Flyhalf Patrick Lambie scored a try and kicked 16 points as the Sharks beat New Zealand’s Auckland Blues 26-12 on Saturday in a Super rugby match.
“It was a great result for us against a quality team,” said Sharks captain Stefan Terblanche. “If you’d have given us two wins to kick off the campaign we would have taken it.”
The Sharks, who beat the Cheetahs at home in round one, began in impressive fashion on a sweltering afternoon when 20-year-old Springbok outside half Lambie scored a try, converted it and then kicked a penalty to give his side a 10-0 lead in as many minutes.
Lambie, who made his Test debut last November against Ireland, looked to have taken the wrong option when he grubbered the ball ahead just metres from the opposition line, only for it to rebound off a Blues defender for him to collect and crash over.
The Blues, who edged the Crusaders last week, clawed their way back through two penalties by flyhalf Stephen Brett but they were undone by a lack of penetration from their normally incisive backs.
Lambie and Brett kept the scoreboard ticking over with a series of penalties to take the score to 19-9 before replacement Luke McAlister kicked over for the Blues with 14 minutes left to cut the deficit to seven points.
There was to be no comeback however, as Sharks replacement back Jacques-Louis Potgieter intercepted a lazy Blues pass on 74 minutes to put another sub, winger JP Pietersen, away for a try under the posts that sealed the win.
“Every time we come here it’s never easy for us,” said Blues captain Keven Mealamu. “Our execution was off and it was a shame we couldn’t protect the ball.” – Reuters