An opportunist try from fullback Lwazi Mvovo late in the game broke open a grinding South African derby and gave the Sharks a 25-12 win over the Lions in Super Rugby on Saturday.
Mvovo swooped on turnover ball and used his blistering pace to chase his own chip kick for the only try in the 67th minute at Ellis Park, helping to put the Sharks back on top of the standings.
Despite a mountain of possession and a big territory advantage, the Sharks never led the dogged Lions by more than six points until Mvovo’s individual brilliance finally broke the home team.
Centre Francois Steyn kicked 14 points, including two monster penalties from well over 50 meters, as the Sharks took a sixth win from seven games.
BopChop
Guest
To be fair, in years when we've had a strong sr showing we've tended to end up with the wooden spoon on the RC. Causality does not exist in the nexus between sr and RC
BopChop
Guest
Mvovo was my mom though. He is looking like a new man at the back. And jakes probably realized that he needs a bit of space. Q for you BB: why do my comments disappear and further comments don't get sent to me even though I tick the little box? These okes getting all ANC on the comments section?
BopChop
Guest
Comments being sterilized by big brother I see. BB, taking nothing away from Jordan but it did say Sithole is one to watch. Check out this link from sevens a while back, to win the Glasgow tournie in extra time. And he's good at the breakdown. Cleans out nicely, effects the occasional steal. http://youtu.be/RcXYZMYkKKI
BebopChop
Guest
Boet I told you to watch that space. Sithole scored th winning try against Oz in extra time in Glasgow 7s I think. See link. Now before anyone gets upset I'm not referring to Paul Jordaan at all, it's not about him. But Sithole looks like a guy who finds a away, to score, to break tackles, to win games. Jake is good at spotting talent. That's actually all he's really good at, and it works for him. Everything else is simple. But his ability to identify talent and extract the best from it, and his ongoing man management are unrivaled. (Once a few players have sifted through of course). But mvovo was man of the match for me. Another example of Jakes brilliance. Maybe he is a complete poesoek but he knows what he's doing. A risk maybe, but mvovo hasn't had a really good game for some time...
Kuruki
Roar Guru
Your mother was speaking it to me fluently last night. When your baby brother is born tell him daddy said Kia ora.
Eli Romero
Guest
No one speaks that dying language, probably just stick to pigeon english. Thanks.
Mr.G
Roar Rookie
Sithole made the steal that lead to the Mvovo chip and chase try. He hits a lot of rucks for a 13, and I think he's done quite well in his time in the jersey. Made lot of metres going forward, hard to bring down, and if he makes his defence better, will be quite something for opposition defences to handle. Lions were their own victims yesterday- I think the two quick tap penalties taken by de Klerk cost them- would've been easy pickings for Boshoff. Also liked Mvovo at 15 yesterday, he's improved a LOT under the high ball and seems to have worked on kicking too. I like SP, but he is a bit of a mixed bag- not sure which SP you get on the park. Half back is the problem though. McLeod doesn't play well unless he's got real competition, and you can see that the standard of his play has dropped since Reinach got injured. If Zeilinga is out for an extended period of time, trouble for JW. Frans tries a lot of skip passes for a 10, and he's so much better at 12. But leaving him at 12 means Swiel has to play 10, and while he's talented, he's not yet SR standard. I think I'll take FS-Heimar-Sbura if Zeilinga is injured. Sharks also need to defend the maul well- both the Bulls and Lions have shown it as a weakness.
felix
Guest
Geez what a year for SA rugby,worst I remember,if we could save this and get atleast 2 teams in the playoffs I'll be ok with that atleast. Mvovo scored a great try,he is a solid fullback after all,Jake can really suck out all the talent available in a player,now all we need is a team that will join the Sharks in those playoffs,Bulls maybe .. . . . . . .
Not sure you could call Mvovo's try opportunisitc though. The Lions deserves credit for the way they kept the sharks at bay, they showed some real guts. The Sharks do have a problem though, both their first choice locks are out, their first choice halfback pairing is out, their bsckline is in tatters when you consider the reshuffling they had to undergo today after Zeilinger got injured. Their backline resembles musical chairs at the moment and not having Paul Jordaan in the midfield seriously dents the effectiveness of their attack. Having said that Sithole had a very good game tonight.
Kuruki
Roar Guru
Haere mai Sharks, haere mai ki Aotearoa.