Sharks give coach Pietersen a winning start with tense win over Sarries
MATCH REPORT: JP Pietersen started his tenure as the Sharks’ interim head coach with a morale-boosting 28-23 win over Saracens at a wet and windy Kings Park on Saturday.
The home side outscored the visitors by four tries to three to ensure that Andre Esterhuizen’s 100th match for the franchise ended on a high note.
It was a crucial victory for the Sharks after they started their Champions Cup campaign with a 19-56 defeat to Toulouse. That match in France was John Plumtree’s last in charge as head coach.
Saracens ran out in Durban without key players like Maro Itoje and Owen Farrell, but they still showed their quality in difficult conditions against a strong Sharks side.
After a series of penalties by Saracens, the Sharks eventually opened the scoring in the fourth minute when Siya Kolisi was driven over the tryline with a maul.
However, the visitors gave the Sharks a taste of their own medicine in the 14th minute, with Theo Dan also scoring a well-worked maul try.
Saracens eventually went in front in the 26th minute after Aphelele Fassie failed to deal with a kick inside his 22, and Sam Spink was on hand to pick up the loose ball and score the try.
After missing his first conversion, Fergus Burke was on target with his second to make it a five-point lead for his team.
A few minutes later, the Sarries playmaker stretched the lead to eight points after a big scrum penalty.
The home side needed to hit back, and they did when Fassi made up for his mistake by easing in for a try after sustained pressure inside the Saracens’ 22.
Despite time being up on the clock in the first half, the Sharks went in search of another score, and they were rewarded when Edwill van der Merwe dived over in the corner.
There was a long TMO review on Ethan Hooker’s final pass to the wing, but the try was eventually allowed. George Whitehead landed his third conversion in a row to give the Sharks a 21-15 lead at the break.
After dominating possession in the opening stages of the second half, Saracens reduced the deficit to three points with a Burke penalty goal.
However, they were reduced to 14 men in the 58th minute after Dan saw yellow for a high shot on Makazole Mapimpi.
Not long after that, the Sharks scored their fourth try after Hooker ran a great line through the visitors’ defence before feeding the ball to Grant Williams, who finished things off with his pace.
Despite being a man down, Saracens found a way to hit back, and it came via a maul try for wing Angus Hall in the 65th minute. Burke could not find the direction with his conversion attempt.
It was a tense finish for the home fans as the English club threatened to get a winning score. However, a knock-on in the final line-out near the Sharks’ tryline ended their chances.
Man of the match: Andre Esterhuizen produced a huge performance in his 100th match. But we have decided to give the award to Ethan Hooker, who was a constant threat, and he produced two try assists.
The scorers:
For Sharks:
Tries: Kolisi, Fassi, Van der Merwe, Williams
Cons: Whitehead 4
For Saracens:
Tries: Dan, Spink, Hall
Con: Burke
Pens: Burke 2
Yellow cards: Theo Dan (Saracens, 58′ – foul play, high tackle); Nick Hatton (Sharks, 82′ – repeated infringements, offside)
Teams:
Sharks: 15 Aphelele Fassi, 14 Edwill van der Merwe, 13 Ethan Hooker, 12 Andre Esterhuizen (captain), 11 Makazole Mapimpi, 10 George Whitehead, 9 Grant Williams, 8 Phepsi Buthelezi, 7 Vincent Tshituka, 6 Siya Kolisi, 5 Emile van Heerden, 4 Jason Jenkins, 3 Hanro Jacobs, 2 Bongi Mbonambi, 1 Phatu Ganyane.
Replacements: 16 Eduan Swart, 17 Lee-Marvin Mazibuko, 18 Mawande Mdanda, 19 Marvin Orie, 20 Matt Romao, 21 Nick Hatton, 22 Jaden Hendrikse, 23 Jordan Hendrikse.
Saracens: 15 Elliot Daly, 14 Rotimi Segun, 13 Sam Spink, 12 Olly Hartley, 11 Angus Hall, 10 Fergus Burke, 9 Charlie Bracken, 8 Tom Willis, 7 Andy Onyeama-Christie (captain), 6 Theo McFarland, 5 Harry Wilson, 4 Nick Isiekwe, 3 Marco Riccioni, 2 Theo Dan, 1 Eroni Mawi.
Replacements: 16 James Hadfield, 17 Alex O’Driscoll, 18 Marcus Street, 19 Hugh Tizard, 20 Nathan Michelow, 21 Ben Earl, 22 Gareth Simpson, 23 Alex Lozowski.
Referee: Luc Ramos (France)
Assistant referees: Kevin Bralley (France), Flavien Hourquet (France)
TMO: Julien Casteignede (France)
