Ken Borland

Replacement flyhalf Tim Swiel kicked a 77^th minute penalty and sealed a 25-22 win for the Stormers over the Sharks in their Rainbow Cup match at a wet and miserable Kings Park in Durban on Saturday.

The penalty was awarded when Sharks loosehead prop Ox Nche was caught scrumming in at a set-piece inside the 22. The Sharks then lost a lineout, for the fifth time, inside Stormers territory and spent the final minute desperately trying to run the ball out of their own 22 before a knock-on ended the game.

The Sharks started the game strongly and were 10-0 up after the first quarter as their dominance of the early scrum exchanges led to flyhalf Curwin Bosch kicking a phenomenal angled penalty from 60 metres out and Nche forcing his way over for the opening try.

But a patch of very poor rugby by the Sharks around the 25^th minute then saw the momentum shift and the Stormers gained the ascendancy for the rest of the first half. A couple of iffy tactical kicks by Bosch allowed wing Edwill van der Merwe to counter-attack from 65 metres out and he put in a brilliant run, helped by dismal Sharks tackling, and scored under the posts.

Van der Merwe scored a second try shortly before the break as the Stormers went into halftime with a 12-10 lead.

The contributions of loose forwards Pieter-Steph du Toit and Siya Kolisi in the early stages of the second half will please people who have the Springboks’ interests at heart, but it was Du Toit who made the more lasting impact and was declared man of the match at the end of the tight contest.

Du Toit started the second half superbly by surging over for a try from 30 metres out after hooker Bongi Mbonambi and scrumhalf Herschel Jantjies had combined well off a lineout drive, putting the Stormers 19-10 up.

But Sharks scrumhalf Jaden Hendrikse then took a quick tap-and-go at a penalty and passed out wide to Kolisi, who bumped off a tackle, made a break and then sent wing Yaw Penxe racing away for the try.

The Sharks scored again two minutes later in freakish fashion to take a 22-19 lead. The Stormers were hard on attack when a pass rebounded off the head of Sharks fullback Aphelele Fassi, who was always quick to get off the line in defence.

Fassi beat Van der Merwe to the ball, kicked through and scored. Some people may have been concerned about the legality of the try coming so soon after Du Toit had tapped a penalty, but he had already run five metres while the Sharks were retreating so the home side were not offsides.

But the Sharks’ ill-discipline cost them in the end as prop Thomas du Toit then blocked Pieter-Steph du Toit off the ball, allowing Swiel to level the scores in the 55^th minute.

A yellow card to wing Sbu Nkosi in the 69^th minute, after repeated team infringements, did not help the Sharks’ cause, and ultimately they were their own worst enemies with too many soft moments.

Scorers

Sharks – Tries:  Ox Nche, Yaw Penxe, Aphelele Fassi. Conversions: Curwin Bosch (2). Penalty: Bosch.

Stormers – Tries: Edwill van der Merwe (2), Pieter-Steph du Toit. Conversions: Abner van Reenen (2). Penalties: Tim Swiel (2).

Replacement flyhalf Tertius Maarman scored two tries in the last 10 minutes to inspire a thrilling come-from-behind 37-27 win for the Griffons over the Valke in their Absa Currie Cup First Division match at the Barnard Stadium in Kempton Park on Saturday.

The Valke looked in firm control as they went into the break 24-11 up, but two yellow cards in the second half – in the vital 10 minutes after half-time and then heading into the last 10 minutes – helped the Griffons stage an amazing comeback.

The Valke made an impressive start as left wing Sandile Ngcobo dashed over for an early try, flyhalf Juan Kotze’s conversion effort going astray and the 20-year-old limped off the field with an injury just five minutes later.

Griffons right wing Hansie Graaff then levelled the scores with a similarly fleetfooted effort, flyhalf Tiaan van Wyk failing to convert, but kicking a 17th-minute penalty to give the visitors an 8-5 lead.

Valke flank Marco Kotze used his power to muscle over the tryline in the 30th minute, and the Eastern Gautengers continued to build on their forward dominance with some slick ball-handling and support play to run in two more tries before half-time.

Fullback JW Bell and eighthman Reg Muller crossed the tryline to give the Valke a 24-11 half-time lead, a Van Wyk penalty being the only other points added to the Griffons’ tally before the break.

The Valke were playing highly attractive rugby, but hooker Shone van der Walt did little to promote their cause in the 10th minute of the second half when his dangerous tackle led to him being yellow-carded.

The one-man advantage – a tight forward at that – allowed the Griffons to get themselves back in the game.

A top-class forward drive three minutes later saw loosehead prop Charles Marais barge over for the second try and eighthman Willie Britz then scored a fine try just a minute later to bring the Griffons within a single point of the Valke (23-24).

The Valke were clearly rattled and, even though replacement flyhalf Karlo Aspeling kicked a penalty to settle their nerves a bit, the Griffons were on fire and the pressure eventually told on the home side as Muller was yellow-carded for repeated infringements in the breakdown battle.

Just a minute after Muller’s departure, Maarman broke free to score, Graaff converting to give the Griffons a 30-27 lead.

The free-running Maarman then made another break five minutes later to grab his second try, with Graaff adding the conversion among great celebrations by the Griffons, who won just twice in last year’s Currie Cup First Division and just once in this year’s Vodacom Cup.

The two second-half yellow cards really set the cat among the pigeons for the Valke, with the captain, Van der Walt, surely rueing the ill-discipline that saw his mistake turn the tide for the Griffons.

SCORERS

Valke – Tries: Sandile Ngcobo, Marco Kotze, JW Bell, Reg Muller. Conversions: Karlo Aspeling (2). Penalty: Aspeling.

Griffons – Tries: Hansie Graaff, Charles Marais, Willie Britz, Tertius Maarman (2). Conversions: Graaff (3). Penalties: Tiaan van Wyk (2).

http://www.supersport.com/rugby/currie-cup-first-division/news/120630/Griffons_fight_back_to_beat_Valke