The Sharks boosted their Super Rugby shares with a superb all-round display as they hammered the Highlanders 38-12 at Kings Park on Saturday, forwards and backs performing equally well in a bonus point win that lifted them into the playoff places.
The forwards laid the foundation for the win with a dominant display in the set-pieces and their physicality in the tackle and collisions, while the backs were slick and clinical, combining the astute use of kicks with some marvellous handling and tremendous running lines.
Inside centre Andre Esterhuizen was a well-deserved man of the match. After blotting his copybook early on by dropping the ball over the goal-line after running straight into sturdy wing Waisake Naholo, Esterhuizen was imperious. He held the defensive line together with a typical display of staunch physicality in his channel, but he also showed deft hands and good judgement when it came to deciding whether to offload or hang on to the ball. Some of the support lines he ran were also sheer genius.
From then on the Sharks gained plenty of traction from the boots of Wright, flyhalf Robert du Preez, fullback Curwin Bosch and even Esterhuizen. By way of contrast, two of the Sharks’ tries, by slick-finishing wing Makazole Mapimpi and Robert du Preez were set up Bosch fielding wayward kicks and then displaying his superb attacking skills.
Points scorers
Sharks: Tries – Akker van der Merwe, Makazole Mapimpi, Dan du Preez, Sbu Nkosi, Robert du Preez. Conversions: R. du Preez (5). Penalty: R. du Preez.
Highlanders: Tries – Dillon Hunt, Teihorangi Walden. Conversion: Lima Sopoaga
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