Currie Cup: Robert du Preez jr shows what the Sharks are gaining

Western Province clinched a juicy home Currie Cup semi-final as they beat the Sharks 31-20 in their entertaining final round-robin match at Kings Park in Durban on Saturday.

Even though the Sharks had nothing riding on the game, they put together an impressive first half, showing great intensity in defence, before they faded away in the second half as Western Province finally began using their many opportunities.

Who was the star in this match?

Flyhalf Robert du Preez, playing against his two brothers in a Sharks team coached by his father Robert snr, produced a brilliant performance as he steered Western Province to a home semi-final which will be a much-needed lucrative fixture for the cash-strapped union. The 24-year-old bounced back from an iffy first half as he dominated the second half, scoring two tries and controlling the game as he ensured Province comprehensively won the territory battle.

Key moments and themes

• The Sharks started well as they controlled the set-pieces, dominated the breakdowns and fed off Western Province mistakes. An early scrum penalty provided a lineout deep in the Western Province half and, after a short drive, centre Marius Louw ran a great cut-back line to score. Flyhalf Curwin Bosch then added the conversion and a penalty from close to halfway after Du Toit won a turnover, and they were 10-0 up after 10 minutes.
• For the rest of the match, though, the graphics were clear when it came to territory and possession, with Western Province dominating. But the Sharks were well-organised and strong in the tackle as they kept Western Province out. The Sharks were good at deciding when not to commit numbers to the breakdown, which was often, and the visitors made too many handling errors. Bosch then slotted a brilliant 45-metre drop goal on the stroke of halftime to leave the home side 13-3 up at the break.
• The battle of the scrums, anchored by two of the best young props in the country in Du Toit and Wilco Louw, was a tremendous tussle. When Du Toit limped off the field after 55 minutes it was obviously a big blow for the Sharks and the spark seemed to go out of their effort thereafter.
• Du Preez brought the visitors back into the game in the 54^th minute with a jinking run to score under the posts after a solid Western Province 5m scrum. The Sharks had conceded the great attacking position after the chasers had all stupidly been in front of the kick by Bosch, who was clearing from the dead-ball line. Just four minutes later, the flyhalf was at it again as his beautifully-timed pass, after a scrum penalty had led to a lineout, put flank Jaco Coetzee away, before Du Preez received the scoring pass back. Enjoying the lead for the first time in the game, the visitors added two more tries, scrumhalf Dewaldt Duvenhage spotting the gap at a ruck after Damian Willemse and Dillyn Leyds had counter-attacked from the back off a Bosch kick; and lock JD Schickerling rumbling over after good hands by Nizaam Carr.

Scorers

Sharks – Tries: Marius Louw, Kobus van Wyk. Conversions: Curwin Bosch (2). Penalty: Bosch. Drop goal: Bosch.

Western Province – Tries: Robert du Preez (2), Dewaldt Duvenhage, JD Schickerling. Conversions: Du Preez (4). Penalty: Du Preez.