Western Province carried on from where the Stormers left off by snatching defeat from the jaws of victory as they went down 28-25 to the Sharks in their Currie Cup match at Newlands on Saturday.
The home side appeared to have victory in the bag with 20 seconds left on the clock, but lost a line-out and then conceded a penalty, from which Sharks tighthead prop Danie Saayman emerged the unlikeliest of heroes as he barged his way over to put them 26-25 up. Flyhalf Butch James, who had just returned from a 10-minute spell in the sin-bin, added the extra points.
The Sharks were heavily favoured going into the match and seemed well on their way as they took a 10-0 lead after 20 minutes.
James struck a penalty after 10 minutes before left wing Dusty Noble finished off after a stunning break by centre Grant Rees.
The crowd fell silent after James’s conversion, but the 12 000 die-hards in attendance soon rediscovered their voices as WP took control of the match.
Centre Corne Uys got them on the scoreboard with a good individual effort, chipping over the Sharks’ defensive line and gathering to score.
Province drew level with a stunning try by fullback Gio Aplon that had its roots in a turnover by Schalk Brits. The ball was swiftly moved to the right and right wing Chumani Booi did well to get the ball back inside to Aplon.
There was some controversy with the conversion as, for the second time, the Sharks charged early. Referee Jonathan Kaplan sent the offender back, but it was enough to rattle WP flyhalf Naas Olivier and he missed from virtually in line with the posts.
The teams turned at 10-10, but Province were up after just two minutes into the second half when Aplon scored again. This time it was thanks to inspirational captain Luke Watson’s turnover.
Olivier missed his third conversion attempt and when Province got a kickable penalty Watson decided to hand it to inside centre Grant, who made no mistake.
The Sharks, however, got themselves back within striking distance with fullback Brett Hennesy’s try, while James added a penalty to draw them level at 18-all after 53 minutes.
But Watson scored from a superb rolling maul by WP just three minutes later and Grant’s conversion put them 25-18 up.
James again scored from a penalty, but the Sharks suffered what should have been a decisive setback in the 68th minute when they lost their flyhalf through foul play.
Province, however, failed to take advantage or play the game in their opponents half and paid the price. — Sapa