Ken Borland

Western Province shocked the Sharks and disappointed all those supporters of the underdog who thought it would be cute to have both Griquas and the Pumas in the Currie Cup semi-finals as they won 35-24 at Kings Park on Saturday night.

Griquas and the Pumas shared the spoils 13-13 in their earlier match in Kimberley, played in tough conditions with a gale-force wind, which meant Western Province had to beat the second-placed Sharks with a bonus point in order to stay alive in the competition.

And Western Province were inspired, playing with great tempo and ambition, with their outstanding support play and ability to maintain quick ball leading them to five tries.

Centre Dan du Plessis enjoyed an excellent first half as he scored two tries to put Western Province 14-3 up in the first quarter. The Sharks struck back with two excellent tries sparked by scrumhalf Sanele Nohamba, with wing Yaw Penxe and roving eighthman Phepsi Buthelezi dotting down as the home side led 17-14 at the break.

Western Province opened the scoring in the second half as their outstanding scrumhalf Paul de Wet dived over for a try from close range.

The Sharks were guilty of trying to be a bit too cute on attack and their only points of the second half came when flyhalf Lionel Cronje cut back inside and somehow managed to elude a handful of defenders with good footwork and a deceptive turn of pace. He then chipped ahead and Penxe raced through to score the try.

But Western Province responded immediately as they once again won the restart, roared on to attack and replacement hooker JJ Kotze powered over for the crucial bonus point try and a 28-24 lead with six minutes remaining. Wing Edwill van der Merwe then sealed the win with an 83^rd-minute intercept try as the Sharks desperately tried to snatch victory at the death.

At Loftus Versfeld, the Free State Cheetahs were like ravenous pups as they nipped at the heels of the table-topping Bulls throughout, harassing them with an excellent kicking game led by veteran halfback Ruan Pienaar and held their own in the physical exchanges, while their attacking play was typically incisive.

The Bulls eventually seemed to have settled matters down when they led 39-24 going into the final quarter, but fullback Cohen Jasper and wing Malcolm Jaer scored superb tries to reawaken the Cheetahs’ hopes.

Eventually the Bulls held on to win 39-36 and will host their semifinal against Western Province.

The Pumas will be kicking themselves for wasting so many points-scoring opportunities, allowing Griquas into the semi-finals and they will face the Sharks in Durban.

Scorers

Bulls: Tries – Marco Janse van Vuren, Elrigh Louw, Jan-Hendrik Wessels (2), Madosh Tambwe. Conversions – Johan Goosen (4). Penalties – Goosen (2).

Free State Cheetahs: Tries – Mihlali Mosi, Duncan Saal, penalty try, Cohen Jasper, Malcolm Jaer. Conversions – Ruan Pienaar (3). Penalty – Pienaar.

Scorers

Sharks: Tries – Yaw Penxe (2), Phepsi Buthelezi. Conversions – Curwin Bosch (3). Penalty – Bosch.

Western Province: Tries – Dan du Plessis (2), Paul de Wet, JJ Kotze, Edwill van der Merwe. Conversions – Tim Swiel (5).

Scorers

Griquas: Try – Chris Hollis. Conversion – George Whitehead. Penalties – Whitehead (2).

Pumas: Tries – Tapiwa Mafura, Sebastian de Klerk. Penalty – Eddie Fouche.

The counter-attacking pace of the Sharks team proved to be their pivotal weapon as wing Thaakir Abrahams scored a hat-trick, fullback Anthony Volmink a brace and both their scrumhalves caused huge problems as they demolished the rudderless Lions 56-14 in their Currie Cup match at Ellis Park on Saturday.

It took the Lions an hour to get on the scoreboard, by which time the Sharks had already gathered the try-scoring bonus point and a 35-0 lead. Flank Emmanuel Tshituka forcing his way over from close range came after the Lions had wasted half-a-dozen other opportunities five metres from the tryline. Their ill-discipline and lack of technique at the breakdown cost them dearly.

The Sharks themselves took 19 minutes to post their first points, mostly because they were buckled in the first three scrums by the Lions. But the home team failed to turn the attacking chances provided by those penalties into any points.

Instead, it was the Sharks who grabbed the first try, scrumhalf Grant Williams making the first of many breaks and centre Marius Louw then running a fine angle against the grain to score. It was one-way traffic thereafter.

Abrahams cruised over for his first try in the 23^rd minute after a phenomenal back-flip pass across the field by flyhalf Lionel Cronje, and eighthman Phepsi Buthelezi and Volmink dotted down too as the Sharks grabbed the bonus point before halftime.

Five minutes into the second half, after the Lions maul had won a couple of penalties, Tshituka was ruled to have been short of the tryline, which Gauteng supporters may well have a bit of a tiff with the official about, especially since the Sharks went from their own line all the way to score on the same phase. Louw grabbed the ball at the ruck and broke straight downfield, loose forwards Jeandre Labuschagne and Buthelezi supporting the breakaway before Volmink then fed Abrahams, who beat the defence with a beautiful inside-and-out to score his second try.

Tshituka was eventually the next player to score, but the Sharks continued to fill their boots as replacement scrumhalf Sanele Nohamba showed great pace too to score from 45 metres out and Abrahams and Volmink both scored again to complete the rout.

The Lions could use the fatigue caused by playing five matches in 15 days as an excuse for their failure to cope with the tempo of the game, but in terms of skills and technique, they look ill-equipped to handle their next venture, which will be the daunting United Rugby Championship in Europe.

Scorers
Sharks: Tries – Marius Louw, Thaakir Abrahams (3), Phepsi Buthelezi, Anthony Volmink (2), Sanele Nohamba. Conversions – Lionel Cronje (5), Boeta Chamberlain (3).
Lions: Tries – Emmanuel Tshituka, Jaco Visagie. Conversions – Jordan Hendrikse (2).

While the Springboks have rightly been lauded, both locally and overseas, as being a beacon of true nation-building hope in this troubled land, their game-plan has earned less respect from foreign critics.

But backline coach Mzwandile Stick made it clear on Friday, on the eve of the first Test against the British and Irish Lions in Cape Town on Saturday, that they don’t care.

“We will never run away from our strengths. The All Blacks pass the ball a lot, that’s how they grew up as kids, but nobody says they must stop doing that. It’s the same with us, physicality is in our DNA, it’s in our genes. If we want to play lovely, free-flowing, running rugby then we have to earn that right. We’re very happy with the way we play.

“In 10 years time, people will only see the results and they won’t be worried about the style of rugby we played. Seventeen of our squad for the first Test were involved in the World Cup final and we have been more than three years with these guys. So we can’t be underdone,” Stick said on Friday.

While Lions coach Warren Gatland said South Africa’s ego had somehow been dented when SA A beat the tourists and some have painted the Springboks’ preparations as being chaotic due to Covid-19 cases and several injuries, Stick painted a picture of a squad that has been an island of focus, with even isolation being used to fine-tune their planning.

“We have made peace with the fact that these are very challenging times and the team that adapts best will have a better chance of winning. When you get guys like Siya Kolisi, Frans Malherbe, Bongi Mbonambi and Handre Pollard back in the squad then you can feel the vibe and energy goes to a totally different level. These are guys who know what it takes.

“They know how to switch on and they have proper, proper heads on their shoulders. That’s what coaches enjoy and we are excited about the first Test. Hopefully everything goes according to our plan. We are happy as a team about the SA A game because we came out on top in the most important stat – the scoreboard; we won the game. So I’m not sure why our ego would be dented,” Stick said.

Serviced by a steady flow of quick ball, British and Irish Lions fullback Josh Adams and wing Duhan van der Merwe both scored hat-tricks as the tourists hammered the Sharks 54-7 at Ellis Park on Wednesday night.

The Covid crisis surrounding this series meant the Lions had to make eight late changes to their originally announced team and they had just one backline reserve on the bench. It only seemed to fuel them to higher levels of excellence.

Playing with tremendous skill and tempo, the Lions were ruthless and clinical in scoring eight tries. Their aggressive defence took away much of the time and space the Sharks are used to normally and the tourists only conceded a single try.

The prolific Adams, who has now scored eight tries in three appearances for the Lions, and Van der Merwe both scored in the opening 10 minutes to immediately settle the tourists and banish all thoughts from their minds of the tremendous disruption they have suffered over the last 24 hours.

With Owen Farrell, one of the late changes at flyhalf, producing a tactical masterclass, the Lions scored two more tries before halftime to lead 26-0 at the break.

The Sharks scored first in the second half, flank James Venter rounding off a lovely try that featured slick work down the right touchline by Jeremy Ward, Werner Kok and Manie Libbok.

But then they ruined their promising moments with basic errors and soft moments, succumbing to the pressure exerted on them by a top-quality international side. The Lions scored four more tries, the last when they deliberately played with just 14 men. From a powerful scrum, Adams had space aplenty to complete is hat-trick.

It is highly unlikely that Sharks coach Sean Everitt sleeps well tonight. With their first foray into Europe a couple of months away, the Sharks were way off the pace. Clearly, playing against sluggish South African teams has got them into bad habits and a false sense of security.

Scorers

Sharks – Try: James Venter. Conversion: Curwin Bosch.

British & Irish Lions – Tries: Josh Adams (3), Duhan van der Merwe (3), Bundee Aki, Louis Rees-Zammit. Conversions – Owen Farrell (3), Finn Russell (4).