The Pumas were almost sipping another success against one of the big unions but ultimately were denied tasting victory against the Sharks in their Currie Cup match in Nelspruit on Friday evening thanks to a moment of sheer brilliance from Garth April.
April, who has had off-field disciplinary problems of his own, rescued the Sharks from another ill-disciplined display that saw them have two players yellow-carded shortly before halftime.
He slipped through a gap with four minutes remaining and managed to get a sensational offload away, out the back of the hand to replacement Rhyno Smith, who was in the midst of three defenders but managed to race away for what was the matchwinning try.
The Sharks eventually emerged victors by 27-25.
Who was the star in this match?
The likes of Thembelani Bholi, Chris Cloete, Justin van Staden, Lukhanyo Am and April did themselves no harm with excellent games, but Man of the Match should’ve been Sharks lock Ruan Botha. He was the fulcrum of their dominant tight five. He also set up the first-half try that gave the visitors a 15-8 lead with a superb run, weaving into the 22 before freeing centre Jeremy Ward. All the flyhalves who saw it could not fail to be impressed themselves by the second-rower’s skills and footwork.
Key moments and themes
Point scorers
Pumas: Tries – Ruwellyn Isbell, JP Lewis, Hennie Skorbinski. Conversions – Kobus Marais (2). Penalties – Marais (2).
Sharks: Tries – S’bu Nkosi, Jeremy Ward, Wian Vosloo, Rhyno Smith. Conversions – Curwin Bosch, Garth April. Penalty – Bosch.
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