EP KINGS U21 HOLD ON TO BEAT SHARKS
USING a three-minute burst of scoring by centre Somila Jho, who crossed twice during that time, a determined EP Kings U21 side registered their first win in the Absa Provincial Championship this season by defeating the Sharks 25-15 at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Port Elizabeth on Saturday (August 29).
While the final scoreline looks comfortable, the Kings had to fight every inch of the way to keep their spirited opponents at bay, with the Sharks always looking threatening, even when they trailed 22-12 at one stage.
The decisive period by Jho came in the 53rd minute and the first try was somewhat fortuitous as he charged down a kick which fell perfectly for him, with nobody between him and the tryline.
There was, though, nothing lucky about his second strike three minutes later as the Kings showed fine attacking qualities to stretch the Sharks defence, eventually resulting in Jho cruising in to score in the righthand corner.
The 10-point lead afforded the Kings some breathing space and it took the Sharks until the 71st minute before they could reduce the deficit to 22-15. This came through a penalty by scrumhalf Rowan Gouws, but Kings flyhalf MC Venter returned the compliment three minutes later after an offside infringement to restore the home team’s 10-point lead.
In a terrific defensive effort, they then tackled themselves to a standstill to keep the Sharks out, and this resulted in the visitors having to settle for five penalties, four of them by flyhalf Innocent Radebe.
In the first half, he put the Sharks 6-0 ahead before a penalty by Venter and a try by scrumhalf Franswa Ueckermann gave the Kings the lead 10-6. Radebe added his third penalty on the stroke of halftime and a fourth in the 45th minute before Jho’s double strike, which proved decisive in the final analysis.
The point scorers were:
EP 25: tries by Franswa Ueckermann, Somila Jho (2); two penalties and two conversions by MC Venter.
Sharks 15: four penalties by Innocent Radebe; one penalty by Rowan Gouws.
