The Cell C Sharks were brave, composed and simply sublime in their 28-23 United Rugby Championship victory over Leinster at Hollywoodbets Kings Park on Saturday evening.
It was epic and truly tough, with both sides in the fight from start to finish and the match delivered a quite incredible game filled with tension throughout. But an incredible performance from the forwards to lay the platform for a rewarding outcome to a superb game.
Leinster scored first, having absorbed enormous pressure for the opening quarter hour but striking from turnover ball to score the first try of the match moments after defending their own tryline.
But their joy was short-lived as Makazole Mapimpi snatched an intercept in the midfield as Leinster shovelled the ball along the line under pressure and failed to spot the looming danger. The Cell C Sharks and Springbok wing had read the opportunity perfectly to run in a 50m try, with Curwin Bosch equalising with the conversion from right in front.
The Irish side went three points ahead with a 40m penalty as the game approached the half hour mark and once more absorbed more pressure from the Cell C Sharks before scoring the second try with just a few minutes of the first half remaining.
The conversion took the visitors into a 10 point lead, but once more, the Cell C Sharks struck back immediately, some magic from Aphelele Fassi to break through the defence before he fed Jaden Hendrikse for the scrumhalf to add his team’s second try on the stroke of half-time, with Bosch’s conversion cutting the lead to 17-14 at the break.
Leinster scored the first points of the second half, a penalty to push the lead to six points a few minutes in, but once again the response was immediate and devastating. With Leinster’s scrum coming undone against the power game of the home time and the referee declaring a team warning for repeated infringements, the brave decision to kick to the line rather than through the posts paid dividends as the lineout, driving maul option saw Bongi Mbonambi driving over, with Bosch converting to give the Cell C Sharks a 21-20 lead.
The log-leaders retook the lead with a penalty but moments later lost a man to a yellow card for a lineout penalty and then the continued pressure from the Cell C Sharks led to another team warning as Leinster continued to raise the referee’s ire with their persistent indiscipline.
Leinster lost their replacement hooker to the sin bin as the game crept into the final quarter but continued to concede penalties defending the driving maul and were punished with another dominant scrum setting the platform for a lovely break from the back by eighthman Phepsi Buthelezi to score his team’s fourth try, with Bosch pushing the lead to five points.
Going into the final five minutes, there was high drama as the Cell C Sharks were forced to defend their tryline against the Irish, finally conceding a yellow card with time up on the clock. There was one more huge defensive effort before the TMO was called to adjudicate on a possible equaliser in the final movement of the game. He confirmed the referee’s on-field decision that there was no evidence of a grounding and the victory was the Cell C Sharks’.
The five pointer pushed the Cell C Sharks into fifth position on the log with two more rounds remaining.
Vodacom Man of the Match Bongi Mbonambi said afterwards, “Credit to the whole team, this was a team effort. We knew it wouldn’t be easy and would take an 80 minute performance which it did.”