Sharks too strong for Griquas in Currie Cup

The Sharks XV secured their second successive bonus-point win when they beat Griquas 46-24 in a Currie Cup Premier Division match at Kings Park on Friday.

The home side blitzed the Kimberley outfit with four tries in the first half to take a 31-10 lead into the break. Griquas fought back hard in the second half but just didn’t have enough firepower to cause an upset in Durban.

The Sharks shot out of the blocks with two tries in the first eight minutes of the match. Lock Etienne Oosthuizen opened the scoring with a try from close range in the second minute, while S’bura Sithole took advantage of some average Griquas defending to score his team’s second five-pointer.

Griquas hit back with a penalty by Clinton Swart, before the flyhalf set up No 8 Rudi van Rooyen’s try to cut the deficit down to 17-10.

But the Sharks pulled away in the last eight minutes of the first half. Inside centre Andre Esterhuizen rounded off a wonderful team try for the Sharks in the 32nd minute, which included some lovely interplay between forwards and backs.

Scrumhalf Stefan Ungerer then scored the bonus-point try for the home side on the stroke of halftime to give the Sharks a 21-point lead at the break.

Griquas, though, came out with a lot of fire after the break. They played with bit more width, and managed to put the Sharks under pressure with ball in hand.

The visitors scored the first try of the second half when their Wellington-born flyer Alshaun Bok touched down in the 54th minute after some brilliant handling and an even better finish. However, the Sharks hit back six minutes later when their No 8 Tera Mthembu went over in the left corner.

JW Jonker then scored for Griquas in the 64th minute after he managed to beat two Sharks players to the ball before dotting down.

However, the home side would have the final say in the match in the 78th minute. After a very strong scrum, Sharks loose forward Jean Deysel took the ball over the line and his team to the top of the Currie Cup standings.

Final Score Sharks 46 (31) Griquas 24 (10)

Scorers

Sharks
Tries: Etienne Oosthuizen, S’bura Sithole, Andre Esterhuizen. Stefan Ungerer, Tera Mtembu, Jean Deysel
Conversions: Curwin Bosch (5)
Penalties: Bosch (2).

Griquas
Tries: Rudi van Rooyen, Alshaun Bock, JW Jonker
Conversions: Clinton Swart (3).
Penalty: Swart.