Sharks kickstart season with comprehensive victory

The Cell C Sharks started off their Vodacom Super Rugby campaign with a rousing and confidence-building 45-10 win over the Sunwolves in Singapore on Saturday.

The Sharks picked up a tryscoring bonus point as they scored six tries to one in a match that they took physical control of from the outset.

It was a sharp start from the Sharks after being a little slow out of the blocks in some previous seasons.

The ease with which they outplayed the Sunwolves was probably an indication that the Durban franchise did the right thing in opting for physical warm-up matches against the Lions and the Bulls in their build-up.

They looked ready for the game whereas the Sunwolves at times looked rusty and a bit lethargic, something that they can never afford to be as the weight they give away to many opponents means they have to be innovative with their attacking game and make full use of every scrap of possession that comes their way.

There were some scraps that the Sunwolves picked up in the early stages, and they scored the first try in the game.

It was scored by South African-born centre Shane Gates as he ran onto a fortunate bounce following a clever kick from flyhalf Hayden Parker.

The Japanese team, if you can call it that when there were so few Japanese players in the starting team, led 7-3 after seven minutes as they made an early feast of their attempts to move the bigger Sharks around.

They increased their lead to seven points (10-3) when Parker kicked a penalty after another impressive Sunwolves attack had given the hosts good field possession.

At that point the Sunwolves were threatening to be competitive.

It did not continue though, and the Sharks managed to achieve exactly what they set out to do – they dominated possession and set up camp in the Sunwolves half.

But the Sharks' win was not just built on their physical and territorial dominance.

The attacking edge they brought to their game augurs well for them going forward.

Make no mistake, the platform for the win was laid by their massive pack, which started with a 50kg advantage on the Sunwolves unit.

Daniel du Preez was strong with his ball carrying and a constant physical presence.

The same can be said of lock Ruan Botha, while Akker van der Merwe was his usual irrepressible self and dotted down two driving maul tries that effectively meant he started the new season in the same manner he ended the last one.

There were other standouts up front, and from a national viewpoint it was good to see the combative and mobile Coenie Oosthuizen back in Super Rugby and Beast Mtawarira starting the season strongly. –