Steyn stars as Bulls scrape past Sharks
DURBAN: Morne Steyn became the leading Super 15 points scorer this season by kicking six penalties as Northern Bulls edged Coastal Sharks 18-16 in a thriller on Saturday.
The experienced Bulls flyhalf came face to face with Patrick Lambie, the younger Sharks playmaker who replaced him in the Springboks team last season.
And Steyn won the individual goalkicking battle by seven points with Lambie landing three penalties and converting a try from scrumhalf Charl McLeod.
Steyn has scored two tries, converted 21, and kicked 42 penalties and a drop goal for a 181-point haul — 18 more than Gareth Anscombe from title-holders Waikato Chiefs of New Zealand.
‘‘A slippery ball made it difficult for us and our game plan was to play for territory, force penalties and leave the rest to Morne,’’ admitted Bulls No.8 and skipper Pierre Spies.
‘‘We played well and lost — I would rather we played badly and won. This was a bitter defeat,’’ said Sharks loose forward Keegan Daniel.
The Bulls led 9-3 at half-time in a match where there was never more than six points between the teams and a tense finish saw the lead change twice before a large crowd.
After going ahead early on, the Sharks trailed for a long period until McLeod went over for the only try through a blindside break off a five-metre scrum seven minutes from time.
But official man-of-the-match Steyn had the final say as prop ‘Beast’ Mtawarira was penalised for his tackle on lock Flip van der Merwe and Steyn banged the penalty between the posts.
In Cape Town, the Stormers dented the Queensland Reds’ play-off hopes with a 20-15 win, with discarded Wallabies flyhalf Quade Cooper and his team off-colour for the second straight game in South Africa.
Springboks captain Jean de Villiers’ try early in the second half was the decisive play in a grinding match at a windy and rainy Newlands, helping end the Stormers’ own three-match losing run and leaving Queensland five points behind the ACT Brumbies at the top of the Australian conference.
De Villiers was set free on the left wing after a cross-kick from flyhalf Elton Jantjies in a planned move near halfway, and the centre eventually ran away for the only try of the game.
Cooper kicked five second-half penalties but Stormers fullback Joe Pietersen matched that in a much-needed win for the struggling Cape Town team.
In his first match since being left out of an initial Wallabies squad for the British and Irish Lions series, Cooper couldn’t spark the Reds backline despite a few trademark defence-splitting passes and half-breaks. His kicking did keep the Reds in touch and pushed them ahead for the first time in the game with 10 minutes to go.
Pietersen added two of his five penalty shots in the last 10, and the Reds failed in a long and desperate attack in the last possession of the game that only ended — following nearly five minutes after the hooter sounded — when the Stormers won a penalty while defending grimly near their line.
In Port Elizabeth, the Cheetahs cruised past the Southern Kings 34-22, three tries in the second half ensuring a bonus point for South Africa’s surprise package over the tournament newcomers.
Johann Sadie scored twice and scrumhalf Piet van Zyl and wing Willie le Roux also touched down as the Cheetahs took the lead on the brink of half-time and never looked back.