It turned out to be the big gamble that paid off as Dick Muir’s decision to field a completely new look Sharks side — he now has two teams of equal strength at his disposal — was vindicated with a 34-16 triumph over the Pumas in their Absa Currie Cup rugby match in Durban on Friday night.
Playing a refreshing style of incisive and daredevil running from deep inside their own territory, the Sharks scored five tries against one by the Pumas who again had fullback Casper Steyn as their outstanding player.
Steyn was heroic in the last line of defence, as well as kicking two penalties, a conversion and a huge drop goal from the middle of the park.
On the other side of the scrum the Sharks had any number of stars on the night with lock Steven Sykes the dominating forward and scrumhalf Sandile Nxumalo a revelation until replaced midway through the second half.
By halftime the Sharks had already secured their bonus point in a game that could be described as a weird experience.
Nxumalo secured a 14 point swing for the Sharks after Pumas scrumhalf Ashieq Wise dropped the ball when over the line for a certain try and from the resultant recovery it was the Sharks scrumhalf who carried the day for the first of his two tries. Earlier, it was a case of surprise, as the Sharks pack, perfectly managed, pushed the Pumas forwards all over the field, once gaining 40m in a concentrated shove.
The Pumas showed the ability to break out of trouble from time to time and speedy wing Neil Visagie caused the Sharks a few moments of anxiety. In the second half the Sharks entertained with their enterprise and left 11 000 spectators surprised at Muir’s audacity in his experimental move. Needless to say there was some loose play in the midfield which could be expected with the ball being given so much air. The Pumas lost one player with a leg injury and had flank Duane Verneulen sin-binned for a high tackle on a flying Brett Hennessey.
With the bonus point secure, the Sharks kept the willing Pumas on the back foot in the second half as they added eight points to their 26-16 halftime advantage without reply. – Sapa