The Cats wrapped up their preparation for the Super 14 with a morale-boosting win over a strong Sharks side in their warm-up matches played at Olympia Park in Rustenburg on Wednesday evening.
The Cats won the game 20-13 after weathering an early Sharks storm.
The Sharks were first to open the scoring when a wayward clearance kick from scrumhalf Enrico Januarie landed in winger Dusty Noble’s hands.
Noble chipped and collected before an impressive individual try.
However, two quick tries by the Cats late in the first half turned the game in their favour.
First Bok winger Ashwin Willemse went down the touchline and chipped over the defence for a ball that was collected by Jacques Fourie, who in turn sent Cobus Grobbelaar away on his inside for a well-worked try.
The second came through a break by Januarie, sending the ball left to Jannes Labuschagne, who floated the perfect pass to Trevor Hall on the wing to score.
Two penalties by Percy Montgomery and two by Tiaan Snyman settled the scores.
Impressive for the Cats on an otherwise forgetful night were the Bok duo of Willemse and Fourie, while Labuschagne looks to be getting better with every game.
For the Sharks, Ruan Pienaar excelled while the young Jody Jessdker looked impressive in his short spell on the field.
In the first game, the Sharks dirt trekkers continued their impressive vein of form with a solid 24-14 win over the Cats.
Buoyed by an impressive showing from flyhalf Scott Spedding, the Sharks were way too powerful for a one-dimensional Cats side who lacked both motivation and skill.
The Sharks scoring was opened by Bok flanker Sollie Tyibilika, who had an impressive outing and caused many problems for the Cats.
Two penalties by Cats flyhalf Andre Hough kept the Cats in the hunt initially, but they were soon put out of their misery by Spedding.
Spedding confused the Cats midfield either side of half-time, cutting through the middle to score under the posts, twice, to put the game beyond doubt.
Winger Craig Burden bagged the game for the Sharks a few moments later with an excellent try down the touchline.
A further penalty by Hough and a last-minute try by Wylie Human put the Cats into double figures, but flattered them in the final scoreline. — Sapa