Kolisi praises bench impact after Sharks beat Lions to win SA shield

Sharks captain Siya Kolisi sung the praises of his team’s bench, who brought renewed vigour to the side that held off the Lions during their United Rugby Championship (URC) local derby at King’s Park Stadium on Saturday, and helped the Sharks lift the SA shield for the first time.

The Sharks started well in the match in Durban but were up against it in the second half, seeing the Lions claw back from a 17–7 deficit to a 22–17 lead with 15 minutes to play.

While Kolisi had two tries to his name at this point, it was his replacement from the bench, 22-year-old Nick Hatton, who crashed over in the 68th minute to draw the scores level, even as Jaden Hendrikse missed the conversion.

Winger Yaw Penxe received a yellow card a minute later to effectively leave the Sharks a man down for the rest of the match, inviting the Lions to play freely for the win.

But it was Hatton and fellow forward benchers Fez Mbatha, Ntuthuko Mchunu, Hanro Jacobs and
Corne Rahl who helped the Sharks hold on at the end.

While Jaden Hendrikse’s penalty kick bouncing in off the posts decided the game, the Lions were left ruing their mistakes as the loss meant they finished at the bottom of the SA shield for a third time in four seasons.

Sharks ‘were not good’

“It was close. We were not good,” Kolisi commented afterwards though he couldn’t suppress a smile at the win.

“They [the Lions] were really good. They controlled the game well and they took their opportunities when they got them.”

He said while the Sharks had created many opportunities with line breaks, he was disappointed they did not capitalise more on these.

Kolisi added that the Sharks suffered in the breakdown just as they had in the 38–14 loss to the Lions in Johannesburg the week before. “It’s something that we need to work on,” said Kolisi, who had started his first match since his Springbok-mandated rest period.

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Bench warmers turn the heat up in Durban

However, turning his attention to the impact replacements, the Sharks captain said they had acquitted themselves well in the Durban heat.

“We were dying out there and then Nick [Hatton] and the other boys came on. They took it to another level and that’s what you need.”

The Sharks remain fourth on the overall URC log with eight wins from 12 games. But they are now two points adrift of the Bulls, who are the highest South African team on the log though they finished third in the shield.

The Lions move up to eight position, where there they can qualify for the Champions Cup for the first time if they remain in strong form.