The Cell C Sharks withstood everything Connacht threw at them in their Vodacom United Rugby Championship clash at Hollywoodbets Kings Park before stepping up a gear in the second half to comfortably win 41-21.
A three try blitz after half-time and 21 unanswered points took the wind out the Irish sails after they had led at the break and such was the Cell C Sharks’ dominance that the visitors were unable to press home their first half advantage in any meaningful way.
They also went scoreless the entire second 40, such was the game management and sublime defence that lead to a stunning bonus point victory that denied the Irish side a clean sweep over South African sides, having despatched of the other three local sides earlier in the competition.
The visitors struck first blood with a penalty inside the opening 10 minutes, but Curwin Bosch equalised soon afterwards following a defensive off-sides from Connacht in fielding a high ball in their half.
A second penalty at the end of the first quarter doubled Connacht’s score but the lead was short-lived after they lost a man to the sin bin for a clash of head tackle and from the resultant maul, the ball was taken nearly 20m over the tryline with Gerbrandt Grobler dotting down and Bosch adding the extras.
Unfortunately Connacht hit back immediately, charging down a clearance kick from the kick-off to open their try-scoring account to retake the lead, although the missed conversion meant they only had a one-point advantage on the half hour.
A third penalty, this time for contesting at the breakdown extended the Irish side’s lead to 14-10 and they went further ahead with their second try with just under five minutes of the half remaining, the conversion taking them into an 11 point lead.
The men in green managed to wind down the clock, albeit inside their own 22 as they maintained good phase play to close out the half to take a 21-10 lead into the break.
The second half started off on the perfect note, Aphelele Fassi forcing a 50-22 lineout and from the ensuing build-up through umpteen phases, Grant Williams made the break that set Marius Louw up and he powered through the defence to score with Bosch adding the conversion to reduce the gap back to four points.
Their confidence restored, the forwards were back in the game in a big way, a penalty for a high tackle kicked to touch before the pack mauled their way over the line with Bongi Mbonambi in possession. Bosch converted and the Cell C Sharks held a 24-21 lead with half an hour of this absorbing match still to play.
Vodacom Man of the Match Grobler got his second, again the forwards mauling a lineout inside the opposition 22, making the most of their dominance and momentum. When Bosch converted, the lead had changed completely and the complexion of the game turn on its back with a 20 point turnabout and the bonus point achieved with 25 minutes to play.
Connacht appeared to have run out of steam and simply could not match the Cell C Sharks’ intensity. A late penalty from Bosch took his side 13 points clear and the win assured.
Le Roux Roets scored the fifth try, another beautifully crafted attacking effort filled with venom and determination with Connacht, well-beaten, unable to handle the pressure. Bosch converted to take his team into a 20 point lead.
To their credit, Connacht tried desperately to score in the final closing minutes but were denied by the defence as this quite unbelievable game finished on a high for the victorious Cell C Sharks.