Sharks make life difficult for themselves as they tame gutsy Chiefs

The Sharks’ remarkable record this season against the New Zealand sides continued with 28-24 win over the Chiefs at Kings Park in Durban on Saturday.

Facing opposition that were missing a massive 20 frontline players, the hosts generally made heavy weather of their superiority with some poor decision-making and butterfingered handling.

But they did enough in the final quarter after some fresh legs came on to make the game safe.

Who was the star in this match?

In his 54 minutes on the field, Sharks hooker Akker van der Merwe once again impressed with a bustling, solid outing. His defence was bone-crunching, he won two turnovers and was typically busy in broken play. Yet in terms of impact, Lwazi Mvovo showed his enduring class. As winger he ran superb lines and showed his predatory skills in scoring his try. Shifted to fullback, he also launched some fine contestable kicks.

Key moments and themes

• The Sharks threatened to overrun the weakened visitors early after flyhalf Robert du Preez’s try in the 8th minute. It was an outstanding score, featuring a superb, space-creating pass by Van der Merwe for Thomas du Toit. Du Toit then offloaded brilliantly for his prop partner Beast Mtawarira, who created enough momentum for his pivot to burst in from close range.
• Yet the hosts lost some control after that as they lacked accuracy with all the possession they had and were seemingly lax when the Chiefs skillfully took their limited chances. For example, some poor awareness and feeble tackling saw the visitors coast in from a 5m lineout that was overthrown.
• The pattern of Sharks dominance without much reward continued in the second half as centre Andre Esterhuizen’s shocker of a telegraphed was intercepted, just after Mvovo’s clinical score had broken a 10-all deadlock at half-time.
• Coach Robert du Preez’s decision to bring on most of his bench with about 25 minutes left proved a shrewd strategy as the Sharks made the game safe using the momentum created by the fresh legs. Replacement scrumhalf Cameron Wright made his presence immediately felt with a sniping score from an attacking scrum. The Chiefs defence then started to tire and conceded the penalties that would prove crucial to the home side establishing enough of a buffer.
• But the Sharks will still feel the scoreline was uncomfortably narrow as Chiefs wing Solomon Alaimalo dotted down for a losing bonus point in the dying second. It entrenched the theme of the game that the Sharks simply couldn’t put away a team that punched above their weight.

Point scorers:

Sharks – Tries: Robert du Preez, Lwazi Mvovo, Cameron Wright. Conversions: Du Preez (2). Penalties: Du Preez (3).

Chiefs – Tries: Tyler Ardron, Charlie Ngatai, Solomon Alaimalo. Conversions: Marty McKenzie (3). Penalty: McKenzie.

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