A late James penalty clinches Sharks’ win

A BUTCH James penalty kicked at the death earned the Sharks an Absa Currie Cup home rugby semifinal after a narrow 18-16 victory over the Blue Bulls at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria last night.

While the result was a blow to the Bulls’ chances of reaching the playoffs, the Pretoria side clinched a bonus point for losing by less than seven points.

The Bulls moved past the Cheetahs on the log, level on 17 points but with a better points difference, and next weekend’s encounter between these sides in Bloemfontein could decide which of the teams progress to the semifinals.

With the Bulls playing for their survival in this year’s Currie Cup, they needed to produce a clinical performance against the logleading Sharks.

Despite conceding two yellow cards for ill-discipline, the visitors still managed to sneak through a victory in a match where a stalemate would have been a fair outcome.

The hosts had a shaky first 20 minutes of the match as they struggled, particularly in the set-pieces, while the Sharks looked more composed.

For the Bulls, Francois Venter scored a try and flyhalf Handre Pollard kicked a conversion and three penalties.

Sharks’ points all came from penalties, with young star Fred Zeilinga slotting four of them and Butch James adding a further two.