The Cell C Sharks maintained their good form in this year’s Currie Cup competition with a 24-6 victory over a game Windhoek Draught Griquas at Hollywoodbets Kings Park on Saturday afternoon.
The three tries to none is reflective not merely of the Cell C Sharks attacking prowess, but their outstanding defence which ensured a clean sheet and meant that Griquas were always chasing the game.
Cell C Sharks Currie Cup coach Joey Mongalo spoke this week of making Hollywoodbets Kings Park a fortress and Griquas were shown little hospitality in a game played in very cool conditions, some rain with a blustering wind to add an extra challenge.
Both teams came into this game with 19 log points – that’s how close it was – but in the final analysis, the Cell C Sharks never looked like losing and despite some traditional Griquas’ toughness, they were no match for the home side.
Griquas struck first blood in a helter-skelter start to the game, both sides full of running early on and a penalty inside the opening 10 minutes pushed the visitors into a three-nil lead.
What followed was a persistent effort on attack from the Cell C Sharks in their quest to register their first points, and it took a TMO referral to confirm that centre Alwayno Visagie had beaten the last defender to the ball after it was kicked to the corner. Lionel Cronje converted from out wide for a 7-3 lead on the quarter hour.
But Griquas earned a penalty soon afterwards and in a game as tight as this, again opted for the points to double their score and cut the deficit to a solitary point. Sadly for them, it would prove to be their last score of the game.
The game was poised on a knife edge, evenly-matched and neither side really able to turn pressure onto points with the Cell C Sharks slightly edging their Northern Cape opponents in the possession and territory stakes.
Both sides could be proud of their defensive efforts during this period, but finally the hosts made good on their promise, Kerron van Vuuren at the back of a driving maul off an attacking lineout and with help from Thembelani Bholi, was driven over for the Cell C Sharks’ second try, with Cronje adding the extra two for a 14-6 lead going into the final minutes of the half.
There were some anxious moments that needed to be negotiated as the match wound down towards half-time, but the defence held firm before the break, with the Cell C Sharks holding sway, leading 14-6, by two tries to none.
Five minutes into the second half, the Cell C Sharks stretched the lead to 11 points when Cronje converted a regulation penalty from in front of the poles and then scored a wonderful try 10 minutes later.
A powerful and dominant scrum set the platform for an important score, flanker Tinotenda Mavesere smashing the would-be defender out of his tracks and then feeding Bradley Davids who ran in unopposed to the corner, with Cronje pinpoint with the conversion from out wide to push his side into a solid 24-6 lead with 25 minutes remaining.
With the conditions deteriorating as the rain came down and made handling difficult for both sides, there was an opportunity to score the bonus point try, Henco Venter striding to the tryline, only for the TMO to rule on an earlier infringement that denied the extra log point.
The Cell C Sharks continued to chase the bonus point but were denied, although they cut the deficit that the Airlink Pumas hold on the overall log and reinforce their third-placed position.