Shark Bites In Auckland City
Tonight was certainly a make or break game for the Blues team as they faced the number one ranked team in the SupeRugby tournament. First 3 or so minutes, the Blues put in a good effort, but after a failed attempt at the try line, the Sharks appeared to turn the game around and put the first t3 points on the scoreboard with a penalty kick by Francois Steyn. However, an error on the Shark’s side saw Simon Hickey answering the Sharks with his own 3 points on the scoreboard for the Blues. The score wasn’t level for long, when Bismarck du Plessis scored a beautiful try for the Sharks which was converted by Francois Steyn to bring the score to 10-3 for the visitors. The Blues’ star kicker, Simon Hickey missed his second attempt at the poles in the 14th minute, but redeemed himself again in the 18th minute when he added 3 more points to the scoreboard bringing the score to 10-6 for The Sharks. An unfortunate knock-on for the Sharks saw them missing out on a try opportunity in the 25th minute, but then in the 28th minute, Francois Steyn surprised the crowd with a perfectly poised drop goal, bringing the score to 13-6 for The Sharks. Steyn continued showcasing his kicking skills by adding yet another 3 more points for The Sharks in the 34th minute but then missed a penalty attempt in the 37th minute keeping the half-time score to 16-6 for The Sharks.
The second half kicked off with a bang when Blues skipper, Luke Braid, soared over the try-line and Simon Hickey successfully converted the try, suddenly bringing the game to 16-13 for The Sharks. In the 51st minute, Francois Steyn slotted a penalty for The Sharks, bringing the score to 19-13 for the visitors. In the 55th minute, the Sharks continued with their attack and saw Cobus Reinach scoring a magnificent try which was converted by Francois Steyn. By the 57th minute, The Sharks were leading with 26-16 against the Blues. The next 10 minutes was pretty heated and saw the Blues fighting gallantly to get to the try line and they were triumphant with Tevita Li scoring a try in the 69th minute and Ihaia West converting the try. Then an unfortunate error on the Blues part saw The Sharks adding 3 more points with a penalty conversion by SP Marais in the 71st minute. This was answered by Ihaia West in the 73rd minute with a penalty conversion for the Blues, ultimately bringing the scoreboard to 29-23 for the Sharks.
The Sharks were the stronger team for the evening and cemented their position as the number 1 ranked team in the SupeRugby tournament. However, the Blues showed yet again moments of brilliance, but perhaps it was it too little too late. Nevertheless, a great game of rugby was played tonight in the newly branded QBE Stadium in Auckland’s North Shore in New Zealand.
© Annami van Dyk
