By Lucky Maree
The damp, cold weather that has made the people of Johannesburg wonder if autumn has arrived early has not abated, and the small crowd at Emirates Airline Park are either high up in the stands or huddled in raincoats.
Although the Lions show some early intent by attacking the advantage line with good passes and quick movement, after 10 minutes there is not really anything to show that the Lions will break their run of five straight losses against the Sharks.
A poor kick at poles by Gianni Lombard means the Lions miss out on an early lead. A movement with scrappy play that borders on the comical from both teams shows how difficult conditions really are on the soaked field.
Beautiful to see, and totally against the run of play, the Lions manage a break down the left side of the field and only desperate defence by the Sharks stops the ball from being grounded. The Lions miss another easy shot at goal from a penalty – and the cruel scoreboard remains unmoved.
On 25 minutes some justice is served when Curwin Bosch, the one player in the Sharks team who has shown some creativity, scores under the poles, handing the Sharks a seven point lead.
With the Sharks playing with 14 players after the ref punishes the team for repeated offsides, the Lions, at last, score a well-worked try. Lombard converts and the scores are tied.
As the halftime whistle sounds, the Sharks say no thanks to a sitter of a penalty in front of the posts and go for the lineout instead. Still with 14 players on the field, they win the lineout, lose the maul and the scores are still tied as they go into the tunnel.
The Lions are showing some intent, but you have to look for it. If the Sharks have a plan, they’re keeping it a secret.
On 48 minutes the Sharks win a lineout on the Lions line, maul over the line and the pass goes to wing Thaakir Abrahams to score right in the corner. Bosch converts what looks like an impossible kick, but then he can do that.
The Sharks lead by two tries to one.
A promising attack comes to naught when Bosch kicks a senseless chip that hands possession to the Lions.
A penalty near the halfway line gives Bosch a shot at posts that he misses – making it a total of three penalties not converted by the two flyhalves.
Bosch gets a penalty that he could have thrown over with his hand and for the first time, the Sharks are more than one score ahead.
With ten minutes to go, the Sharks score a try in the corner, and that means it’s game over for the Lions.
Bosch puts through a well-weighted grubber that hands Grant Williams a try and a bonus point for the Sharks.
The strange condition of the Sharks B team playing like a B team without any spark continues. The Lions, once again play like a B team, although they are officially the best team the Lions can field. After 80 minutes the very good try early in the match is the only score they get.
Lions (1 try) 7-29 (4 tries) Sharks.
Pictured above: The Sharks taking on the Lions
Image source: URC
