Sharks see off WP at Newlands

Cape Town - The Sharks ran out convincing 28-20 winners against a decidedly weakened Western Province side in the final round of regular season Currie Cup matches at Newlands on Saturday.

Before kick-off, the stage was set for a dead rubber because the result of the earlier Golden Lions - Free State Cheetahs game meant that the Newlands outcome would have no bearing on the eventual log positions by the time the regular season ends later on Saturday evening.

The Sharks needed little to strike up cohesion and their spirited start caught WP napping. They were good for two tries in the opening four minutes when the WP defence was in disarray but the Durban visitors had to settle for a lone unconverted touchdown by centre Sibusiso Sithole (5-0).

WP regained their composure soon afterwards and launched a few raids into the Sharks' half where they won ninth and 15th minute penalties.

Flyhalf Kurt Coleman goaled both and WP snatched a one-point lead (6-5), which lasted only two minutes after Sharks flyhalf Lionel Cronje goaled a penalty (8-6).

Halfway through the first half, both teams seemed to throw the ball about with reckless abandon, and often at the risk of intercepts. WP were enjoying the major share of possession and they made it count as they ran the Sharks' defence ragged.

The result was two converted tries in the space of five minutes and this passage of play seemed to suggest that this backstop WP side were every bit as enterprising as the 'first' team. First centre Pat Howard rounded off splendidly after the WP backline showed delightful touches and then in the 25th minute Coleman sliced through a gap for his side's second try (20-8).

WP continued to impress with a steady stream of attacking sorties, much to the delight of the 27 000 crowd, but they were twice held up a whisker from the tryline and had to return to the dressing room for the half-time break without further advance.

Cronje was on target with a penalty on the stroke of half-time to reduce the lead to nine points (20-11).

After the break, the Sharks were again first out of the blocks and managed to pin WP down in their own half for about 10 minutes after the restart.

The Sharks effort during this stage of the match was worth far more than the six points from two Cronje penalties but right wing Tonderai Chavhanga failed to gather a scoring pass with the tryline at his mercy (20-17).

WP's attempts to shake the Sharks' hold on the match suffered a setback when their flank Rynhardt Elstadt was yellow-carded for a side entry at a loose scrum, and Cronje added insult to injury by goaling the resultant penalty, which levelled scores at 20-all.

The Sharks' pressure lasted just past the hour mark and they were helped along by several penalties which WP conceded. One of these penalties was booted into touch to set up a maul from the resultant lineout and reserve prop Lourens Adriaanse peeled over for Sharks' second try, which went unconverted (25-20).

By the 65th minute, WP had virtually cleared their substitutes bench but the fresh legs could not regain the initiative.

Virtually the entire second half was played in the Western Province half and the Sharks would have been disappointed that they had not put the game beyond their opponents by at least the hour mark.

Four minutes from the end Sharks substitute Fred Zeilinga goaled a penalty to round off the scoring in the match (28-20).

WP will host the Blue Bulls in the semi-finals next weekend, while the Sharks will be away to the Golden Lions in Johannesburg.

Scorers:

WP:

Tries: Pat Howard, Kurt Coleman
Conversions: Coleman (2)
Penalties: Coleman (2)

Sharks:

Tries: S'bura Sithole, Lourens Adriaanse
Penalties: Lionel Cronje (5), Fred Zeilinga

Teams:

Western Province
15. Dillyn Leyds, 14. EW Viljoen, 13. Pat Howard, 12. Michael van der Spuy, 11. Devon Williams, 10. Kurt Coleman, 9. Louis Schreuder, 8. Sikhumbuzo Notshe, 7. Rynhardt Elstadt, 6. Rohan Kitshoff, 5. Gerbrandt Grobler, 4. Jurie van Vuuren, 3. Brok Harris (captain), 2. Neil Rautenbach, 1. Oli Kebble

Substitutes: 16. Stephan Coetzee , 17. Justin Ackerman, 18. Gavin Annandale, 19. Anton van Zyl, 20. Patrick O’Brien, 21. Godlen Masimla, 22. Chevandre van Schoor

Sharks
15. SP Marais, 14. Tonderai Chavhanga, 13. S’bura Sithole, 12. Andre Esterhuizen, 11. Lwazi Mvovo, 10. Lionel Cronje, 9. Cobus Reinach, 8. Tera Mtembu (captain), 7. Etienne Oosthuizen, 6. Jacques Botes, 5. Marco Wentzel, 4. Stephan Lewies, 3. Matt Stevens, 2. Monde Hadebe, 1. Thomas du Toit

Substitutes: 16. Franco Marais, 17. Dale Chadwick, 18. Lourens Adriaanse, 19. JC Astle, 20. Khaya Majola, 21. Conrad Hoffmann, 22. Fred Zeilinga