Sharks at Growthpoint KINGS PARK on Friday.
The competition remains wide open as the tournament gathers momentum towards the knock-out rounds, with six of the seven teams all potential semi-finalists. Three teams have played 10 matches, four have played nine which means the Currie Cup is going to go right down to the wire in the final weekend’s action in two weeks’ time as teams jockey for positions on the log.
Three more log points from our last two games will secure top spot for the Cell C Sharks and the guarantee that we will not play any more games away from home – something that has proved an important ingredient in the recipe of success.
But the Lions, currently in fourth spot with the Pumas (and to a lesser extent, the Blue Bulls) breathing down their necks, losing to the Cell C Sharks this weekend could be disastrous for South Africa’s most successful team in recent years with consecutive appearances in the Super Rugby Final in 2016 and 2017, and Currie Cup winners in 2015.
The Cell C Sharks gain is the Springboks’ loss as we welcomed back Sbu Nkosi who had joined up with the Springbok squad but was subsequently released back to play Currie Cup rugby which is a huge boost for our campaign.
“He said the experience was really good for him, I think it is great for his confidence and just reward for all of the hard work and his form this season,” explains coach Robert du Preez. “Whilst I’m pleased to have him back, I’m also disappointed that he’s not getting a shot; but I think that will happen soon.”
Daniel du Preez gets another chance as he too was released from Castle Lager Rugby Championship commitments this weekend for the Springbok clash with the Wallabies in Bloemfontein, with the coach admitting that, “He’s had very little game time, he hasn’t played a lot of rugby which is quite frustrating for him, but last week was a good hit-out for him so it’s a nice opportunity for him to play two weeks in a row.”
With the weather man predicting near perfect conditions for Friday night’s return leg clash with the Golden Lions, the rain that had a huge influence in last week’s win over the Blue Bulls will gladly stay away.
Du Preez expects the Lions to be a different prospect to the last time the two teams met – at Emirates Airline Park – when the Cell C Sharks had to dig deep to come away with what was ultimately a commanding score-line in a game that could so easily have gone the other way but for a powerful surge in the second half.
“The Lions have been improving, certainly they have improved since we played them up there in the first round, this will certainly be a much tougher game.”
Next week sees the Cell C Sharks enjoying a well-deserved bye before the final home game against Western Province to close out the pool stages of the Currie Cup. Then come the knock-out rounds, the semi-finals and final, with the Cell C Sharks well on track at this point.
But du Preez has no thoughts outside of the Lions’ match this weekend.
“For us, it’s all about taking it one game at a time, a big focus for us is not to just maintain but to get better every week; that’s been a big driving force for us.”
The post Preview: Cell C Sharks vs Golden Lions appeared first on Sharks Rugby.
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