Chamberlain boots Sharks to victory in Nelspruit

CURRIE CUP REPORT: Flyhalf Henry Chamberlain produced a kicking masterclass as the Sharks recorded a 24-10 win over the Pumas at Nelspruit on Friday.

All of the Sharks’ points came from Chamberlain’s boot (eight penalties) with the Pumas scoring the only try of the game.

The result means the men from Durban made it four from four to consolidate their position at the top of the league standings with 18 points. Chamberlain, who was named Man of the Match, kicked four penalty goals in each half to seal the result.

Sharks coach Etienne Fynn made a few changes to the starting team that beat the Lions 45-31 in Johannesburg on February 19, and his charges hardly skipped a beat in the early stages of the match.

They put the home team’s scrum under pressure from early on, forcing a few penalties, while the Lowvelders also compounded matters by making several errors at the breakdown.

This allowed Chamberlain to use his kicking boot to good effect, landing four crisp penalty goal attempts to hand his side a deserved 12-0 lead at the halfway stage of the first half.

Try as they might, but the Pumas just could not get into the game, mainly as a result of several handling, scrum and breakdown errors.

Six minutes before half-time, Sharks inside centre Murray Koster was yellow carded for a high tackle and the hosts’ flyhalf, Tinus de Beer, slotted the easy penalty kick attempt for their first points.

The Lowvelders then scored a brilliant long-range try after the restart, from a turnover, when they ran the ball from inside their own 22. The ball changed hands several times by way of some deft offloads.

Speedy blindside flank Anele Lungisa was on hand to take the final pass and dive over in the corner for a magnificent team try. De Beer nailed the conversion from the touchline to cut the visitors’ lead to 12-10 on the stroke of half-time.

However, Chamberlain continued with his kicking spree in the second half to punish the home side for their numerous mistakes, while the visitors’ defence held firm.

The Pumas’ set piece and general play improved in the second half, however, the Sharks did enough to manage the game out successfully for their fourth win in a row.

Man of the match: The award goes to Sharks flyhalf Henry Chamberlain who showed great composure in the No.10 jersey. And obviously, he scored all of his team’s points in the win.

The scorers:

For Pumas:
Try: Lungisa
Con: De Beer
Pen: De Beer

For Sharks:
Pens: Chamberlain 8

Yellow card: Murray Koster (Sharks, 35 – dangerous play, head-on-head high tackle)

Teams:

Pumas: 15 Tapiwa Mafura, 14 Sebastian de Klerk, 13 Alwayno Visagie, 12 Eddie Fouche, 11 Jade Stighling, 10 Tinus de Beer, 9 Lucky Dlepu, 8 Willie Engelbrecht (captain), 7 Anele Lungisa, 6 Daniel Maartens, 5 Shane Kirkwood, 4 Malembe Mpofu, 3 Simon Raw, 2 Corne Fourie, 1 Ruan Kramer.
Replacements: 16 Llewellyn Classen, 17 Dewald Maritz, 18 Ignatius Prinsloo, 19 Darrien Landsberg, 20 Phumzile Maqondwana, 21 Chriswill September, 22 Devon Williams, 23 Ali Mgijima.

Sharks: 15 Inny-Christian Radebe, 14 Yaw Penxe, 13 Jeremy Ward, 12 Murray Koster, 11 Marnus Potgieter, 10 Henry Chamberlain, 9 Sanele Nohamba, 8 Celimpilo Gumede, 7 Thembelani Bholi, 6 James Venter (captain), 5 Reniel Hugo, 4 Le Roux Roets, 3 Wiehahn Herbst, 2 Fezokuhle Mbatha, 1 Dian Bleuler.
Replacements: 16 Dan Jooste, 17 Khwezi Mona, 18 Lourens Adriaanse, 19 Corne Rahl, 20 Olajuwon Noa, 21 Bradley Davids, 22 Jordan Chait, 23 Curwin Gertse.

Referee: Jaco Peyper
Assistant referees: Morne Ferreira, Local
TMO: Marius Jonker

Additional source: SA Rugby