Sharks too good for Boland

Visitors put on strong showing to extend winning run to three matches

Boland . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .(3) 20

Sharks . . . . . . . . . . . . . .(29) 41

ULTIMATELY, the Sharks left Wellington yesterday with their third successive bonus-point haul of the Currie Cup and growing belief that they are contenders for the title.

The Sharks have had it good in that their first three matches have been against qualifying teams – Pumas, Griquas and latterly Boland – and that has enabled them not only to back the attacking game touted by their coach, Robert du Preez, but also to reap a handsome full house of 15 log points.

The Durban team will host the Bulls at Kings Park next Saturday not only on top of the log but having laid down a marker as to how they will play in the domestic competition, and indeed next year in Super Rugby.

Yesterday, in a 3pm fixture in the beautiful Boland, the Sharks out-scored their hosts six tries to three and were 21 points the better, a margin which would have been an accurate pre-match prediction.

The Sharks were over those sunny hills surrounding the Boland Stadium and far away by half-time, having scored four tries in the first 40 for a 29-3 lead.

The visitors were tactically sound in that they played a very good territorial game, but once in the Boland half, they kept ball in hand and almost always were rewarded with points. This was especially the case in the first half.

The Cavaliers rallied and scored two tries in the third quarter of the match to vaguely threaten a comeback, but the Sharks were always going to quell that resurgence, and in fact scored two late tries to re-establish that 20-odd point margin.

In bad news for the Sharks, flank and former captain Tera