SOCCER • RACING • RUGBY FEROCIOUS SHARKS SAVAGE TIMID ‘TAHS’
Sharks .............. (31) 37 Waratahs ............ (7) 14
THE Sharks made a serious statement of Super Rugby intent last night when they demolished a Waratahs team that was supposedly on the warpath after having been smashed by 55 points by the Lions at Ellis Park the previous week.
The result at the Shark Tank was a shot in the arm not only for the Sharks but for South African rugby in general while Australian rugby reels in shock after a generally underwhelming start to Super Rugby.
Between the Sharks and the Lions, the Waratahs have shipped 93 points in a horror fortnight in South Africa which suggests the Lions and the Sharks are going to be in an almighty tussle to top Africa Pool 2 in the convoluted Super Rugby Conference system.
The Sharks smashed the 2014 champions despite losing their captain, Patrick Lambie, to injury in the second minute, in the build up to the opening score to Tera Mtembu after up and-coming former Western Province lock Ruan Botha had done the damage with a charge up the touchline.
Curwin Bosch, the outrageously gifted 21-year-old fullback/flyhalf came on and played a blinder in the place of Lambie.
There is still some work to be done on his defence but he could evolve into a Springbok great. He kicked an astonishing six penalties and two conversions and scored a try for a personal tally of 27 points.
His goal-kicking is certainly as good, if not better, than his namesake of the 1970s, Gerald Bosch, the Transvaal flyhalf who kicked the Boks to a series win over the All Blacks.
The Sharks backline also lost French fullback Clement Poitrenaud just after half-time and finished the match with a reshuffled backline. It did not seem to bother them in the slightest.
The intensity and character with which they Sharks played indicated that it did not matter who played where. They still would have won, and they have sent out a warning to the competition that they mean business, especially at Kings Park.
The Sharks host the Kings this week and there is no chance that they will underestimate them after they gave the Stormers a decent fight yesterday.
The Sharks could not have asked for a better start after Botha made a charge that created a try for No 8 Tera Mtembu, although it came at a serious cost, with captain Lambie leaving the field injured. The extent of his injury is still to be determined.
Bosch, replacing Lambie, soon kicked a penalty to put his side 8-0 ahead. The Waratahs were battling to get their hands on the ball and soon after flank Jack Dempsey was yellow-carded for a dangerous tackle, the Sharks – earning a penalty for Bosch to convert – were 11-0 up after 13 minutes.
The visitors upped their game and camped in the Sharks’ half but were left reeling when Bosch intercepted near the halfway line and had the pace to outstrip the cover defence. His conversion put the Sharks in an imposing 18-0 lead after just over 20 minutes of the game. On the half hour mark, the Waratahs were on the end of good fortune when a kick over the top bounced perfectly for outside centre Israel Folau, his try converted by Reece Robinson.
This was to a degree negated by the Aussies immediately giving away a penalty in front of their posts, which Bosch duly kicked, and he then nailed his fourth penalty three minutes before half-time to give his team a 24-7 lead.
That swelled into a 31-7 halftime lead after wing Kobus van Wyk broke out from the Sharks’ half and showed great gas to speed home.
The Sydneysiders clearly had a roasting at half-time from coach Daryl Gibson and they scored the first try after the break, the second for Folau, converted by Robinson.
But the damage was done and two more Bosch penalties was enough to embarrass the Waratahs 37-14 in the end.