Following another thrilling South African derby in the United Rugby Championship, we pick out our winners and losers after the Sharks clinched a 25-22 victory over the Lions in Durban.
Winners
Sharks
We have repeatedly rued the Sharks being consistently inconsistent and while they emerged victorious today, it came off the back of a 38-14 defeat from last week. Sure, John Plumtree will be pleased that his charges went from losing by 24 points to winning by three in just seven days against the same opposition. However, they still should have won today’s game by a much larger margin. They allowed the Lions a route back into the game, left points out there on the tee, and wasted chances in the opposition’s 22.
The Durbanites have been hit hard by injuries and the return of star men today certainly played a big role in the win but they are still struggling to find consistency in their performances.
Now that they have emerged victorious as the SA Shield winners, the Sharks will turn their attention to getting wins over overseas opposition, which will obviously be crucial if they are to go deep into the URC.
Morne van den Berg
What a performance from the Lions number nine who has been in breathtaking form lately. He was central to the Joburgers’ efforts last week as they put the Sharks to the sword at Ellis Park and took that form with him to Durban.
He was involved in everything that the visitors did well, seemingly picking the right pass on every occasion, kicking well out of hand and ripping through the Sharks’ defence on multiple occasions.
The Springboks coaches are spoilt for choice when it comes to scrum-half and it’s easy to see why they spoke so highly of the Lions livewire when he was in camp last year. Even in defeat, he was crowned Man of the Match.
Grant Williams
On the topic of brilliant South African number nines, Grant Williams was sensational once again. He too has just returned from the enforced Springboks break, enjoying a fine short stint last weekend when he turned the struggling attack into something that actually looked competent.
That earned him a start this week and he wasted no time in repaying the coaching team’s faith in him as he sparked and finished off the opening try.
That try set the tone for his performance as he consistently caused all kinds of issues for the Lions and, like Van den Berg, he kicked superbly and attacked excellently.
Francois Venter
An unheralded cog in the Sharks’ backline, Francois Venter had a standout performance yet again. He rolled the dice with a kick through after his passing lanes were shut by the defence and unfortunately, it didn’t work out for him.
Still, the veteran back continues to produce strong performances.
Returning Bok props
Vincent Koch returned last weekend with a cameo off the bench but this week he moved into the starting XV and was joined by fit-again Ox Nche in the front-row.
The pair, along with hooker Bongi Mbonambi, went about destroying the Lions scrum and eventually did just that after some tight early exchanges.
Nche was particularly impressive in that facet as he put the imposing frame of Asenathi Ntlabakanye in reverse.
Both players were particularly good around the park too with Koch making a superb intercept that led to a try and completing a lovely offload to go with his huge work rate.
Daan Human
The performances of the returning props will have put a huge smile on the face of the Springboks’ bucket hat-loving scrum guru Daan Human.
South Africa host two powerful scrummaging nations this July in the form of Italy – who have really impressed at the set-piece this Six Nations – as well as Georgia, renowned for their prowess up front.
The Bulls scrum has led the way locally this season and Human will surely be eager to get the likes of Gerhard Steenekamp and Wilco Louw into the squad, but he will be licking his lips after today’s showing with the Sharks’ Boks putting in a mighty performance.
Siya Kolisi
Today was perhaps the best indication of just how effective the enforced breaks for Springboks players are as Siya Kolisi produced an absolute blinder. Sure his shift ended with a penalty against him for a high tackle but that was perhaps his first real mistake in the match.
He kick-started the Sharks’ onslaught with a brilliant draw and pass, taking two Lions defenders out of the game completely. That kind of play will be incredibly pleasing for Springboks attack coach Tony Brown as Kolisi is likely to fill a similar role on the edge in the Green and Gold jumper later this year.
He grabbed a try of his own after playing such a key role in Williams’ opener as he made an excellent pass off the base of the scrum, sprinted around and ran a sharp line to crash over the line to score. It was simple basics but executed so well that the Lions could do very little about it.
Kolisi’s second try came from a clever lineout move and link-up play with Bongi Mbonambi, with the flanker quickly spotting the Lions’ slow reactions to fill their roles in defence around the rucks and snuck over.
Rassie Erasmus stated earlier this week that if Kolisi remains one of the best players in his position, remains fit and strong, he will remain as the Springboks skipper this year. He added that he doesn’t think there will be a change in captaincy this year and considering his cameo last week against the Lions and his blockbuster today, he will retain the captaincy and his starting role.
Rassie Erasmus reveals that ‘icon’ Siya Kolisi has ‘shifted’ his mind about Springboks captaincy
Jarrod Cairns
Jarrod Cairns is far from a household name in South African rugby circles but perhaps if he continues to perform as he did today, that will change very quickly. For long periods of this match, the breakdown was a free for all and Cairns played a mighty role in being that way.
He pilfered and pillaged the Sharks’ ball relentlessly during his shift. He racked up four steals in total. South Africa are not short on flankers with a tireless work ethic, with Cairns being another cab off the rank and while he hasn’t been invited to the Springboks alignment camps, he is one to keep an eye on going forward.
Fez Mbatha
A stunning return for the hooker, who has been sidelined for several months, as he pilfered over to seal the victory. That put the cherry on the top of a strong return via the bench for the hooker who could force himself back into the Springboks selection frame.
The Sharks have had a plethora of injuries in the hooker position leading to a loan move for Scarra Ntubeni but Plumtree and co. will be pleased to have the services of Mbatha once again.
Losers
Bulls
Jake White’s men were in prime position to win the SA Shield but well and truly bottled it during an admittedly challenging run of derbies.
Today’s result just puts an extra sting in the loss to the Stormers last weekend for the men from Pretoria.
Jordan Hendrikse
While the Springboks fly-half defended well and had good moments on attack, he will be bitterly disappointed with his efforts from the tee.
He converted just one of his four attempts against his former employers before his brother Jaden took over the kicking duties, knocking over the winning kick in the 75th minute.
His miss-kicks gave the Lions a route back into the game, which they took as did his error from a solid pass from Williams in his 22 ultimately led to the visitors’ first try of the match.
There is a ton of competition for the Springboks’ number 10 jersey nowadays and Hendrikse can ill-afford to have soft moments like he did today.
Lions
After hammering the Sharks last weekend, the Lions would have fancied their chances in Durban but despite producing a strong performance, it was not enough to defeat the Springbok-laden hosts.
The Lions have now caught up to the rest of the URC teams in terms of their matches played tally after boasting games in hand and now sit eighth overall after collecting two bonus points from their trip to the coast but it could have been so much more.
The disappointment in the voice of man of the match Van den Berg summed up the feeling for the Lions who now have the confidence and expectation to be competitors in every fixture of the league.
Asenathi Ntlabakanye
With Human surely casting an eye on today’s match, Asenathi Ntlabakanye had the prime opportunity to impress the Springboks scrum guru as he fronted up against the brilliant Nche.
Unfortunately, he was taught some harsh lessons of proper scrummaging as he was driven back by the Sharks’ loosehead prop. Thankfully for him, he will get a chance to prove himself when he joins the alignment camp.
READ MORE: Rassie Erasmus: ‘You can’t plan a guy’s career around the World Cup’
Src: Planetrugby.com - https://www.planetrugby.com/news/sharks-v-lions-winners-and-losers-as-blockbuster-siya-kolisi-stars-while-springboks-coaches-spoilt-for-choice-with-sensational-nines
