Sharks save blushes with late win over Kings
season.”
In other matches Dale College beat Grens High 21-10 and Queen’s College beat Stirling High 18-10. Both matches were well contested and the two co-ed schools should be happy with their efforts against their College opponents, pushing them all the way in the matches.
“All the matches were competitive with only one game being a bit one sided, and it is always good to see the teams challenging each other,” said Kweliti.
“This rugby day has given the coaches a good chance to see which players they will be looking to select for their Easter festival teams.
“I am very positive that our teams will do well at the Easter festivals around the country, and they will get the chance to finetune their teams at the Graeme College Rugby Day this coming Saturday in Grahamstown.”
Other results: Gonubie 12-0 Alphendale, Breidbach 7-5 Lilyfontein, St Johns 12-15 Stutterheim, Port Rex 57-0 Jamangile, Maria Louw 0-26 De Vos Malan, Maclear 18-5 Cathcart, Cambridge 29-0 Chief Boklein, George Randell 7-29 Mthatha, Selborne 2nds 38-5 Stirling 2nds, Khanyisa 7-0 Z K Matthews SHARKS coach Robert du Preez said their 19-17 win against the Southern Kings was the necessary wake-up call ahead of tougher South African Super Rugby derbies that are to follow in the next two months.
The Sharks were behind the eightball for the best part of the game and they were trailing at half-time.
While Curwin Bosch’s radar failed him when it came to converting the tries scored by Lourens Adriaanse and Kobus van Wyk‚ it responded when it was most needed. His 71st minute long range penalty saved the Sharks from a humiliating defeat.
Du Preez was again sparing in terms of crediting his precocious utility back.
“I hope this was a wake-up call in a big way because we didn’t play well‚” Du Preez said.
“What was disappointing is that we were playing at home with quite a big crowd and that’s the disappointment we have to deal with after this game.
“That kick from Curwin showed that he’s a class act and that he can handle the type of pressure he found himself under when he took the kick.”
Du Preez also defended Benhard Janse van Rensburg’s selection even though the 20-year-old had an unexpected baptism of fire against a side that was expected to ease him into Super Rugby.
Janse van Rensburg was a controversial selection ahead of experienced and proven candidates like Innocent Radebe and Garth April.
The latter steadied the ship in the second half. The Kings smartly targeted Janse van Rensburg’s channel‚ his inexperience and his tactical kicking.
The last discipline failed him‚ along with his passing and his charged-down clearance kick with plenty of space and time allowed Ruaan Lerm to score the Kings’ first try.
It was a shift in momentum the Kings refused to relinquish for the best part of the game before the Sharks found a gear the Kings could not shift up to.
Du Preez also acknowledged they need to be better for their trip to Bloemfontein on Saturday.
“It was a tough game and it wasn’t easy for him‚” Du Preez said.
“We couldn’t get the forward and the set-piece dominance we were looking for so it was a tough one.
“He would have learnt a lot from his debut. I also thought Michael Claassens and Garth April played very well.
“The disappointing thing was that we made so many handling errors and we were so good in the previous game.
“It’s like we’ve gone a step backwards.
“I’m confident the boys will be back and up for it against the Cheetahs.” — TMG