Sharks maul Lions in Durban

2008-02-06 21:31

Durban - A reasonable crowd of about 7 000 spectators turned out to watch the Lions and the Sharks do battle on a warm humid evening in Durban on Wednesday night in preparation for their respective opening matches in the Super 14 series next week.

As such it was a case of much by way of experiment with the Sharks taking the spoils at 33-5 They scored five tries through Beast Mtawarira (2), Ryan Kankowski, Henno Mentz and Albert van den Bergh and with Ruan Pienaar kicking four conversions Heinke van der Merwe scored for the Lions in the second period.

For the home crowd there was an early disappointment when star Francois Steyn was ruled out and his replacement at fullback JP Pietersen only lasted for about a quarter of an hour before leaving the field.

The Sharks also suffered a red card dismissal of prop Jannie du Plessis in the first half.

It was a rusty type of start with any number of errors, with the eager Lions trying to break down the Sharks defence with accurate passing through quick hands in creating early attacking moves.

But clearly the Sharks were setting up the counter in the opening 10 minutes before the first drama of the night.

Jannie du Plessis red carded

Cheetahs import prop in the Sharks side Jannie du Plessis was handed a red card by referee Craig Joubert after he had consulted his touch judge assistants for a couple of minutes.

But he did not mete out the same punishment to Franco van der Merwe after a second incident in which the Lions man was cautioned but not carded.

BJ Botha then made a welcome return from injury as a replacement for Du Plessis is terms of the pre-match arrangement that kept the sides at full strength.

The Lions opted not to kick their first penalty opportunity that would have surely have secured three points. When required the Lions defensive tackling was up to the occasion.

The Sharks were switching their pack about with Craig Burden moving in as hooker mid-way through the half with Bismarck du Plessis on after halftime.

As a precaution JP Peterson left the field with a strain to be replaced by Adrian Jacobs for the Sharks. The Lions also had an injury problem replacement.

Finally after 25 minutes Ryan Kankowski, the Sharks number eight, broke the deadlock with a try in the corner and Ruan Pienaar converted brilliantly (7-0).

Just on the break the crowd saw favourite prop Beast Mtawarira over in the same corner and Pienaar was again on target with the conversion to make it 14-0 at the break.

The Lions made numerous changes going into the second session.

Early in this half the Lions threatened through Earl Rose but the Sharks defence held firm.

However it was the Sharks who looked to have gained more momentum as the game wound down to its conclusion.

And they added second half tries through the Beast again, Henno Mentz and Albert van den Bergh whilst Heinke van der Merwe touched down for the Lions.

- SAPA