EP Kings easy meat for the Sharks
WHEN the elements conspire against rugby like they did in Durban yesterday, dominant teams just have to rock up and get business done with minimum fuss.
In conditions where the field resembled a quagmire, the Sharks collected their bonuspoint victory and made a semifinal spot a near certainty.
While the result was of importance to the hosts after the Blue Bulls easily dealt with the Griquas at Loftus Versfeld on Friday evening, Pat Lambie’s 46th minute entry was of major significance.
The regular Sharks Super Rugby captain has been out of action since his sickening collision with South African-born Ireland flanker CJ Stander in the first test of the Ireland series at Newlands on June 11 .
With the weather taking on an unseasonal Cape Town-winter look and feel, it was a fitting, if not ironic reintroduction.
Lambie got through the game unscathed but whether he is ready for international rugby remains to be seen.
Filthy weather and a saturated surface already churned up by a curtain-raiser between Durban Collegians and White River made for an unedifying spectacle.
Not that the Sharks are the prettiest of teams, but it was going to be a case of who could combine strength and intelligence.
With fleet-footed and smart players in Curwin Bosch and Inny Radebe, precise tactical kicking was always going to be the Sharks’ forte. The young duo handled the conditions with maturity and even combined to score an excellent try finished off by Radebe in the 31st minute.
Bosch also provided the defensive highlight in the 37th minute when he hauled in Kings’ rightwing Siviwe Soyizwapi on his 5m line after the Sevens specialist ran the length of the field from a Sharks mistake.
With the ball sounding like a deflated basketball every time it came off a boot, catching the pill was an even tougher task.
As the first half wore on, the weather showed no signs of improving, with puddles forming on the field.
When the magic of Bosch and Radebe did not work, the Sharks had the requisite muscle to remind the Kings who belongs in the water and who doesn’t.
Tries from captain Chilliboy Ralepelle and Jean-luc du Preez came from rolling mauls while Andre Esterhuizen powered over the line in the fourth minute.
As the rain continued to fall in the second half, the Sharks resorted to brawn as the Kings were shunted around the wet field by Lambie’s boot. Even he wasn’t immune to dropping the ball but one had to have superglue hands to catch the ball cleanly.
Like the rain, the try-scoring continued unabated as Francois Kleinhans (brace), Etienne Oosthuizen, Wandile Mjekevu and Khaya Majola all crossed the disappearing whitewash.
If the ball did not resemble a bar of soap, the Sharks would have scored more but their ambition lacked execution. In the conditions, it was entirely understandable.