Sharks make light work of struggling Lions

Much has been made of the Sharks having to go into United Rugby Championship (URC) battle without some of the brightest stars in contemporary Springbok rugby.

Out of the shadows and general gloom at Ellis Park on Saturday however, emerged flyhalf Curwin Bosch who gave this game the direction it had sorely lacked in the first half.

On a wet field Bosch, who earned the last of his two Bok caps in 2018, was a picture of poise and composure, helping the Sharks rally and run out 29-7 victors over the listless Lions.

That the Lions lost at home to a Sharks team that in years gone by might have been called the Wildebeest, given the visiting players' pecking order at the union, is an indictment on operations Ellis Park.

This match, after all, pitted teams at the polar opposites of the ambition scale. While the Lions in their recruitment often only plug a hole, the Sharks are enthusiastically seeking to improve the whole.

It was however the home team that made all the early running but their incursions failed to bear fruit.

Their error rate was as high as the Sharks' appetite to stay in the fight.

The Sharks absorbed an inordinate amount of pressure in the first half, with No.8 Phepsi Buthelezi and Henco Venter spreading themselves thin across the paddock.

The Lions kept coming however and the pressure they applied started to show promise.

Lions flyhalf Gianni Lombard however failed to give them tangible evidence of their advantage when he drew a blank from the kicking tee in the eighth minute.

He drew another from in the 15th from what was effectively point blank range.

He handed the Sharks another reprieve in the 22nd minute when his kick drifted right of the right-hand upright.

As his head dropped, some in the crowd picked up the decibels in their disapproval.

Apart from the Lions fluffing their lines off the kicking tee, they also made a meal of try scoring opportunities.

The Sharks proved more adroit with the wet ball after the break.

Grant Williams typically teased and tormented but opposite him Morne van den Berg, like Lombard, failed to find his range with the boot.

Bosch drew a mismatch when Asenathi Ntlabakanye sprinted clear for the game's opening score but visiting flanker Vincent Tshituka was banished to the bin in the 32nd minute.

It was with a man up the Lions finally found a hole and captain Marius Louw who had banged and bashed for much of the opening half, accepted the opportunity with glee.

The Sharks delivered a crucial blow in the 50th minute when left-wing Thaakir Abrahams lunged for the line in the corner after sustained pressure from the bigger men on his inside.

Tries by Fez Mbatha and Grant Williams only compounded the Lions' second half misery.

Scorers

Lions (7) — Try: Marius Louw. Conversion: Gianni Lombard.

Sharks (29) — Tries: Curwin Bosch, Thaakir Abrahams, Fez Mbatha, Grant Williams. Conversions: Bosch (3). Penalty: Bosch.

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