Windhoeks around the braai this weekend as they celebrate their first win of the season. At times you had to wonder if the Sharks had cancelled their return tickets to South Africa because they tried their best to keep the Highlands in contention right until the end.
30-19 sounds convincing enough but the Sharks had many opportunities to shut out this game and run away with it several times. In the first half the line outs were dreadful as Bismarck failed not once or twice but seven times to find his jumpers who at times looked like statues as the ball whizzed past them. This placed great pressure on the Sharks and they did not make life easier for themselves by turning the ball over after having made good yards up the field.
Granted the rain was gently falling at one point causing handling to be difficult and both sides looked sloppy yet the Sharks had enough of the ball to make better use of it. Without Beast in the frontrow one wondered if the scrum would hold but against the odds it did, John Smit playing this week at tighthead surprisingly had a solid game and on the whole held his own in the scrum and hinted at the post match interview that he “might be trying my hand at fullback next week.”
The first half also included a limping Andy Goode who had rolled his ankle before the game started and should never have taken the field, so many times he construed to kick away good ball to the frustration of the fans, this might have been because he was not able to run but why have him on in the first place I ask, Pienaar was brilliant with his kicks at goal and there was no need to risk a one legged Goode.
However in the second half it was a refreshing sight to see the Sharks starting to play the style of rugby that one remembers they can play. Starting with purpose they ran well, with forwards and back combining. Kept control of the ball for longer and the lineouts improved with Bismark finally finding his mark. Also Goode finally limped off the park and the the difference Kockott made was tangible when he took over from Pienaar who had moved to no.10.
A special mention has to be made of Pat Lambie who had his debut in the Super 14 playing at fullback. The 19 year old Michaelhouse Old Boy will be satisfied with his performance, showing good pace on the break, fielding the high ball perfectly and showing good range with his ambidextrous kicking. However he needs a little more weight one fears as he was easily turned over in the tackle, but he is part of this seasons' winning team and personally I look forward to seeing him again.
At the end a win is a win is a win and already we hear the whispers… “ could the Sharks turn it around and challenge for a spot in the Semis?” WATCH THE VIDEO HERE !
