News
Sharks ease to victory over Griquas
August 02 2008
The Sharks cemented their spot in the top four of the Currie Cup with a resounding 44-15 bonus point victory over the Griquas at Absa Park in Kimberly on Saturday.
It was not all plain sailing for the Sharks, but once they broke the Griquas down there was only ever going to be one outcome. As it was they had the bonus point in the bag before half time, Dean Carstens' try the decisive one, in perfect conditions for running rugby.
The Griquas took an early lead thanks to Conrad Barnard's well struck penalty but the Sharks hit back instantly. Jacques Botes found it all too easy, breaking two weak tackles, as he burrowed his way over on the back of some good attacking play form the Sharks back-line.
If the Sharks expected the floodgates to open after Botes' early effort they were sorely mistaken as the Griquas set about frustrating them for long periods. Coupled with their own mistakes it meant the home side grew in confidence and matched their guests physically.
In fact such was the Griquas confidence that they took the lead after twenty minutes. Solid forward play allowed Barnard to burst through, the ball went on to Gavin Passens who turned it back on the inside for Sarel Pretorius to round off a fine move.
Soon after that the game opened up as first Passens made a telling fifty metre break, only to be haled own yards short of the line. The Sharks threw caution to the wind and ran it from deep, and it almost ended in glory.
Stefan Terblanche made the early running before releasing Chris Jordaan on an inside pass, and he in turn set off for the line only to be stopped a yard short by Heinrich Stride's desperate tackle. The Griquas, with a turnover of their own, ran for a further three phases before finally Barnard looked for touch.
Not to be deterred the Sharks maintained the pressure and soon had their second try, again scored by Botes from close range. Relentless forward play left space out to the left and Botes was on hand to barrel over once more. Monty Dumand missed his third effort at goal and the Sharks held a slender two-point lead.
From there the Griquas seemed to dip in intensity as they began to fall off tackles too often, allowing the Sharks to play a more attacking brand of rugby.
Terblanche, handed the kicking duties after Dumond's dismal start, extended the Sharks' lead with a penalty on the half hour mark before Waylon Murray gave them such much needed breathing space - although at one stage it looked as if they had wasted a golden chance.
More solid work from the pack enabled Jordaan to ship it wide, only to see the next pass go astray, however good hands from Jean Deysel and then Skipper Badenhorst created space for Murray to crash over. Dumond, given a third chance with the boot, again made a hash of his kick, although they were soon on the board again as Carstens broke through to score from twenty-five out - Dumond finally getting a kick to add the extras.
The points continued to flow after the break as the Sharks demonstrated their superior class. The fifth try came from the set-piece after a solid scrum paved the way for Murray to take a well disguised pass before sending Riaan Swanepoel in under the posts. Dumond adding his second conversion of the game.
Next to cross the whitewash was Jordaan, who would not be caught short this time as he cruised through the middle of a gaping hole to canter in from forty metres. A raft of substitutions ensured the game faded in the final ten minutes, although there was time for Bjorn Basson to grab a consolation score, before Jordaan added his second to seal the win.
Man of the Match: The entire Sharks side played well, with notable performances from Chris Jordaan, Stefan Terblanche, Jacques Botes and Jean Deysel. However the pick of the bunch was Riaan Swanepoel at inside centre. He took a while to settle into the game but once he did there was no keeping him down as he supported with clever lines and was prominent with ball in hand.
The Scorers:
For Griquas:
Tries: Pretorius, Basson
Con: Barnard
Pen: Barnard
For Sharks:
Tries: Botes 2, Murray 2, Carstens, Jordaan 2
Cons: Dumond 3
Pen: Terblanche
The Teams:
Griquas: 15 Conrad Barnard, 14 Gavin Passens, 13 Bjorn Basson, 12 Riaan Viljoen, 11 MJ Mentz, 10 Tobie Botes, 9 Sarel Pretorius, 8 Heinrich Stride, 7 Stephan Gerber, 6 Gareth Krause (c), 5 Jacques Lombaard, 4 Wayne van Heerden, 3 Ruaan du Preez, 2 Hans van Dyk, 1 Albertus Buckle.
Replacements: 16 James van der Walt, 17 Dean Hopp, 18 Cilliers Coetzer, 19 Rohan Kitshoff, 20 Dougie Helmuth, 21 Lafras Uys, 22 Eagon Seconds.
Sharks: 15 Stefan Terblanche, 14 Chris Jordaan, 13 Waylon Murray, 12 Riaan Swanepoel, 11 Lwazi Mvovo, 10 Monty Dumond, 9 Scott Mathie, 8 Keegan Daniel, 7 Jean Deysel, 6 Jacques Botes, 5 Johann Muller (c), 4 Alistair Hargreaves, 3 Jannie du Plessis, 2 Skipper Badenhorst, 1 Deon Carstens.
Replacements: 16 Craig Burden, 17 BJ Botha, 18 Steven Sykes, 19 Skholiwe Ndlovu, 20 Charl McLeod, 21 Andries Strauss, 22 Andrew Borgen.
Referee: Deon van Blommestein
Touch judges: Lourens van der Merwe, Cobus Wessels
Television match official: Gerrie Coetzee
Assessor: Arrie Schoonwinkel
By Marcus Leach