The Hollywoodbets Sharks XV went down 36-28 to the DHL Stormers XXIII in a hugely competitive Carling Currie Cup match at DHL Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
It was a game where the lead changed hands numerous times in the course of 80 gruelling minutes, but the home side were able to produce the goods in their first home game of the tournament to secure victory.
A dominant display from the Durban side was rewarded as early as the fourth minute, a scrum penalty sent to touch and then some power on attack from wing Lyle Matthews who smashed his way through the defence to open the scoring, with Tim Swiel adding the extras for a 7-0 lead.
But the home side struck back almost immediately, a focused attack eventually culminating in a converted try to square up matters inside the opening 10 minutes.
Having dominated possession and territory over the ensuing quarter hour, the pressure finally broke the back of the Hollywoodbets Sharks XV defence as the DHL Stormers XXIII scored their second converted try to take the lead for the first time in the game.
Ross Braude’s try, converted by Swiel, levelled matters in the 33rd minute after a stunning break right through the midfield from SA Under 20 star Luan Giliomee who sliced the defence and fed his scrumhalf in the perfect setup.
But the teams continued to trade blow for blow as the home side struck almost immediately with their third try to take a five-point lead with barely a handful of minutes remaining in the high tempo game.
The Hollywoodbets Sharks XV closed out the half looking to smash their way over at close-quarters as they dominated in the strike zone, but the referee blew for half time when the ball was lost over the tryline in an attempt to score with the home side leading 19-14.
The home team opened the scoring with a penalty inside three minutes of the second half, a penalty stretching the lead to eight points, but a determined fightback from the visitors from Durban saw replacement loose-forward Hanu Pieterse over for his team’s third try, only for a TMO call denying the score after picking up an earlier knock-on.
Rambo Kubheka came good soon afterwards with a powerful carry after a long and determined build-up featuring most of his team-mates, and with Swiel converting, the lead was cut to one point, 22 plays 21 with the final quarter left to play.
But the see-sawing nature of the game continued as the home side scored soon afterwards to restore their eight-point lead and then added another following sustained pressure to take the game out of contention with 10 minutes left to play with a 15-point lead.
It was another replacement and SA Under 20 star Liam van Wyk who carried the ball in a strong maul to secure the bonus point, with Giliomee taking over the kicking duties and converting well to cut the deficit to 28-36 with five minutes remaining.
The home side closed out the game pressuring the tryline, but some brave defence kept them out and the scoreline intact.
