News

Sharks leave Lions in a tight spot

Saturday 27th September 2008

Game breaker: Ryan Kankowski

The Sharks moved back to the top of the Currie Cup table and guaranteed themselves a home semi-final with a 34-20 win over the Lions in Johannesburg on Saturday.

The result leaves the Lions still one point short of securing their own play-off berth and they must now travel to Cape Town next weekend for a crunch match against Western Province.

The Lions led 8-5 at half time but a strong second half from the Durbanites saw the visitors eventually outscore their hosts four tries to three.

Lions left wing Trompie Nontshinga opened the scoring with a brilliant try after twelve minutes. Full-back Louis Ludik must be given some credit for timing his run and the final pass to perfection while Nontshinga earned his five points by turning veteran Sharks full-back Stefan Terblanche inside out and finishing with class along the touchline.

Earl Rose, the leading points scorer in the Currie Cup this year, failed with the conversion but Ruan Pienaar was also off the mark (for the second time) a few minutes later, so the Lions 5-0 remained up after the first quarter.

Pienaar finally did knock one over after 27 minutes to reduce the lead to two, but the visitors would have been frustrated to be trailing after having had the better of both possession and territory.

The rest of the first half belonged to the Lions however and sustained pressure from the home side resulted in an easy penalty for Rose, who obliged and restored the five-point lead.

The teams headed for the change rooms with the Lions 8-5 up after an evenly-contested and exciting opening 40 minutes.

The high pace of the first forty minutes carried on into the second half as Sharks left wing JP Pietersen leveled the scores three minutes after the restart. It was a classic Sharks try as some crisp passing found Ryan Kankowski in a bit of space. The number eight made a storming run before off-loading to JP Pietersen, who lit up the turf and flew over.

Pienaar added the extra two points and the Sharks took the lead for the first time at 10-8.

With little to pick between the side, both teams were quick to put ball to boot. The tactic paid off for the Lions, who moved back in front thanks to a clever line-out move.

With two pods formed, a long throw went to the back and prop Heinke van der Merwe came charging through the gap to crash over almost unopposed. Rose missed the conversion.

The Lions' lead proved to be short lived as Kankowski was in the mix again, beating three defenders to pop a pass inside for replacement prop Deon Carstens who finished off.

Marauding Sharks flank Jean Deysel then turned Earl Rose's poor game so far into a complete nightmare as he charged down a kick form the Lions fly-half to score the Sharks second try in the space of few minutes.

At 24-13 down, the Lions were denied a crucial try when the TMO adjudged Rayno Benjamin to have been held up in the act of scoring. The home side's goose was properly cooked when Pietersen caught a badly-directed kick from Rose on the volley, chipped ahead himself, and the used his pace to score the Sharks bonus-point try.

Springbok skipper John Smit marked his return to the playing field by showing his strength in his first scrum as the Sharks forced a tighthead.

The Lions threw the kitchen sink at the Sharks defence in an attempt to secure the all-important bonus point, but a late try from number eight Ernst Joubert was too little too late.

The Lions now have a date with destiny in Cape Town next Saturday, while the Sharks will warm up for the semi-finals with a home match against the Griquas.

The Scorers

For the Lions:
Tries: Nontshinga, Van der Merwe, Joubert.
Con: Strydom
Pen: Rose

For the Sharks:
Tries: Pietersen 2, Carstens, Deysel
Cons: Pienaar 4
Pens: Pienaar 2

Lions: 15 Louis Ludik, 14 Michael Killian, 13 Jaque Fourie, 12 Doppies la Grange, 11 Trompie Nontshinga, 10 Earl Rose, 9 Jano Vermaak, 8 Ernst Joubert, 7 Derick Minnie, 6 Cobus Grobbelaar (c), 5 Franco van der Merwe, 4 Anton van Zyl, 3 Ross Geldenhuys, 2 Willie Wepener, 1 Heinke van der Merwe.
Replacements: 16 Ethienne Reynecke, 17 Lawrence Sephaka, 18 Jannes Labuschagne, 19 Justin Wheeler, 20 Chris Jonck, 21 Louis Strydom, 22 Rayno Benjamin.

Sharks: 15 Stefan Terblanche, 14 Odwa Ndungane, 13 Adrian Jacobs, 12 Francois Steyn, 11 JP Pietersen, 10 Frederic Michalak, 9 Ruan Pienaar, 8 Ryan Kankowski, 7 Jean Deysel, 6 Jacques Botes, 5 Johann Muller (c), 4 Albert van den Berg, 3 Jannie du Plessis, 2 Bismarck du Plessis, 1 Tendai Mtawarira.
Replacements: 16 John Smit, 17 Deon Carstens, 18 Steven Sykes, 19 Keegan Daniel, 20 Rory Kockott, 21 Bradley Barritt, 22 Waylon Murray.

Referee: Mark Lawrence
Touch judges: Lourens van der Merwe, Cobus Wessels
TMO: Shaun Veldsman