Bloemfontein in winter can be an inhospitable place for coastal teams, but the Cell C Sharks were sizzling hot in their 47-30 Carling Currie Cup victory over Toyota Cheetahs on Saturday afternoon.
Cell C Sharks head coach Sean Everitt had spoken animatedly about the tempo of his team’s two games against the British & Irish Lions and the speed and intensity with which his team approached this match blew the home team away in the first half and then consolidated in the second to earn the Durbanites a five try to four victory that was as enjoyable as it was emphatic.
Free State struck first blood in the opening exchanges as they put pressure on the visiting Sharks from the start and were rewarded with the early try as they took a 5-0 lead inside the first five minutes of the game.
Given the passion from both sides, tempers were frayed as the players looked to outmuscle each other and the referee had words with both captains before sending Free State leader Ruan Pienaar to the sin bin as the game approached the end of the first quarter.
With Free State having to defend, the Cell C Sharks had a sniff of success and upped the tempo, finding the home side under too much pressure and the equaliser was scored after some outstanding interplay, with Werner Kok closing out the exciting move and Bosch adding the extras.
Free State retook the lead, albeit a narrow one-pointer, with a 50m penalty, but just as they managed to thwart a forward-dominated effort to earn turnover ball and clear, there was a lovely break that saw Curwin Bosch combining with Marnus Potgieter and the wing broke through to put his team behind the defence before offloading to Grant Williams to canter over for the second try with Bosch converting for a 14-8 lead on the half hour.
Ruan Pienaar, back from his 10 minutes off the field, struck a long range penalty to narrow the deficit, only for Bosch to cancel it out, converting his first penalty moments later with five minutes of the first half remaining.
With the half-time break beckoning, Free State sent the ball high and long but it was well-fielded by Thaakir Abrahams deep in his own half. His mazy run proved elusive down the touchline, as he made 30m while shrugging off the defensive efforts of two or three Cheetahs’ players before feeding Marius Louw who then put Anthony Volmink into the try-scoring position that heralded the third touchdown.
Bosch’s conversion gave the Cell C Sharks a well-deserved and rather emphatic three try to one, 24-11 lead at the break.
The flyhalf extended the 13 points to 16 with a penalty early in the second half when the home side were penalised following a good Cell C Sharks scrum and it took Free State nearly 10 minutes into the half to score again, a good build-up before adding their second try, the conversion cutting the lead to nine points.
Five minutes later the home side scored their third try and it was game on as the lead was down to four points with 25 minutes of the game remaining but a minute later the Cell C Sharks managed the bonus point try, Curwin Bosch able to thread his pass behind the defence to set up Williams’ second try, with Bosch adding the extras to restore the 11 point lead.
Rosko Specman showed why he is such a danger in sevens rugby when he found some space and raced through the defence to tear away for his team’s fourth try and it was back to a four point game with 15 minutes left to play, only for Bosch to add another penalty from his own half to extend the lead to seven points minutes later.
With a shade under 10 minutes remaining, the Cell C Sharks kicked a penalty to touch and then rolling maul showed patience but determination and Kerron van Vuuren took possession at the back before being edged over for the fifth try, and with Bosch adding the two, the home side found themselves down by 14 points and a mountain to climb if they had any hope of winning a match that was slipping further and further from their grasp.
There were some anxious moments to negotiate in the closing minutes as Free State chased a fifth try and put the Cell C Sharks defence under immense pressure, but to a man they stood up to the challenge before Dylan Richardson managed the steal and pressure was averted.
With time up on the clock, the home side conceded a penalty at the tackle and Man of the Match Curwin Bosch had no trouble closing out the game on a high note that sent his team to the top of the log.
Captain Phepsi Buthelezi admitted afterwards that, “The boys bounced back pretty well after a slow start and I’m really happy with the performance and result.
“We learned a lot of lesson from the intensity of the games against the Lions. And I think that’s what allowed us to beat the Cheetahs today.
“We really want to win the Currie Cup, with everything that’s happened in our province, we want to make sure that every time we step onto the field, we put smiles on faces and make our province proud.”
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Toyota Cheetahs vs Cell C Sharks Preview Article:
The Cell C Sharks return to Carling Currie Cup action after more than three weeks’ absence from the competition when they take on Toyota Cheetahs in Bloemfontein on Saturday afternoon.
A combination of factors has conspired against the Durban team to render null their Currie Cup matches against the New Nation Pumas and Vodacom Blue Bulls, although there will be no shortage of game time for the players who were tested in back-to-back clashes against the British & Irish Lions recently.
Cell C Sharks head coach Sean Everitt has both rewarded players for their recent good form as well as made certain changes in a horses-for-courses approach to this match, including both James Venter and Dylan Richardson the side of the scrum, a rare choice for the Durban side.
“We’re fortunate in that we have two guys who can play the fetcher role, they’re world class players at the moment and both did exceptionally well against the Lions,” explained Everitt.
“I suppose it’s a bit of an experiment for us to go in with two fetchers, but they’re both very good ball carriers in their own right and at the same time both bring an incredibly high work rate and we thought it would be a good way to go.”
Given the disruptions of late, of cancelled matches, Covid, injuries, unrest and Springbok call-ups, for a Cell C Sharks side missing 18 players, now is the time to stand up and be counted.
“It’s been a very challenging period, but the guys returned to training last Thursday and they brought back a lot of positive energy,” said the coach. “The vibe we’ve created by giving everyone an opportunity against the Lions has been great and what we’ve taken out of those games and what we hope to do this weekend is to play at a higher intensity and to continue that for 80 minutes.”
After beating DHL Western Province fairly convincingly in mid-week (winning Wednesday’s match 38-21), Free State will come into Saturday’s match high in confidence.
Everitt warned that this is going to be a tough assignment.
“They’ve got better as the competition has unfolded, they’ve had players returning from injury, and the reality is that you’re never going to go to Bloemfontein and get easy points.
“I asked the players at our team meeting how many of them had beaten the Cheetahs in Bloemfontein and not many had, and those who did, had only done it on one occasion which shows what a massive challenge lies ahead.
“We know that we need to focus on ourselves and we need to deliver a similar performance to the one we put in against the Lions if we want to overturn them.
“We also understand that the Cheetahs are desperate, they’ve been left out of international competition s going forward and they have a point to prove. They’re desperate to win the Currie Cup, while for us, it’s about performances and standards week in and week out.”
This match signals the end of the first round of matches, with the second round of six games hopefully unaffected and the teams can play them all.
“We have seven games left and hopefully from now there aren’t going to be too many more disruptions. We just need to make sure we step up our performances, there is a lot for us to play for and the guys are extremely motivated.”
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Quick Durban KwaZulu-Natal Fact: Midlands – The KwaZulu-Natal Midlands is an inland area of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, that lies around Pietermaritzburg, and includes the Drakensberg mountain range. There are several small towns located in the Midlands, including: Howick, Balgowan, Nottingham Road, Rosetta, Estcourt, Mooi-River, Greytown, Richmond and Ixopo. Drakensberg towns of Underberg, Himeville, Winterton and Bergville are included. The Midlands Meander consists of several tourism routes, that include accommodation, art and crafts and restaurant stops.
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