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The Sharks 43 (31) Toyota Free State Cheetahs 34 (17)

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A bonus point try in the 21st minute by Springbok Sevens speedster Sibusiso Sithole gave the impression The Sharks were going to run away with their Absa Currie Cup encounter against the Toyota Free State Cheetahs at Mr Price Kings Park in Durban, but the Free Staters never gave up and pushed the KwaZulu-Natalians all the way as they eventually won by 43-34.

It was one of the quickest bonus points for four tries seen in Absa Currie Cup in a while and threatened to see The Sharks run away with the game, but the Cheetahs deserve credit for the way in which they kept on fighting back even though they trialled by 26-3 after the first quarter.

In this time The Sharks fed off mistakes made by the visitors, but when the Free Staters found their stride, they played much better and made the home team work hard until the final whistle, with the boot of flyhalf Fred Michalak keeping the scoreboard ticking over for the KwaZulu-Natalians with four penalty goals in the second half.

The Toyota Free State Cheetahs scored two tries in each half and got a try scoring bonus point, but missed out on a second bonus point when Michalak slotted his fourth penalty goal in the 78th minute before Sias Ebersohn missed in the final seconds.

Scorers:

  • The Sharks – Tries: Mark Richards, Louis Ludik, Jacques Botes (2), Sibusiso Sithole. Conversions: Fred Michalak (3). Penalty goals: Michalak (4).
  • Toyota FS Cheetahs – Tries: Riaan Smit, Boom Prinsloo, WP Nel, Corné Uys. Conversions: Sias Ebersohn (4). Penalty goals: Ebersohn (2).

Teams:

  • The Sharks: 15 Louis Ludik, 14 Mark Richards, 13 Stefan Terblanche, 12 Meyer Bosman, 11 Sibusiso Sithole, 10 Frederic Michalak, 9 Ross Cronje, 8 Keegan Daniel (captain), 7 Marcell Coetzee, 6 Jacques Botes, 5 Ross Skeate, 4 Anton Bresler, 3 Wiehahn Herbst, 2 Craig Burden, 1 Dale Chadwick. Replacements: 16 Kyle Cooper, 17 Eugene van Staden, 18 Jan Andre Marais, 19 Francois Kleinhans, 20 Jacobus Reinach, 21 Jacques-Louis Potgieter, 22 Marius Joubert.
  • Toyota Free State Cheetahs: 15 Hennie Daniller, 14 Riaan Smit, 13 Corné Uys, 12 Andries Strauss (captain), 11 Rayno Benjamin, 10 Sias Ebersohn, 9 Tewis de Bruyn, 8 Boom Prinsloo, 7 Pieter Labuschagne, 6 Johan Wessels, 5 Waltie Vermeulen, 4 Francois Uys, 3 WP Nel, 2 Michael van Vuuren, 1 Marcel van der Merwe. Replacements: 16 Herkie Liebenberg, 17 Trevor Nyakane, 18 Izak van der Westhuizen, 19 Pieter Myburgh, 20 Piet van Zyl, 21 Philip Snyman, 22 Philip Burger.

Absa Currie Cup Premier Division Log

Position – Team – P – W – D – L – PF – PA – PD – TF – TA – BPts – Pts

  1. – MTN Golden Lions – 3 – 3 – 0 – 0 – 133 – 74 – 59 – 19 – 9 – 2 – 14
  2. – The Sharks – 3 – 3 – 0 – 0 – 101 – 72 – 29 – 11 – 6 – 2 – 14
  3. – DHL Western Province – 3 – 2 – 1 – 0 – 108 – 42 – 66 – 11 – 3 – 2 – 12
  4. – Toyota Free State Cheetahs – 3 – 1 – 0 – 2 – 104 – 88 – 16 – 13 – 10 – 3 – 7
  5. – GWK Griquas – 3 – 1 – 1 – 1 – 77 – 108 – -31 – 8 – 15 – 1 – 7
  6. – Ford Pumas – 3 – 0 – 0 – 3 – 82 – 94 – -12 – 9 – 10 – 4 – 4
  7. – Vodacom Blue Bulls – 3 – 1 – 0 – 2 – 56 – 100 – -44 – 5 – 11 – 0 – 4
  8. – Platinum Leopards – 3 – 0 – 0 – 3 – 57 – 140 – -83 – 7 – 19 – 1 – 1
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