Ken Borland

With flyhalf Curwin Bosch in sublime form, the Sharks produced an impressive 47-30 win over the Free State Cheetahs in their Currie Cup match in Bloemfontein on Saturday, going to the top of the log with the bonus point triumph.

Bosch was excellent with the boot, succeeding with nine of his 10 kicks at goal through five conversions and four penalties. He was also superb with ball in hand, sparking several of the counter-attacks that punished the Cheetahs when they kicked with a poor chase and also playing on the gainline with aplomb.

The Sharks made a horror start though. From the kickoff, the outstanding Rosko Specman’s brilliant chase led to a penalty. Although scrumhalf Ruan Pienaar missed the kick, the Sharks conceded a couple more penalties in the opening minutes and the Cheetahs finally punished them when Specman deservedly scored the first of his two tries, dotting down a Brandon Thomson grubber after a super run off a lineout by centre Siya Masuku.

It was a feisty match throughout and Pienaar then stupidly went around the side of a maul and slapped the ball out of hooker Kerron van Vuuren’s hands, earning him a yellow card. With the Free State captain off the field, the Sharks managed to get into the game.

Bosch produced two wonderful passes to firstly send impressive prop Nthuthuko Mchunu off on a storming run, and then eighthman Phepsi Buthelezi, centre Werner Kok scything over from the resulting ruck.

The Springbok flyhalf then sparked the counter-attack from a deep kick that led to the second try, on the half-hour, by scrumhalf Grant Williams, with the help of a powerful run by wing Marnus Potgieter.

The Sharks ended the first half with another wonderful counter-attacking try, wing Thaakir Abrahams this time taking a kick, evading the lone chaser and then slipping away from several other defenders, fullback Anthony Volmink completing the try to give the visitors a 24-11 lead at halftime.

Bosch added another penalty early in the second half to stretch the gap to 27-11, but the Cheetahs managed to partially dig themselves out of the hole with two tries in five minutes. Specman set up the first and then Masuku produced a brilliant run when his team were back-pedalling, leading to the second try.

The Sharks’ lead had been cut to 27-23, but Bosch quickly produced another moment of magic, dummying, slipping through a gap in the defensive line and getting his offload away in the tackle to Mchunu, who put in another great run for Williams to score his second.

Specman replied with a scintillating solo effort from 62 metres out, but the Sharks kept piling on the pressure, with Bosch kicking two more penalties and Van Vuuren scoring a lineout drive try.

Scorers

Free State Cheetahs – Tries: Rosko Specman (2), Brandon Thomson, Duncan Saal. Conversions: Ruan Pienaar, Reinhardt Fortuin. Penalties: Thomson, Pienaar.

Sharks – Tries: Werner Kok, Grant Williams (2), Anthony Volmink, Kerron van Vuuren. Conversions: Curwin Bosch (5). Penalties: Bosch (4).

The Sharks are adamant that the Bulls should not think things are too roomy at the top of the Rainbow Cup log and they have also promised the Stormers no armchair ride when they meet at Kings Park on Saturday.

The Bulls hammered the Sharks 43-9 last weekend to take a three-point lead in the Rainbow Cup standings, but that could be overturned when they come to Durban on June 12, in the last round of round-robin play.

Of course the Sharks, in the meantime, need to see off the challenge of the Stormers, and coach Sean Everitt has warned the Cape side not to judge his team by last weekend’s performance. And he has promised that the same pack that he said was “manhandled” by the Bulls is ready to fight fire with fire against the visitors this weekend.

“Given our play in the last 20 minutes against the Bulls, the Stormers might see an opportunity and they definitely have a good pack. We saw in the Currie Cup that they were very forward-oriented and I think they will go back to that because they were probably lucky to win against the Lions and will want to tighten up. But we are unbeaten at Kings Park for one-and-a-half years and we will protect our fortress.

“It’s never pleasant getting a beating like that one in Pretoria and the guys have taken a lot of criticism, a lot of pressure has been put on them. But it could be personal for them on Saturday because you should never judge a team on one game and people forget we beat the Stormers in Cape Town three weeks ago. Our team hasn’t changed, we just had an off day,” Everitt said.

Everitt maintained that there is still not much between his team and the high-flying Bulls, despite last weekend’s lopsided scoreline. He pointed to the Currie Cup final, which went into extra time, during which Lady Luck decided she no longer liked the Sharks.

“We were unfortunate not to win the Currie Cup final and you can’t expect to win six-out-of-six local derbies. There’s still a lot of rugby to be played and we’re certainly not out of the race with the Bulls only three points ahead and we’ve still got them at home, where we have not lost for a while.

“What an experience it would be to make the Rainbow Cup final, travel to Europe and play against the best they can offer. That would be just reward for finishing top of the Rainbow Cup and would provide us with a bit of a measure as to where we are, going into the Pro16,” Everitt said.

Dolphins spin twins Keshav Maharaj and Prenelan Subrayen destroyed the Imperial Lions, bowling them out for just 110 and clinching a bonus point win that will assure the KZN team of first place on the log and an automatic place in Sunday’s final.

The Lions were chasing 152 for victory, a challenging target on a pitch that was getting slower and slower. But they would never have expected to gift the Dolphins a crucial bonus point and a place in the final as they were bowled out in the last over.

The Lions can only draw level with the Dolphins on the log if they beat the Cape Cobras with a bonus point on Friday, and then the result between the two teams takes preference over run-rate.

Spinners Maharaj and Subrayen opened the bowling and immediately exerted pressure. They returned in the middle overs and had combined figures of four for 28 in their eight overs. Orthodox left-armer Maharaj only conceded 10 runs in his four overs and off-spinner Subrayen took three for 18.

Rassie van der Dussen was the only batsman to briefly break free from the stranglehold, scoring 33 off 29 balls before holing out to a Subrayen delivery that held up in the pitch and turned.

Kagiso Rabada (15) and Aaron Phangiso (16) hit the ball cleanly as they tried to prevent the Dolphins getting the bonus point in a ninth-wicket stand of 27, the biggest partnership of the innings, but they fell 11 runs short.

Seamers Robbie Frylinck and Ottneil Baartman provided excellent support to the spinners as they both took two for 26.

The Lions bowlers were able to continue their impressive form in the competition, restricting the Dolphins to 91 for four in the 15th over, with opener Keegan Petersen scoring a run-a-ball 35.

But the evergreen David Miller was still at the crease and he batted through to the end, belting 56 not out off just 38 balls with some great death batting that took the Dolphins to 151 for four.

Mangaliso Mosehle (18*) shared a vital unbroken partnership of 60 off 37 deliveries with the Proteas star, who showed again that he is one of the best T20 batsmen in the country.

Fast bowlers Rabada (4-0-25-1) and Beuran Hendricks (4-0-22-0) were the best of the Lions bowlers.

Detail for the log

The Dolphins have automatically qualified for the final on Sunday.

The teams that finish second and third on the log will play each other in the playoff on Saturday to decide who the Dolphins’ opposition will be.

If the Titans beat the Dolphins on Friday they will qualify for the playoff. But if they lose, then the Cape Cobras can qualify, depending on the outcome of Thursday’s match between the Knights and Warriors, if they win with a bonus point against the Lions, who are guaranteed second place.

The Sharks are currently in fourth position on the Currie Cup log and notwithstanding the Free State/Western Province match being the showpiece clash of the weekend, when Griquas rock up at Kings Park on Saturday afternoon, the home side will be involved in just as much of a do-or-die clash as the two teams in Bloemfontein.

The Free State Cheetahs are the team in fifth, one point behind the Sharks, so obviously the KwaZulu-Natalians cannot afford to slip up against the bottom side on the log. Especially since they play Western Province at Newlands in the last round of fixtures. Western Province have their own pressures because they could finish anywhere from first to fifth, and out of the semi-finals, depending on their results in the next fortnight.

Just to add to the pressure on the Sharks’ they are currently dealing with a Covid outbreak and with some players coming back and others testing positive, coach Sean Everitt has been forced to change the majority of his team over the last few weeks. And it has shown in heavy defeats on the road to the Lions and the Cheetahs.

Everitt was doing his best to paint a positive picture on Thursday.

“This team has had a good week’s preparation, they are very tough on themselves and they have high standards, they know they have not delivered the standards of performance we expect over the last two weeks. But it’s easily identifiable what went wrong against the Cheetahs and we know Griquas are always a massive challenge as well.

“They always run teams close and I feel they were unfortunate not to beat the Lions and Western Province. We have no doubt what they will bring, they are desperate as well and obviously motivated to knock over one of the big four. So we are under no illusions, we know it is going to be a physical battle and a big duel at set-piece. But our team is determined to bounce back,” Everitt said on Thursday.

Desperation, motivation, physicality and set-piece prowess are also all the sort of properties the Pumas, those other ‘minnows’ of the Currie Cup, will bring to their match against the Lions on Saturday, especially since they are playing in Nelspruit.

While the Lions are rightfully wary of their neighbours, they are also targeting a bonus point win because that could make a massive difference in their hunt for a home semi-final. Ivan van Rooyen’s team are currently in third place, two points behind Western Province and six behind log-leaders the Bulls.

Momentum is with the Lions and they are also quite fortunate in terms of player availability, with in-form prop Sti Sithole probably their only first-choice player who is out injured at the moment.