STORMERS BLOW AWAY THE SHARKS

Close, riveting game but hosts exposed as being not as good as they’ve been cracked up to be

MIKE GREENAWAY Jonnson Kings Park SHARKS (3) 11 Try: Lukhanyo Am. Penalties: Rob du Preez (2) STORMERS (13) 16

Try: Damian Willemse. Conversion: SP

Marais. Penalties: SP Marais (2).

THERE was a sobering slap of reality for the Sharks but a shot in the arm for the troubled Stormers at a steamy Jonnson Kings Park last night in a typically hard-fought South African derby.

The match was hardly a classic in terms of precision play but it was riveting nonetheless with plenty of intrigue, yellow cards, rank bad play and glimpses of brilliance to hold the spectators’ attention from start to finish.

In the end, the Stormers deserved to prevail while the Sharks have been exposed as being not as good they have been cracked up to be.

The Sharks went into the game as hot favourites after blowing away the Sunwolves and the Blues in their first two games while the Stormers had scrapped their way through the first two rounds.

But it was the visitors that took the game by the scruff of the neck in the first half. It was the first time the Sharks’ pack had gone up against a a pack of repute and they were found wanting.

Eben Etzebeth was immense and not far behind him was the exciting young No 8 Jaco Coetzee, who was schooled in Durban at Glenwood.

The Sharks were rattled in that first half an hour as evidenced by an injudicious interception pass thrown by André Esterhuizen deep in his half to try-scoring Stormer Damian Willemse, silly professional fouls that were punished by cards (Lukhanyo Am for blatant offsides and Akker van der Merwe for killing the ball). And then there was the shaky set piece, an area where the Sharks had shown improvement from last season until they ran into the likes of Pieter-steph du Toit, Etzebeth and Co.

The Stormers ran up a 13-3 lead by half-time and it meant the Sharks had to play catch-up rugby, something they have not been good at in recent seasons. From that fourth minute intercept try, the Sharks played unintelligent rugby in the first 40 and they no doubt had their ears warmed at half-time.

They came out a different team. From the kick-off they played near perfect rugby to score a try that saw most of their team handle the ball, with Am scrambling over to make it 8-13, Du Preez missing the conversion.

It was the Stormers’ turn to be under the cosh and they similarly looked unsettled under pressure. And it was their turn to suffer a yellow card when centre Dan du Plessis (the son of former Springbok, Michael) was dangerously high in a cover tackle on flying wing Makazole Mapimpi.

From the resulting pressure on the Stormers’ line, the Sharks had a try disallowed for a foot in touch before Du Preez goaled a penalty to make it a two-point game at 11-13.

It was the Sharks’ last points of the game, and the Stormers would add just three more as the last half hour of the game became a bitter arm wrestle.