The Sharks opened their account on the Currie Cup log with an emphatic 46-10 win over the Boland Kavaliers in Durban on Friday night but will realise that there is plenty of work to be done before they face the Blue Bulls next weekend.
The winning side scored seven good tries to one, and the Boland side’s nightmare outing was highlighted when Sharks lock Albert van den Berg intercepted to run 80 metres after the final hooter.
The overall memory of the match will be the whistle of referee Joey Salmans that worked overtime, with the Sharks’ discipline in the first half letting them down about as much as the Kavaliers’ handling.
The Sharks did some things well, some outstanding, but they will be disappointed with the lack of structure sometimes forced on them by an abrasive but somewhat disjointed Boland team that brought very little to the match but guts.
The home side started off like a runaway train, doing everything including cleaning out the breakdowns at speed. Their first try by Riaan Swanepoel was a gem and came within the first minute.
That promised more than just the big win that materialised. The Sharks poor first-half discipline on their own goal line helped Boland to threaten for about ten minutes, but where a more competent side would have pounced, turnovers cost them in this period as it did virtually throughout when they had possession.
That fact that an average display by the Sharks was enough to take a 29-3 halftime lead is an indictment of the losers’ strength.
Having said that, it took four good tries by the Sharks to run up this halftime score, with the 40-metres sprint by Deon Carstens the most exciting and the first try scored by Keegan Daniel of the same quality as Swanepoel’s after some good work by the speedy Lwazi Mvovo.
After the break the game deteriorated somewhat with two tries by the Sharks and one by the Kavaliers all that was achieved in a frustrating period of few highlights until Van den Berg brought some excitement with a third second-half try for the winners.
Final Score Sharks 46 Boland 10
Scorers:
Sharks:
Tries: Riaan Swanepoel, Deon Carstens, Craig Burden (2), Keegan Daniel (2), Albert van den Berg.
Conversions: Rory Kockott (3), Monty Dumond.
Penalty: Kockott.
Boland Kavaliers:
Try: Deon Scholtz.
Conversion: Mark Harris.
Penalty: Justin Peach
