Sharks, Cheetahs take early control in Currie Cup campaign

The Sharks and Cheetahs continued to dominate the 2022 Currie Cup as they picked up their third wins of the competition over the weekend, settling into the top two positions.

The Sharks moved top of the log with an impressive 43-31 bonus-point victory against the Lions at Ellis Park, while the Cheetahs stayed second after they were made to work hard for a 28-17 win against the Pumas in Mbombela.

They were the only two unbeaten teams in the competition and looked to be the sides to beat after three rounds of play.

In the Lions and Sharks match, the hosts were let down by soft moments as they allowed the Sharks to move into a 42-19 lead, before a late surge saw them fight back admirably, though it was too little too late.

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The Lions started the game with a superb early long-range try by wing Boldwin Hansen who chased a clearance, was rewarded by the bounce and sped away to put the Lions ahead.

However, the Sharks hit back with two tries to Marnus Potgieter and Cameron Wright, while Boeta Chamberlain was on target with his three kicks, including a penalty to lead 17-7 at half-time.

The second half was then a back-and-forth affair with both teams striking on either side of each other, with the score still in the balance at 29-19 at a stage, but the boot of Sanele Nohamba kept the scoreboard ticking for the visitors, eventually leaving the home side with too much to do.

After a huge defeat against the Pumas in their previous outing, Lions coach Mziwakhe Nkosi was happy with his team’s effort, but he admitted it still wasn’t up to standard.

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“We played with a lot more spirit today. By and large our plans worked, we took away their maul and we took away their aerial game, so that was good,” said Nkosi.

“But eventually the scoreboard pressure got to us after conceding two very soft tries. So it was a whole lot of improvement from the Pumas game, but it still wasn’t good enough.

“We left ourselves a bit too much to do at the end, but I thought there wasn’t too much difference between the two teams, so hopefully we can address a few things and get it right in the next game.”

In the other Currie Cup match at the weekend, Griquas pulled off an impressive 22-20 home win over Western Province on Friday evening.