Ken Borland

There was more relief than elation for Cell C Sharks coach Gary Gold after his team bounced back from an opening loss to secure an impressive bonus-point win over the Emirates Lions  in their weekend SuperRugby match at Kings Park.

“I think relief is the word, it’s certainly not a big celebration. It’s such early days now, you can throw all these cliches around and say you move on from a loss like last week. But you don’t really move on from a loss like that. It was disappointing and really it was our own fault.

“We didn’t perform well enough last week, so it was weighing heavily on our minds. That’s the psychological challenge you have as a coach, it’s hopefully to give the players confidence that they’re good enough and they can come back from something like that,” Gold said after the Sharks’ 29-12 triumph.

The scrum was the outstanding facet of play for the Sharks, with the Du Plessis brothers, Jannie and Bismarck, showing their class and being ably assisted by loosehead Dale Chadwick as the highly-rated Lions set-piece was dismantled.

Lions coach Johan Ackermann pinpointed Bismarck du Plessis’ return at hooker for the dramatic improvement in the Sharks scrum.

“Bismarck made the big difference there,” said Ackermann. “He outsmarted our young front row and was exceptional. Those scrum penalties against us were very disappointing, we are far better than that, but credit must go to the Sharks.”

For the Sharks to score four tries in sodden conditions that almost saw the game postponed was also highly impressive and Gold admitted it was far more than he had hoped for.

“I didn’t ever imagine we would score four tries in those conditions, but I’m very grateful it did end up that way. I thought we managed the game well to be able to keep the momentum that got us to those opportunities that led to the tries.

“I was happy with the urgency and the general play all round. So I’m very proud of the performance,” Gold said.

The former Springbok forwards coach also praised Bismarck du Plessis for his display, especially since his shoulder is still troubling him.

“His presence was a factor, there’s no doubt about it, because we know what a world-class player he is for so many reasons. He threw into the lineouts particularly well today, he led the team well and obviously he stabilised our scrum,” Gold said.

Other high points for the Sharks were the burgeoning relationship between halfbacks Pat Lambie and Cobus Reinach, which looked a marriage made in heaven in conditions in which their tactical play was always going to be vital.

Lambie made liberal use of the crosskick to set up two of the Sharks’ tries, while opposite number Marnitz Boshoff failed to adapt his game-plan to the wet conditions, and the superb displays of the Du Plessis brothers, lock Pieter-Steph du Toit, Reinach and Lambie are surely not going to go unnoticed by Springbok coach Heyneke Meyer with the World Cup in the northern hemisphere later this year.

One would have thought the sodden conditions at King’s Park would have put a damper on the Cell C Sharks’ ambitions but they pulled off a superb bonus-point 29-12 win over the Emirates Lions in their Vodacom SuperRugby match in Durban on Saturday night.

There was a torrential downpour about an hour before kickoff and the rain was falling steadily until the second half, so ball-in-hand, positive rugby was never on the cards, but a magnificent forward display by the Sharks and the brilliant generalship of Pat Lambie at flyhalf allowed the Sharks to score four tries.

The foundation for their success was laid in the scrums.

The Lions’ scrum was one of the best in the competition last year, but the first-choice front row of Van der Merwe, Coetzee and Redelinghuys was strangely on the bench, and the Du Plessis brothers, Jannie and Bismarck, with the able assistance of Dale Chadwick at loosehead, won all the early battles in that set-piece and the Sharks’ first points as well as their second try both came from huge shoves by the pack.

The Lions were on the board first through a Marnitz Boshoff penalty in the third minute, but five minutes later, a stupendous scrum by the Sharks allowed Lambie to slot an angled penalty from between the 10m and halfway lines, a great effort considering the flooded field beneath his feet.

The Sharks’ rolling maul also had the Lions’ defence in disarray and it earned a penalty for the home side in the 21^st minute, which Lambie pushed wide of the poles.

But the flyhalf’s liberal use of the crosskick also had the Lions scrambling and the first try came when Lambie’s kick to the left was won back by Lwazi Mvovo and the Springbok incumbent then spotted acres of space on the left and put in a pinpoint kick into the safe hands of Odwa Ndungane, who used the slippery surface to slide over the line.

The Sharks, in control up front and with a flyhalf who had clearly changed his game plan to suit the conditions, were obviously the best team in the first half and they made that dominance count with a second try in the 30^th minute.

Strong forward drives by flank Renaldo Bothma  and debutant lock Lubabalo ‘Giant’ Mtyanda earned the Sharks a five-metre scrum. A massive shove made a try inevitable, but scrumhalf Cobus Reinach almost butchered the opportunity by not passing, before eventually reaching out at full-stretch to just dot the ball down on the line.

Boshoff kicked a second penalty for the Lions three minutes later, but the Sharks were so dominant that it didn’t seem to matter as they went into halftime 15-6 up.

Lions coach Johan Ackermann changed his entire front row early in the second half, and there was a noticeable improvement in the visitors’ performance, so one has to ask why they were on the bench in the first place, especially props Schalk van der Merwe and Julian Redelinghuys.

And so the Lions dominated the third quarter, allowing Boshoff to kick two more penalties and close the gap to 12-15.

But the Sharks, with Matt Stevens doing well at tighthead when he replaced the excellent Jannie du Plessis, regained the early dominance they had enjoyed at scrum-time and Ndungane, once again sharp when it came to contesting the ball in the air, forced the Lions to concede a lineout inside their 22 after another precise Lambie cross-kick.

Pieter-Steph du Toit, the best lineout jumper on the night, claimed the ball and the Sharks’ rolling maul bulldozed forward, flank Marcell Coetzee scoring the try.

Lambie’s conversion made it 22-12 and, with Lions captain and breakaway eighthman Warren Whiteley sent off the field for slapping the ball out of the hands of the halfback at a ruck, the Sharks rumbled over for another rolling-maul try by Coetzee to seal a convincing win.

The try was converted by Lambie, who had done so much in ensuring the dominance of the forwards was reflected on the scoreboard. He was ably assisted by halfback partner Reinach, and the Lions pairing of Boshoff and Ross Cronje, both Springbok hopefuls, were thoroughly outplayed by Lambie and Reinach.

The superb displays of the Du Plessis brothers, Du Toit, Reinach and Lambie will surely not go unnoticed by Springbok coach Heyneke Meyer with the World Cup in the northern hemisphere later this year.

Scorers

Sharks – Tries: Odwa Ndungane, Cobus Reinach, Marcell Coetzee (2). Conversions: Pat Lambie (3). Penalty: Lambie.

Lions – Penalties: Marnitz Boshoff (4).

Cell C Sharks coach Gary Gold says his team will continue to play ball-in-hand rugby against the Emirates Lions at King’s Park today, even though this will lead to some close shaves or even defeat as it did last weekend against the Cheetahs.

The Lions are known for a similar approach but have the game-plan bedded down having used it for a few years now under first John Mitchell and now Johan Ackermann, which only increases the challenge for the Sharks.

“We made a lot of errors against the Cheetahs, but you know we were heavily criticised for the way we played last year even though we made the SuperRugby playoffs, and when I was appointed, I spoke to the senior players and they said they want to play ball-in-hand, positive rugby.

“But that comes with risks, it’s easier to coach the other way. It’s a confidence thing, if you get it wrong you’re under the cosh. But it’s about making better decisions in the right areas,” Gold told The Citizen this week.

But playing an expansive brand of rugby also depends heavily on the forwards being ascendant and getting front-foot ball, and the Sharks pack were well-held by the Cheetahs, who dominated the set-pieces.

The return of captain Bismarck du Plessis should add some fire to the Sharks and there will be a fascinating clash between the incumbent Springbok great and the young hooker tipped for great things, Malcolm Marx.

They share a similar physique with Marx being one centimetre shorter at 1.88m and the same weight (113kg) as Du Plessis, according to the Lions website.

“Bismarck brings a different dimension to the Sharks, he is very good at the breakdown, he brings good leadership to the side and he has vast experience, so we know they are going to be a better side than last week.

“Malcolm did very well last week, he has had a game before at this level but it was his first start, and I believe he is only going to get better with more experience. It will be a nice tussle because they are similar in build and frame,” Lions captain Warren Whiteley said.

The Lions fell into the trap of not taking their kicks at goal in last weekend’s defeat to the Hurricanes, while flyhalf Marnitz Boshoff’s boot was also off-form, but Whiteley said he expected all 23 players to step up their efforts today.

They will not be helped by star flanker Jaco Kriel’s absence – he was troubled by a groin strain against the Hurricanes and is now being rested.

Gold was also forced to make changes to the Sharks line-up and has given a debut cap to lock Lubabalo “Giant” Mtyanda.

With both teams coming off home defeats, a titanic tussle can be expected with both packs tearing into each other; for all their big-name players, the Sharks have often been given a hard time by the Lions and that is bound to continue.

Teams

Sharks: 15-SP Marais, 14-Odwa Ndungane, 13-Waylon Murray, 12-Heimar Williams, 11-Lwazi Mvovo, 10-Pat Lambie, 9-Cobus Reinach, 8-Tera Mtembu, 7-Renaldo Bothma, 6-Marcell Coetzee, 5-Pieter-Steph du Toit, 4-Lubabalo Mtyanda, 3-Jannie du Plessis, 2-Bismarck du Plessis, 1-Dale Chadwick. Replacements – 16-Kyle Cooper, 17-Thomas du Toit, 18-Matt Stevens, 19-Marco Wentzel, 20-Jean Deysel, 21-Conrad Hoffmann, 22-Fred Zeilinga, 23-Andre Esterhuizen.

Lions: 15-Andries Coetzee, 14-Ruan Combrinck, 13-Lionel Mapoe, 12-Howard Mnisi, 11-Courtnall Skosan, 10-Marnitz Boshoff, 9-Ross Cronje, 8-Warren Whiteley, 7-Warwick Tecklenburg, 6-Derick Minnie, 5-Franco Mostert, 4-Martin Muller, 3-Ruan Dreyer, 2-Malcolm Marx, 1-Jacques van Rooyen. Replacements – 16-Robbie Coetzee, 17-Schalk van der Merwe, 18-Julian Redelinghuys, 19-JP du Preez, 20-Ruaan Lerm, 21-Faf de Klerk, 22-Elton Jantjies, 23-Harold Vorster.