Durban — It is a sad day for Sharks rugby when their Currie Cup team is not good enough to make the semi-finals of the country’s oldest competition but that is the reality after they crashed to a 28-21 defeat to Western Province on Friday afternoon in Stellenbosch.
This follows the Sharks’ failing at the quarter-final stage of the United Rugby Championship last week when they lost to the Bulls and this Currie Cup calamity will result in some serious soul-searching at Hollywoodbets Kings Park.
The Sharks are the union that is backed by the US dollar following an amalgamation with an American consortium 18 months ago but there is clearly something wrong with the player recruitment at the Shark Tank if this is the best they can do.
If the Sharks had 15 Werner Koks they would not lose a game but unfortunately, the ever-industrious Blitzbok is one of the few really stellar buys the Sharks have made for some time.
The Sharks went into this match at the Danie Craven Stadium with everything to play for, notably a possible semi-final if they could win well and leapfrog the fourth-placed Pumas, who were hosting third-placed Griquas directly after.
They had some decent URC reinforcements in the likes of wing Kok, flyhalf Curwin Bosch and scrumhalf Cameron Wright in the backs and Le Roux Roets, Sikhumbuzo Notshe and Kerron van Vuuren in the forwards and had a clear objective of scoring as many points as they could to put pressure on the Pumas.
They started off with the requisite purpose but could gain no reward for early pressure while Province did anything but submit and did some fine attacking of their own, much of it sparked by stalwart fullback Sergeal Petersen, who had an excellent game.
There was nothing at stake for Province and they played exactly like a side that has nothing to lose by throwing caution to the wind on attack.
In fact, WP scored the first points of the match when centre Cornel Smit kicked a penalty in the 24th minute and five minutes later Petersen gathered a deft nudge through the defence by flyhalf Dillyn Leyds to score.
And the Sharks were in trouble when a Petersen grubber set up scrumhalf Thomas Bursey for a dart over the line.
And at 0-15 down at half-time, the Sharks’ goal of a bonus-point win looked despairingly distant. It was alarming that a team desperate for a win could not score a single point in the first half.
They needed to show more composure with ball in hand and it was perhaps with that in mind that Boeta Chamberlain came on for Bosch for the second half.
Five minutes into the half the Sharks eventually got on the board when Notshe muscled over from close range, and they were right back in it when Roets burst through the defence after a strong run by burly winger Marnus Potgieter.
But Province immediately responded and again it was that man Petersen that made the play for a try by substitute scrumhalf Bobby Alexander.
Potgieter was rewarded for his consistent surges down the wing when he went over in the corner and Chamberlain’s touchline conversion narrowed it to 22-21.
Alexander came within a whisker of scoring a second try only to be thwarted by a valiant effort by Kok, who was easily the Sharks’ best player, but his team did nail the vital next points when Smit kicked a penalty, and a final effort by him in the 80th minute confirmed the Sharks’ demise.
Scorers
WP 28 — Tries: Sergeal Petersen, Thomas Bursey, Bobby Alexander. Penalties: Cornel Smit (2). Conversions: Smit (2).
Sharks 21 — Tries: Sikhukbuzo Notshe, Le Roux Roets, Marnus Potgieter. Conversions: Boeta Chamberlain (2).
IOL Sport