Sharks win nail-biter at Mbombela
Marcell Coetzee is closely watched by Corne Steenkamp. Photo by Hilton Kotze
The Sharks survived a big scare as they claimed a nail-biting 23-22 victory against the Ford Pumas at the Mbombela Stadium in Nelspruit in what could only be described as a great advert for rugby.
The Pumas came to the party with all guns blazing and from the kick-off they had the Sharks on the back-foot and in the end both teams were gasping for air after leaving everything out n the field.
Pumas coach Jimmy Stonehouse and captain Corne Steenkamp have to be applauded for doing their homework and drilling their troops to do the hard work at the breakdown, with the Pumas disrupting almost all of the Sharks ball and securing numerous turn overs as the Sharks started to gain momentum.
Pumas flyhalf Tiaan Marx opened the scoring with a penalty after which his direct opponent Fredric Michalak replied with a penalty of his own. Marx and Michalak exchanged a further two penalties each before Michalak, with a little bit of French flair, broke through the Pumas defense to score the first try of the match and also adding the conversion. Not to be out done, the Pumas replied with a great try of their own after the Pumas scrum secured the first of three tight-heads from a Sharks scrum, but as the backline broke out they lost the ball forward. The Sharks started a dangerous counter attack and again the Pumas defense did great work to disrupt the Sharks, this time snatching a loose pass from Meyer Bosman that saw Pumas replacement Coenie van Wyk dive over in the corner. Marx slotted a beautiful conversion from the touchline to level the score at 16 all.
Just as the halftime hooter sounded the Pumas were awarded yet another penalty. This time referee Mark Lawrence had enough of the Sharks infringing at the breakdown and handed Sharks hooker Craig Burden a yellow card. Marx slotted the conversion with ease and the Pumas headed into the locker rooms with a 19-16 lead.
The Pumas started the second half just as they finished the first with Marx slotting another penalty. With the score at 23-16 the Pumas had their tails in the air and they launched attack after attack on the Sharks tryline, but a combination of good defense by the Sharks and mediocre handling by an overeager Pumas side meant they failed to convert up to 4 try-scoring opportunities. All attempts by the Sharks to get out of their won 22 were met by either Puma tight-heads or bone crunching tackles that drove the Sharks right back to square one.
The turning point in the match came with only 7minutes left, this time as Meyer Bosman broke through the Pumas defense but eventually got chased down by players scrambling back in defense. Only 10meters out from the tryline the defenders had no other choice but to try and slow down the ball. With a shrill blast on his whistle referee Lawrence immediately reached for the yellow card in his pocket and reduced the Pumas to 14 men for the remainder of the game. The Sharks took a quick tap and the Pumas put up another valiant defensive effort but it was the big prop Dale Chadwick that managed to wiggle his way over the tryline to score the match-winning try. Michalak nailed the conversion and with only 4minutes left the Sharks went into the lead by one point.
The game was anything but over as the Pumas launched yet another attack from the restart and as they entered the Sharks 22, flyhalf Marx dropped back into the pocket for a drop goal attempt. Unfortunately the strike was not pure and Marx pulled it to the left of the uprights. What followed from the next restart was a frenzy of turn-overs and counter-attacks from both teams with play going from one end and then back to the other and leaving both teams out on their feet. This went on for almost three minutes after the hooter has sounded and in the end it was heart break as a tired Pumas side spilled the ball forward with the Sharks wasting no time in booting the ball deep into the stands to claim a nail-biting victory.
Both teams will be going back to the drawing board on Monday with the Pumas failing to close out two matches in two weeks they could easily have won while the Sharks will have to take a good look at their set pieces and approach to the breakdown.
Point Scorers:
FORD PUMAS: 22
Try: Coenie van Wyk
Conversion: Tiaan Marx
Penalties: Marx (4)
SHARKS: 23
Tries: Frederic Michalak; Dale Chadwick
Conversions: Michalak (2)
Penalties: Michalak (3)
Coenie van Wyk scores in the corner. Photo by Andrew Schoeman for Rugby15
Sharks fans happy and delighted with the close win. Photo by Hilton Kotze for Rugby15
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