Late Lions blitz sinks Sharks
Three tries in the final 15 minutes of the match saw the Johannesburg side remain unbeaten in a match characterised by countless handling errors.
The match got off to a cagey start with both teams looking to run the ball at their opponents, however, they were let down by simple handling errors. The Lions were first to score when Howard Mnisi pounced on a wild line-out throw to get under the posts in the 11th minute. Boshoff added the conversion to hand the Lions a 7-0 lead.
There was no stopping the Lions at scrum time as they demolished the Sharks on every occasion. But that was about the only exciting part of the half as the match remained pretty much between the 22s. The Sharks would get onto the board in the 29th minute when fullback Joe Pietersen slotted a regulation penalty.
Pietersen was on song once again in the 35th minute when he reduced the deficit to a solitary point with five minutes remaining in the half. The home side grew in confidence as the half came to an end but only had themselves to blame as basic errors saw them remain a solitary point behind the Lions at the interval.
The handling errors continued at the resumption of play which contributed to the stop-start affair. The visitors would be the first on the board though when Ruan Combrinck managed to slot a penalty from about 40 metres in the 49th minute.
The Sharks attempted to make their way into the game and found points in the 57th minute when Pietersen split the uprights to grab his third penalty of the match. Their tails were up at that point and managed to get their first try of the match in the 31st minute when Odwa Ndungane chased down a SP Marais grubber. Pietersen maintained his 100 percent kicking record as the Sharks took the lead for the first time in the match.
It was one-way traffic in the final 15 minutes as the Lions took the game by the scruff of the neck. Ross Cronje made a sniping run into the Sharks' 22 before he handed the ball to Albertus Smith, who stood strong in a tackle and managed to offload to Nicolaas Hanekom – who grabbed the score for the visitors.
There was more joy for the Lions in the 73rd minute when Courtnall Skosan rounded off another Cronje break. The nippy scrumhalf broke through the Sharks' defence from inside his 22 and once again linked up with Smith who handed the ball to Skosan and the wing flew down the touchline to extend the Lions' lead to eight points.
The visitors would grab their bonus point in the 79th minute when Anthony Volmink grabbed an interception and ran in unopposed. Boshoff slotted his fourth conversion of the match to seal the victory.
Man of the Match: The Sharks loose trio of Philip van der Walt, Daniel du Preez and Francois Kleinhans worked hard throughout the match and proved to be a thorn in the Lions' side while the boot of Joe Pietersen kept the home side in the contest. The Lions pack of forwards were dominant at scrum time while centre Howard Mnisi was good value but it was scrumhalf Ross Cronje, who stole the show with his sniping breaks that initiated the late surge.
Scorers:
For the Sharks:
Tries: Ndungane
Cons: Pietersen
Pens: Pietersen 3
For the Lions:
Tries: Mnisi, Hanekom, Skosan, Volmink
Cons: Boshoff 4
Pens: Combrinck
Teams:
Sharks: 15 Joe Pietersen, 14 Odwa Ndungane, 13 Paul Jordaan , 12 Andre Esterhuizen, 11 Sibusiso Sithole, 10 Lionel Cronje, 9 Michael Claassens, 8 Philip van der Walt, 7 Daniel du Preez, 6 Francois Kleinhans, 5 Marco Wentzel (captain), 4 Etienne Oosthuizen, 3 Thomas du Toit, 2 Monde Hadebe, 1 Dale Chadwick.
Replacements: 16 Franco Marais, 17 Gerhard Engelbrecht, 18 David McDuling, 19 Jean-Luc du Preez, 20 Stefan Ungerer, 21 Wandile Mjekevu, 22 SP Marais.
Golden Lions: 15 Jaco van der Walt, 14 Ruan Combrinck, 13 Nicolaas Hanekom, 12 Howard Mnisi, 11 Courtnall Skosan, 10 Marnitz Boshoff, 9 Ross Cronje, 8 Ruaan Lerm, 7 Albertus Smith, 6 Jaco Kriel (captain), 5 Franco Mostert, 4 Luvuyiso Lusaseni, 3 Julian Redelinghuys, 2 Robbie Coetzee, 1 Ruan Dreyer.
Replacements: 16 Malcolm Marx, 17 Jacques van Rooyen, 18 Martin Muller, 19 Steph de Wit, 20 Ricky Schroeder, 21 Alwyn Hollenbach, 22 Anthony Volmink.
Referee: Quinton Immelman
Assistant referees: Lourens van der Merwe, Jaco Kotze
TMO: Marius Jonker
