The Phakisa Pumas managed a come from behind 27-20 Currie Cup victory over the Cell C Sharks in Nelspruit on Saturday afternoon to secure their first win of the tournament.
For a period in the first half it appeared that the Cell C Sharks, in command of the game with three unanswered tries, would inflict a fourth successive defeat for the Pumas in this year’s competition, but the home side scored either side of half-time to wrestle control back and a strong second half performance gave them the impetus for victory.
The home side broke the early deadlock, putting the first points on the game via the boot with a penalty following some good momentum on attack but it was short-lived delight.
The Pumas found themselves in trouble soon afterwards when a clean-out at a ruck struck Coenie Oosthuizen in the head in a no-arms tackle and the home side were a man down for the next ten minutes.
It wasn’t long afterwards when a beautifully worked attack with a patient, but speedy build-up saw Lwazi Mvovo over in the corner for an important try. Although the touchline conversion struck the upright, it was great reward for some excellent play.
With a couple of minutes left of the first quarter, the Pumas found themselves on attack but the ball was lost forward in the tackle and quick-thinking from Kobus van Wyk saw him snatch up the loose ball and sprint down the touchline, twice cutting inside the defence to score under the posts, giving Bosch an easier effort this time and the flyhalf made no mistake in pushing our lead to 12-3.
Despite their fine record in the opening 20 minutes, the Pumas were doing themselves no favours. Three lost lineouts in a row certainly didn’t help their cause against an admittedly fired-up Cell C Sharks team who had answered the call of their coach Sean Everitt to maintain the intensity they had showed in the victory against western Province.
Trailing two tries to none, the home side did manage to cut the deficit marginally with a second penalty only to concede a third try on the half hour with another lovely build-up before Bosch showed a lovely turn of speed and show-and-go to strike in the far corner.
With two minutes to go in the half, the Pumas found themselves with a kickable penalty for a tackle infringement 40m out and opted for the three points with half-time looming. At 17-9 up there wasn’t a huge difference on the scoreboard, although three tries to none for the Cell C Sharks meant we had done a lot more with the ball.
Unfortunately, the home side managed to score again early in the second half, a first minute intercept and a try under the posts. With the conversion, they were just one point behind and then they retook the lead with a fourth penalty, 19-17 ahead with just over half an hour of the game remaining.
The lead changed hands once more with a first penalty for the Cell C Sharks when the Pumas failed to roll away at a tackle, but the home side struck back almost immediately, kicking a scrum penalty directly from the kick-off to the corner then mauling the ball over the line for a second try. Although the touchline conversion went wide, the home side were now four points ahead with the final quarter of the match remaining.
With five minutes left, a yellow card and subsequent penalty saw the Pumas into a seven point lead and the likelihood that they couldn’t lose the match. A frenetic final few minutes ensued as there was a late opportunity for the Cell C Sharks to give on final push towards a draw but somehow the Pumas’ defence was strong enough to withstand the pressure.
The post Nelspruit Disappointment appeared first on Sharks Rugby.
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