Bok backline trio win in the wet for the Sharks

It was the kind of inclement, wet day when you’d thought it would be the forwards that would rule but the Hollywoodbets Sharks can thank a trio of backline Springboks for their narrow but morale boosting 28-23 Investec Champions Cup win over Saracens in Durban on Saturday.

While a win over Saracens would seem something to be quite euphoric about for a Sharks team that has had such a poor season thus far, it needs to be pointed out that, much like the La Rochelle team the Stormers beat in an earlier game in Gqeberha, the much vaunted English club side was significantly under-strength.

There was no Owen Farrell and several other England stars, think Jamie George and Maro Itoje for a start, not to mention Ben Earl, who played off the bench. That was immediately a leg up for a Sharks team that desperately needed to win to bring some kind of confidence before they play a crucial Vodacom URC game agains the Vodacom Bulls at the same Hollywoodbets Sharks venue next week, not to mention keep them in the running in the Champions Cup.

But the rain that fell on Durban on the day of the game and during the game itself was also a significant leveller. Wet weather always is a leveller, but in this case it was Saracens who were arguably more used to the conditions. And it showed. The visitors were arguably the better team, in fact almost certainly so, but their dominance of the kicking game in the first half was offset by some little moments of magic from the Sharks that got them ahead in the game.

Those magic moments came from man of the match Andre Esterhuizen, who captained the side on the occasion of his 100th game for the franchise he first represented when just out of age-group level in 2014, and his centre partner Ethan Hooker, another Bok who has been a consistent performer for the Sharks during this troubled season.

ESTERHUIZEN CELEBRATES 100TH IN STYLE

It was Esterhuizen’s comfortable follow up and catch of a George Whitehead kick in the 59th minute and combination with Hooker that freed up the space from which their Bok teammate, scrumhalf Grant Williams, was always going to score that effectively won the match for the Sharks.

The Sharks were ahead 21-18 at that point but the converted try put them into a 10 point lead that was going to be hard for Saracens to whittle down. The England Premiership team made a great fist of it, with a good driving maul try dotted down by of all people left wing Angus Hall putting them back in the game with 14 minutes to play.

But while Saracens spent most of the remaining part of the match on the attack, the Sharks’ defensive effort was committed and tigerish and while Saracens had a last chance with an attacking lineout off the last move of the game, they were unable to control the game and it was none other than Hooker who booted the ball over the dead ball line to the delight of the meagre crowd that braved the wet conditions.

The stats reflected that Saracens had most of the territory and the possession, but it was the Sharks who showed more ingenuity with their attacking opportunities, and apart from the first try early in the game, which saw Bok captain Siya Kolisi scoring off a good driving maul, the other two tries were good backline tries.

FASSI DID WELL TOO

Saracens had consolidated after going behind to the Kolisi try by scoring a driving maul to hooker Theo Dan that led them just two points adrift when they failed with the conversion and then came an error from fullback Aphelele Fassi as he failed to pick up a kick ahead in the right corner and centre Dan Spink kicked through to score the try.

That was a rare error though from Fassi, who unfortunately had to leave the field later on, with it initially looking quite bad as a stretcher came onto the field only for the prone Fassi to stand up, much to the delight of the crowd. It was indeed Fassi who scored the second try as space was created for him on the left by a series of Sharks drives for the line in the 34th minute after the Sharks had fallen further behind (15-7) to a Fergus Burke penalty.

Given the way the game had gone, the Sharks would have been pleased to go to the break 15-14 down, but they scored another try on the stroke of halftime as wing Edwill van der Merwe, with almost his first touch of the game, went over in the corner after being set up by pass from Hooker that the TMO thought might have been marginally forward but the onfield referee rightly disagreed.

A word for veteran wing Makazole Mapimpi too - although the visitors won the aerial game in the first half, Mapimpi was mostly magnificent in the way he dealt with the aerial bombardment. And while the selection of a veteran journeyman in George Whitehead, on loan from Griquas, ahead of someone like Jordan Hendrickse should be questioned, he was the right flyhalf for the conditions and never put a foot wrong.

It was a winning start for the Sharks’ new coach JP Pietersen and as skipper Esterhuizen put it afterwards, just the fact that the Sharks got across the line for the win might be huge for their confidence going forward. It also keeps them alive in the Champions Cup as they head towards the January round of fixtures.

Scores

Hollywoodbets Sharks 28 - Tries: Siya Kolisi, Aphelele Fassi, Edwill van der Merwe and Grant Williams; Conversions: George Whitehead 4. Saracens 23 - Tries: Theo Dan, Dan Spink and Angus Hall; Conversion: Fergus Burke; Penalties: Fergus Burke 2.