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Durban - A strong first-half performance saw the Sharks secure a 46-24 bonus-point victory over Griquas in their Currie Cup Premier Division clash at Kings Park on Friday night.
Griquas has some defensive work to do going forward while their handling was also appalling with too many knock-ons.
The Sharks certainly look like one of the more dangerous side's in this year's competition. They are a well drilled team and are looking to make a massive improvement on last year when they finished fifth and failed to reach the play-offs.
They were quickly out of the gate here, scoring two tries inside the first 10 minutes of the match for a 14-0 lead.
Clinton Swart and Curwin Bosch exchanged penalties which got the visitors on the board before Rudi van Rooyen scored a well worked after Swart collected his own kick over the defence and got the off-load away to bring Griquas within seven points.
However, it was the closest they would get all game. Andre Esterhuizen, who was excellent all night, scored under the posts for the home side after Griquas coughed up possession after a line-out. The Sharks were quick on the counter with Tera Mtembu putting Esterhuizen away.
Already under pressure trailing 24-10, AJ le Roux made things worse for his team with a yellow card. The Sharks took advantage through Stefan Ungerer who threw a dummy after picking the ball up from a ruck to barge over for the fourth try and a 31-10 lead.
Griquas hit back shortly after the second half resumed when Alshaun Bock dotted down under the posts. It didn't help his team much as Mtembu jogged over after the Sharks exploited an overlap.
JW Jonker scored his side's third try to make it 36-24 before Bosch added three points with a penalty. Jean Deysel put the icing on a commanding performance by the Sharks.
Scorers:
Sharks
Tries: Etienne Oosthuizen, S’bura Sithole, Andre Esterhuizen, Stefan Ungerer, Tera Mtembu, Jean Deysel
Conversions: Curwin Bosch (5)
Penalties: Bosch (2)
Griquas
Tries: Rudi van Rooyen, Alshaun Bock, JW Jonker
Conversions: Clinton Swart (3)
Penalty: Swart
Teams:
Sharks
15 Curwin Bosch, 14 Neil Maritz, 13 Lukhanyo Am, 12 Andre Esterhuizen, 11 S'bura Sithole, 10 Inny Radebe, 9 Stefan Ungerer, 8 Tera Mtembu, 7 Philip van der Walt, 6 Keegan Daniel (captain), 5 Stephan Lewies, 4 Etienne Oosthuizen, 3 Thomas du Toit, 2 Franco Marais, 1 Dale Chadwick
Substitutes: 16 Chiliboy Ralepelle, 17 John-Hubert Meyer, 18 Ruan Botha, 19 Jean Deysel, 20 Michael Claassens, 21 Heimar Williams/Odwa Ndungane, 22 Rhyno Smith
Griquas
15 AJ Coertzen, 14 Ederies Arendse, 13 JW Jonker, 12 Johnathan Francke, 11 Alshaun Bock, 10 Clinton Swart, 9 Rudi van Rooyen, 8 Jason Fraser, 7 RJ Liebenberg (captain), 6 Wendal Wehr, 5 Jono Janse van Rensburg, 4 Mzwanele Zito, 3 Stephan Kotze, 2 Marius Fourie, 1 Steph Roberts
Substitutes: 16 AJ Le Roux, 17 Devon Martinus, 18 Liam Hendricks, 19 Sias Koen, 20 Stephan Vermeulen, 21 Renier Botha, 22 Elgar Watts
