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Lions upset Cheetahs, Sharks get a bonus point

Roar Guru
15th February, 2014
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Roar Guru
15th February, 2014
47
1320 Reads

There are days when you return from the office and ask yourself “how did that happen?”

That is what coach Naka Drotske will be asking himself after the Cheetahs lost their campaign opener at home to the returning Lions from Johannesburg.

With seven debutants in Bloemfontein the Lions arrived with little hope of scaring the Cheetahs who came off their best ever Super Rugby season, but with a simple plan and finding their discipline in the second half, the Lions kept themselves in the game by simply exploiting every ill disciplined action of the Cheetahs.

With two minutes remaining the Lions found themselves inside the Cheetah redzone and after a few phases Marnitz Boshoff calmly moved into the pocket for an attempted drop goal.

With 60 seconds remaining on the clock he slotted the perfect drop from roughly 35 metres out and put the Lions into a one point lead for the first time in the match since the opening minutes of the first half.

The Cheetahs scored two beautifully executed tries, one by winger Raymond Rhule after Willie le Roux countered from deep, he went through a number of players and with a well timed offload gave Rhule the space to run down the side to score.

The second try came after a few phases on attack with le Roux again involved, this time Cornal Hendricks finishing off in his debut game.

Luckless Goosen again left the field with an injury to his left elbow, hopefully this will not be serious enough to hamper his season.

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The Cheetahs started the match with little regard for earning the right to go wide and the Lions did their part in making the game an entertaining season opener, although the Lions never really looked like scoring a try, it wasn’t for the lack of trying, and the Cheetah defence held.

This result was reminiscent of previous season for the Cheetahs, matches they should never have lost, they somehow managed to lose.

If the Cheetahs versus Lions was an entertaining season opener, then the Sharks versus Bulls was an intensity filled 80 minutes, The Bulls with their kick and chase game had the Sharks under pressure a number of times, but it was the Sharks who scored the first try.

Just inside the Bulls half, the Sharks won a line out, Lambie attacking the line, found the space to put Mvovo through, he ran 30 metres before timing his pass perfectly to Paul Jordaan who crossed over.

This match saw the welcome return of a number of long injured players, for the Sharks Pieter-Steph du Toit, Anton Bresler and Paul Jordaan, the Bulls saw the return of Pierre Spies and Francois Hougaard.

The Sharks might count themselves lucky with their second try, Anton Bresler putting pressure on Paul Willemse somehow managed to knock the ball out of his hands in a line out without it being deemed forward, the tap back by Spies landed securely in Hougaard’s hands, but under pressure his pass was intercepted by Cobus Reinach who only had to run a few metres for his try.

At this stage the Sharks were leading by 13-6.

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On the stroke of halftime, a comedy of errors provided the Sharks with an attacking opportunity inside the Bulls red zone, a well executed cross kick by Frans Steyn put Ndungane over in the corner and the Sharks into a 23-9 lead.

For much of the second quarter of the first half, the Bulls were in the ascendancy, however the predictable pattern of their forward play made the defensive efforts of the Sharks a lot easier than it should have been.

The second half turned into a wrestling match with the Sharks showing some sublime offloading skills at times, but it was the Bulls after 71 minutes of mauling who eventually scored the first try of the second half.

It is a shame really when you consider some of the talent they possess in their back line, Jan Serfontein and JJ Engelbrecht hardly getting the opportunity to play with ball in hand.

It took the Sharks 83 minutes before they scored their bonus point try, the final score 31-16.

Of the South African teams on display this weekend, the Sharks have given notice, their forward pack is looking solid in the set phases, their intensity at the ruck, be it counter rucking or turning ball over looks superior, and their back line showed a lot of skill and pace, Jake White will be a satisfied man.

For the Bulls, Victor Matfield’s return was mixed, at times he looked like a rabbit in the headlights of an oncoming vehicle, his line out work solid, but Frans Ludeke’s men need to move into the 21st century, their forward pack may be big, strong and well drilled, but predictability is not going to win the Super Rugby trophy.

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The Cheetahs will be disappointed, they lost a match that they never looked like losing, but the Lions kept themselves in the game with not missing a single penalty kick, and the Cheetahs will rue their missed chances.

Overall a satisfying start to the Super Rugby season.

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