Lions maul the Sharks
Ackermann’s men, along with the Bulls, secure statement Currie Cup wins
THE Bulls and Lions must now be the favourites for the top two spots in the Currie Cup after both registered their third wins on the trot on Saturday. They’re also now the only unbeaten teams in the competition.
With a new man in Nollis Marais in charge of the Bulls the Pretoria team oozed class in downing their major southern rivals, Western Province, at Loftus, while the Lions showed in Durban – in getting the better of the Sharks – they have far more depth in the ranks than was the case a few seasons ago.
Johan Ackermann is missing several Super Rugby stars, who’re either training with the Springboks, playing in Europe or are injured, yet his side still produced a strong performance to record their first win in Durban since 2007.
Some of the men missing from the Lions at the moment are: Andries Coetzee, Harold Vorster, Lionel Mapoe, Elton Jantjies, Faf de Klerk, Warren Whiteley, Warwick Tecklenburg, Armand van der Merwe and Schalk van der Merwe.
After starting their Currie Cup challenge with wins against the Kings and Pumas, the Lions made an even bigger statement at the weekend in finishing strongly against the Sharks to pick up all five points on offer. They’ve now not dropped a point in three matches. There were again several stars in the Lions side, but most pleasing for Ackermann and Co will be the form of flyhalf Marnitz Boshoff who, after a disappointing Super Rugby campaign, is back to his best.
The No10 hasn’t missed a kick at goal in three matches, slotting 15 conversion and five penalties, while he’s also added a drop-goal.
The Lions will be confident of making it four in a row when they take on the Pumas in Nelspruit on Friday, but their trip to Mpumalanga could be one of their trickier assignments this season; the hosts always being tough to beat at home. MJ Mentz’s team have already downed the Sharks at home and will be keen to make amends for going down to the Lions at Ellis Park two weekends ago. And, after beating the EP Kings in a tight affair in Port Elizabeth on Friday, will be in good spirits.
Gary Gold’s Sharks have now lost two out of three and look to be still suffering from their Super Rugby hangover. They produced some good moments against the Lions on Saturday, but were some way off being a team that looks good enough to win the title this season. They should, however, have too much for the Kings this weekend.
The other team to make a big statement on Saturday were the Bulls. They played some sparkling, attacking rugby, with their outside backs particularly impressive. They also face a challenging away trip this weekend though, to Kimberley for a match against Griquas.
Franco Smith’s Cheetahs also finally got on the board with a well-deserved five-point haul against Griquas, and they’ll hope to do the same this weekend when Western Province visit Bloemfontein. It should be the match of the weekend.