There was drama aplenty in the penultimate round of the Carling Currie Cup as the Hollywoodbets Sharks XV dug deep to defeat Sanlam Boland Kavaliers 33-31 in an absolute cliff-hanger at Woodburn Stadium in Pietermaritzburg on Saturday.
The result was never certain as the Hollywoodbets Sharks built up a decent lead before Sanlam Boland Kavaliers cut it back, the momentum shifted and see-sawed throughout, and just when the visitors thought they had the victory sewn up, the hosts bravely finished off the game in extra time to make it back-to-back victories in the tournament.
A yellow card for slapping the ball down saw the visitors reduced to 14 men in only the second minute and with the pressure that came to bear from the home side, Sanlam Boland Kavaliers found themselves on a team warning for repeated infringements defending their tryline. There was almost a try in the corner, but for a TMO referral that identified a foot in touch.
Nonetheless it was the kind of energetic, commanding start their coach would have been thrilled with.
There was no shortage of action or entertainment as both sides played with intensity, the match highly competitive, giving the sizable crowd something to cheer about.
Plenty of opportunities but no score was down to some outstanding defence from both sides, although the Hollywoodbets Sharks probably had more reason to rue missed opportunities.
Jacques Marais finally broke the deadlock in the 25th minute when the visitors conceded a penalty that was kicked to touch and an outstanding 20m maul, with penalty advantage as back-up, saw the hardworking hooker driving over, with Jean Smith converting.
Slick handling led to the second try inside the ensuing five minutes as the game hit the half hour mark, the offloading game keeping the ball alive and the visitors scrambling on defence, virtually every member of the Hollywoodbets Sharks XV team having a role to play with Albie Bester finishing off and Smith adding the two for a 14-nil lead.
A slap down of the ball in the maul led to the Hollywoodbets Sharks earning a yellow card and Sanlam Boland Kavaliers punished their opponents immediately, kicking to touch for the lineout maul and coming away with the spoils, cutting the lead to 14-7 at the 34th minute mark.
Nippy scrumhalf Ceano Everson kept the opposition guessing with his all-round game, showing maturity beyond his years and earning a penalty two minutes later that Smith converted to push the lead to 10 points with half-time looming, and also taking advantage of the opportunity for points while they were down a man.
The Hollywoodbets Sharks XV successfully negotiated the dying moments of the half, holding up a driving maul and turning the ball over close to their tryline to prevent a further score from the willing visitors.
Willingness won the early exchanges in the second half as the Hollywoodbets Sharks XV once again played with intensity and focus, the visitors conceding numerous penalties near their tryline before losing a second player to the sin bin for cynical play, and paid the price as Smith maintained his 100% kicking record with a second penalty to extend the lead to 20-7 five minutes in.
But the team from the Boland haven’t played giant killers this season by lying down when the chips are down and they struck directly from the kick-off, earning a scrum, a free kick and then sending the ball wide, finding the defence out of alignment to score their second try, with the conversion making it a six-point game.
Not five minutes later, the Hollywoodbets Sharks XV were back on the scoreboard, a third try and second to Jacques Marais who stormed over from the maul with Smith on target with his fifth shot at goal to take his team into a 27-14 lead at a critical juncture in the game.
As the game entered the final quarter, a series of pick-and-drives from an attacking lineout saw the visitors scoring their third try as they cut the lead once again with a seven-pointer to keep the game alive.
The rhythm of five-minute intervals between scores continued as Smith kicked his third penalty to push his team beyond a converted try on the scoreboard, taking the hosts into a 30-21 lead with 15 minutes remaining.
The next score saw the Sanlam Boland Kavaliers earning the bonus point try, once again keeping the ball amongst the forwards as they delivered a relentless effort to score their fourth try with eight minutes remaining and only two points separating the teams.
Another yellow card to the Hollywoodbets Sharks XV in the closing minutes added to the pressure they were facing by the visitors who had top spot on the log in their sights, and with three minutes remaining, they opted for their first penalty kick at posts, the three points pushing them into a one-point lead.
With time up on the clock, a helter-skelter finish ensued as the Hollywoodbets Sharks XV chased any score that would win the game, six minutes of extra time played in pursuit of points.
A penalty earned 45m out saw Siya Masuku step up to steal Sanlam Boland Kavaliers’ thunder and the brave decision turned out to be the right one as the ball sailed through the uprights and gave the Hollywoodbets Sharks a wonderful victory.