‘Unbelievable’ say Sharks, as Lions left heart-broken after Currie Cup final

Joy for the Sharks and utter heartbreak and pain for the Lions.

These were the two contrasting emotions among the players and fans after Saturday’s Currie Cup final at Ellis Park which ended in a 16-14 win for the men from Durban.

With time up on the clock and the Lions 14-13 in front, it looked like they had done enough to win their 12th title. They set up a lineout deep in Sharks territory, won the ball, started a maul and just as the referee was about to blow his whistle to end the game, the ball popped out on the Sharks side.

They carried it up-field, won a penalty and up stepped former Lions player Jordan Hendrikse to nail the kick from about 60m out.

‘Unbelievable two weeks’

“He’d been kicking those all week in training,” said Sharks coach John Plumtree in a television interview afterwards. “I asked him if he’d be able to do it under pressure. Well, he’s just come up to me and said, you see.”

It was a real arm-wrestle of a match, with few scoring chances in wet and windy conditions in Joburg.

Another former Lions man, Vincent Tshituka, captained the Sharks on the day.

“It’s been an unbelievable two weeks,” said the flanker, referring to last Saturday’s 40-all semi-final draw with the Bulls at Loftus. The Sharks progressed to the final because they scored more tries in the game than the Bulls did.

“This was a massive group effort … to come after three straight losses at the start of the campaign … it’s massive.”

Hendrikse, who had a good game at fullback, said: “What a day. I don’t have words. We’ve been practicing those pressure kicks … they don’t always come, but when they do, you need to be able to take them.”

‘Heartbreaking stuff’

Former Springbok wing JP Pietersen, who took charge of the Sharks at times during their campaign was also over the moon. “This just shows how much this group cares for each other. I’m very proud, this was special.”

For the Lions, who topped the log after the pool stage and lost only once during their campaign — to the Sharks at Ellis Park in July — the final will go down as a day to forget. Captain Jaco Visagie was a broken man afterwards.

“I honestly thought we had it,” he said, referring to the last maul. “I thought it was over … that last maul was static for 20 seconds. It’s heartbreaking stuff.”