Sharks sneak past Lions
The Sharks had to come from behind to claim a hard-fought 26-23 victory over the Golden Lions at Kings Park on Friday.
The visitors took a 13-11 lead into the half-time break and outscored the Sharks by two tries to one, but the steady boot of Fred Zeilinga saw the hosts edge a tense encounter.
The win means that the Sharks move to within two log points of the Lions who still occupy second position on the standings ahead of the final round robin matches next week.
As South African derbies go, this one did not disappoint – with ferocious tackle and brutal physicality.
The Sharks looked to attack from the outset, although it came at a cost when Paul Jordaan was injured in a tackle inside the opening 10 minutes and had to leave the field.
The Lions went ahead through the boot of Marnitz Boshoff, kicking the first penalty of the game in the 15th minute after earlier having missed a drop-goal attempt.
As the game reached the end of the first quarter, a massive hit allowed bruising centre Andre Esterhuizen to crash over for the first try of the game.
An intercept try by wing Ruan Combrinck gave the Lions the advantage on the scoreboard, after the Sharks were reduced to 14 men – Esterhuizen sin-binned for foul play.
Fred Zeilinga slotted a couple of penalties that brought his team to within two points, Lions hanging onto a narrow 13-11 lead at the half-time break.
Zeilinga kicked a succession of penalties early in the second half, as his team were able to retake and build their lead – the visitors discipline letting them down.
A quick-tap penalty from Nicolaas Hanekom allowed the centre to score his team’s second try 'to level the scores.
Referee Lesego Legoete saw fit to show Lions loose forward Derrick Minnie a yellow card for repeated infringements, minutes after he took to the field as a replacement.
The Lions continued to haemorrhage penalties and Zeilinga was able to put his side back in front with a seventh penalty.
And although the visitors managed to spend the closing minutes on attack, they were unable to hold on to the ball, and lost it forward as they pressed for the winning score.
The scorers:
For the Sharks:
Try: Esterhuizen
Pens: Zeilinga 7
For the Golden Lions:
Tries: Combrinck, Hanekom
Cons: Boshoff 2
Pens: Boshoff 3
Yellow cards: Andre Esterhuizen (Sharks, 30 mins – Foul play) Derrick Minnie (Golden Lions, 68 mins – Repeated team infringements)
Teams:
Sharks: 15 SP Marais, 14 Sibusiso Sithole, 13 Paul Jordaan, 12 Andre Esterhuizen, 11 Lwazi Mvovo, 10 Lionel Cronje, 9 Cameron Wright, 8 Lubabalo Mtembu (captain), 7 Etienne Oosthuizen, 6 Jacques Botes, 5 Marco Wentzel, 4 Stephan Lewies, 3 Lourens Adriaanse, 2 Kyle Cooper/Monde Hadebe, 1 Thomas du Toit.
Replacements: 16 Monde Hadebe/Franco Marais, 17 Dale Chadwick, 18 Matt Stevens, 19 JC Astle, 20 Khaya Majola, 21 Conrad Hoffmann, 22 Fred Zeilinga.
Golden Lions: 15 Marnitz Boshoff, 14 Ruan Combrinck, 13 Lionel Mapoe (captain), 12 Nicolaas Hanekom, 11 Courtnall Skosan, 10 Jaco van der Walt, 9 Ross Cronje, 8 Willie Britz, 7 Warwick Tecklenburg, 6 Jaco Kriel, 5 Franco Mostert, 4 Martin Muller, 3 Ruan Dreyer, 2 Robbie Coetzee, 1 Schalk van der Merwe.
Replacements: 16 Armand van der Merwe, 17 Julian Redelinghuys, 18 Jacques van Rooyen, 19 Derick Minnie, 20 Albertus Smith, 21 Mark Richards, 22 Howard Mnisi.
Referee: Lesego Legoete
Assistant referees: Oregopotse Rametsi, Stefan Breytenbach
TMO: Jason Jaftha
