Following the Sharks’ narrow 25-22 triumph over the Lions in their United Rugby Championship (URC) derby at Hollywoodbets Kings Park in Durban on Saturday, Planet Rugby picks out five takeaways from the thrilling action.
The top line
After suffering a 38-14 drubbing against the same opposition in Johannesburg last week, the Sharks came to the fore with a much improved performance in their backyard in this fixture.
From the outset, John Plumtree’s charges looked like a side on a mission and with the URC‘s South African Shield at stake that was certainly the case and they could ill afford another defeat.
The Sharks made a terrific start and opened the scoring as early as the fifth minute when Grant Williams crossed for the opening try before the Lions struck back shortly afterwards via a five-pointer from Tapiwa Mafura.
Although both sides continued to attack during the rest of the half, the match was littered by unforced errors from both teams, although the hosts finished stronger and held a 12-7 lead at the break after their captain Siya Kolisi crossed for a try in the 36th minute which was converted by Jordan Hendrikse.
The second half saw the Sharks starting in similar fashion to the first and they were rewarded when Kolisi crossed the whitewash again. However, just like the opening stanza, the Lions did not take long to respond as Richard Kriel soon dotted down and the match was evenly poised with the Sharks holding a 17-12 lead.
The visitors narrowed that gap to two points when Gianni Lombard slotted a penalty on the hour-mark which meant we were set for a tense finish. And the Lions showed they meant business when they took the lead in the 65th minute courtesy of a Franco Marais try which meant the Sharks had to pull out all the stops if they wanted to win this clash and, in doing so, pip the Stormers to South African Shield.
And they did just that when Nick Hatton powered his way over from close quarters for their third try, although Jordan Hendrikse missed the conversion attempt which meant the sides were level at 22-22 in the game’s closing stages.
The hosts then received a penalty in the 76th minute which Jaden Hendrikse slotted to seal his side’s victory which, although not convincing, was an important one as they also secured the highly sought after South African Shield.
Sharks’ returning Springboks show their class
Springboks skipper Kolisi returned to action via the bench in last weekend’s corresponding match against the Lions in Johannesburg and was in the starting line-up this weekend.
He was joined in the run-on side by fellow Springboks star Ox Nche, who was making his return to action after spending the past two months on the sidelines due to an upper arm muscle injury.
Although the Sharks were outplayed in most departments in last weekend’s encounter, Kolisi showed some nice touches when he came on and scored one of their tries on that occasion.
The 33-year-old continued where he left off in that clash as he delivered a brilliant attacking performance in Durban and was rewarded with a brace of tries for his efforts before being replaced in the 56th minute.
Meanwhile, Nche showed how important he is to the Sharks’ cause as he continued with his outstanding scrummaging while he was also a willing ball carrier especially at close quarters where he tested the Lions defence with some strong carries.
Nche was only played for 48 minutes before being replaced, but during his time on the pitch, he dominated his direct opponent Asenathi Ntlabakanye in the scrums, which is no mean feat as the behemoth Lions prop has impressed in the set-piece throughout the season.
Sharks replacements get the job done
Although the Sharks were boosted by the return of the likes of the aforementioned Springboks duo and other internationals like Williams and Francois Venter, who also caught the eye with fine showings, their reserves also deserve praise as they did well in closing out this game.
While the Rugby World Cup-winning front-row of Nche, Bongi Mbonambi and Vincent Koch delivered a brilliant scrummaging performance, they were all replaced at the same time early in the second half by Nthuthuko Mchunu, Fez Mbatha and Hanro Jacobs, who continued to impress in the set-piece.
Meanwhile, Corne Rahl was a valuable source of possession in the lineouts while James Venter and Nick Hatton did well at the breakdowns and on attack with the latter crossing for a crucial try in the game’s latter stages.
Although their backline replacements were not as influential, they also did what was expected of them and reserve scrum-half Jaden Hendrikse slotted what proved to be the match-winning penalty in the game’s closing stages.
Morne van den Berg shines again
The rookie Springboks scrum-half showed how important he is to the Lions’ cause with a brilliant all-round performance in last weekend’s victory over the Sharks and he continued where he left off with another superb display in this fixture.
Although the home side held an edge in the forward exchanges, the 27-year-old made good use of the ball he was receiving from his pack as proved difficult to stop on attack.
Van den Berg came to the fore with superb decision making which kept the Sharks defenders guessing – especially around the fringes of the rucks where he made some sniping line breaks and the visitors had to scramble to haul him in.
He also provided a slick service to his outside backs and caught the eye with good support play while he also put his body on the line on defence where he did well to punch above his weight throughout.
His excellent all-round performance was recognised afterwards when he walked off with the official player of the match award, and if he continues in this vein, he will play many Tests for his country.
Lions not as good as last week
The Lions delivered arguably their best performance of the season in Johannesburg last weekend and although they tried to continue where they left off in that game, things did not go as smoothly on this occasion.
The visitors are renowned for their enterprising style of play and with attacking weapons like Van den Berg, Edwill van der Merwe, Richard Kriel, Manny Rass and captain Francke Horn in their ranks, they can unlock the tightest defences.
However, although they stayed true to their attacking roots, things did not come of as smoothly as last week as their game was littered with unforced errors as passes did not always go to hand and they were also guilty of several knock ons and forward passes at crucial stages.
Another area where the visitors were not as dominant as last week was the breakdown battle where they missed the impact of JC Preorius and Ruan Venter who were ruled out through injury for this fixture.
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Src: Planetrugby.com - https://www.planetrugby.com/news/sharks-v-lions-five-takeaways-as-returning-springboks-star-dominates-lions-behemoth-as-hosts-clinch-sa-shield
