Sharks feast on Lions in Durban

The Sharks made their intentions clear when they made a meal of the Lions in the opening round of the Currie Cup, recording a 33-22 win in Durban on Friday night. Both teams scored four tries, but the kicking of Springbok fly-half Butch James and greater allround control gave the Sharks a clear edge.

The Sharks forwards, with hooker Bismark du Plessis in sublime form, had control of proceedings for most of the match and behind this pack Springbok fly-half Butch James was back to his brilliant best.

Not only did he provide the steadying influence in a talented backline, but he created numerous opportunities with some deft touches. One of these, centre Andries Strauss' score just before half-time, was a real gem. James, with the flat-lying Lions defence up in his face, put through a great little grubber for Strauss to stroll over and not a Lions defender in sight.

But James was not the only back to shine on the night.

Wing Odwa Ndungane sent out a timely reminder to Bok coach Jake White that he is not as slow as the national team mentor might have suggested. But he wasn't all about speed. He created a try for flank Jacques Botes, with stop-start and swirl move that left the Lions defenders flat-footed, before offloading to Botes for the score.

Ironically the Sharks' Springbok squad members - scrum-half Ruan Pienaar (who only trained with the Boks) and lock Johann Muller (who made his Bok debut against Scotland) - were rather quiet. Pienaar in particular was not as influential as he was in the Super 14 this year.

But the Sharks had plenty of other heroes on the night, with hooker Du Plessis producing a Man-of-the-match performance as he left his mark all over the park - even though some of his actions earned him a rebuke from the referee for over-robust play.

While Dick Muir and his young Durban team will have plenty to celebrate - a bonus-point with a solid performance - for the  Lions' new coach, Eugene Eloff, it was a timely wake-up call.

He replaced Frans Ludeke as head coach of the Ellis Park outfit and after a three-match winning streak in the pre-season matches he was hailed as the new hero of Johannesburg - the City of Gold's rugby saviour.

Unfortunately his team was guilty of many of the same errors that bedeviled Ludeke's reign as both Lions and Cats coach.

Discipline remains a huge problem, with lock Willem Stoltz getting a tongue lashing from referee Jonathan Kaplan as early as the fifth minute after repeated infringements.

Ball control was not up par, with captain Wikus van Heerden a prime example of why the team will struggle to be a real threat in South Africa's domestic competition. A fine piece of play by Roland Bernard put him clear and away on a 40-man run downfield. He had already crossed the tryline, but his almost careless approach saw Sharks replacement Ryan Kankowski dislodge the ball from his grasp - when all Van Heerden had to do was flop down for a try. That try would have earned his team a second bonus point.

As it is they collected one bonus point for scoring four tries, including a hat-trick by wing Wylie Human. It must be added, though, that two of their tries were from intercepts when the Sharks were looking to press home their advantage.

The Lions had their moments, with young fly-half Jody Rose - a late replacement for his injured older brother Earl Rose - producing some deft touches that made the Lions backs look threatening at times.

But a combination of solid Sharks defending and careless Lions play robbed them of a few chances.

The scorers:

For the Sharks:
Tries: Bezuidenhout, Botes, Strauss, Du Plessis
Cons: James 2
Pens: James 3

For the Lions:
Tries: Human 3, Pretorius
Con: Kockott

Yellow card: Johann Muller (Sharks, 77)

Teams:

Sharks: 15 Carl Bezuidenhout, 14 Odwa Ndungane, 13  Grant Rees, 12 Andries Strauss, 11 Adrian Jacobs, 10 Butch James, 9 Ruan Pienaar, 8 AJ Venter (captain), 7 Jacques Botes, 6 Warren Britz, 5 Johann Muller, 4 Steven Sykes, 3 Danie Saayman, 2 Bismarck du Plessis, 1 Kees Lensing.
Replacements: 16 Jody Jenneker, 17 JC Strauss, 18 Solly Tyibilika, 19 Ryan Kankowski, 20 Scott Mathie, 21 Gcobani Bobo, 22 Brett Hennessey.

Lions: 15 Louis Ludik, 14 Wylie Human, 13 Jaco Pretorius, 12 Doppies la Grange, 11 Jorrie Muller, 10 Jody Rose, 9 Rory Kockott, 8 Pietie Ferreira, 7 Russell Winter, 6 Wikus van Heerden (captain), 5 Willem Stoltz, 4 Cobus Grobler, 3 Brian Mujati, 2 James van der Walt, 1 Pietman van Niekerk.
Replacements: 16 Etienne Reynecke, 17 JC Janse van Rensburg, 18 Gerhard Mostert, 19 Roland Bernard, 20 Dave von Hoesslin, 21 Dewey Swartbooi, 22 Thabang Molefe.

Referee: Jonathan Kaplan (SARU)
Touch judges: Tappe Henning (SARU), Roderick Barry (Western Province)
Television match official: Sean Veldsman (Boland)