Lions 10 (3) vs Sharks 25 (8)

Lions come up short in Durban

Sharks outclass and outplay Lions

The Sharks recorded a comfortable 25-10 win over the Lions in their Super 14 Round Two match in Durban on Saturday.

The Sharks will be disappointed that they did not get the four-try bonus point, although they came very close when Francois Steyn went over for the try in the left corner but the TMO ruled that his foot touched the touchline in the process and the fourth try eluded the Sharks.

The Lions went into a 10-8 lead early in the second half when Ashwin Willemse scored their only try of the match, and even though the Sharks took the lead with a try from JP Pietersen to take a five point lead, the Lions were still in with a shout as the game entered the final Twenty minutes.

A great try from Ryan Kankowski sealed the match for the Sharks , and after that the Lions just had to defend as the Sharks pushed for the fourth try.

The Lions' line-outs were a disaster, and one would have thought that this would have been sorted out after last week's mess against the Cheetahs, but apparently not.

All three Sharks tries came from counter-attacks after errors from the Lions.

The Lions opened the scoring with a drop goal by Earl Rose with the left foot, to which the Sharks replied by a try from Deon Carstens in the left corner.

The Sharks scored a penalty, kicked by Pienaar, to take a 8-3 lead, which was also the score at the break.

The Lions started the second half well and Aswin Willemse scored a try after just two minutes, converted by Rose, to take a 10-8 lead, but sadly that was the last points by the Lions, as the Sharks then answered with a try by JP Pietersen, converted by Kockott, to take a 15-10 lead.

Kockott added a penalty after about 60 minutes to extend the Sharks lead to 18-10.

Ryan Kankowski scored a great try, again converted by Kockott, to make the score 25-10 for the home side. The Sharks tried for the fourth try, but that was the final score.


The scorers: