Force sunk by Sharks in Durban
The Sharks sealed the Western Force's position at the bottom of the ladder with a 41 - 25 win in Durban last night. Match report from Rugby365
It is easy to see why everybody loves the Force, not just because they are regular providers of points for opponents but because they are such a calm,. committed, thoughtful team that has played rugby of a high quality, lacking just an injection of brilliance - which their new signings for next year may well give them. Imagine a Matt Giteau and a Drew Mitchell in Durban in warm Friday night and the Brumbies would have been playing Pegasus and flying off to Christchurch.
Substitutions can do good things. Bringing on BJ Botha did good things for the Sharks whose pack was coming apart at the seams as the effect of the losses of Johan Ackermann and AJ Venter were more and more felt.
The inclusion of JP Pietersen for brilliant Brent Russell was a mystery, but at least one that could be lived with for Petersen had his own brilliance. But then it need not have been Pietersen for Russell.
The inclusion of Adrian Jacobs was certainly not a success as every touch of his had the opposite effect of Midas's.
Probably the worst aspect of the Sharks' play was their discipline. In the second half the penalties flowed 11-1 against them. They could well have deserved greater sanctions from the referee, especially as many of the penalties were incurred within reach of their line. They looked like a team bent on suicide.
Hats off to the Sharks for overcoming the absence of Ruan Pienaar, Tony Brown, AJ Venter and Johan Ackermann. And hats off to the Force who refused to say die. It made for much enjoyment in Durban and pleased the large crowd by giving them the result they craved.
The Sharks started doing their job early and had opportunities enough to have finished the job half way through the match. But they made mistakes, as people tend to do, but they also lost two hard, experienced men in AJ Venter and Johan Ackermann. They were both gone inside a quarter of an hour. But still they had chances.
One was at a five-metre line-out but they could not control it. One was at a five-metre scrum but they were shoved to bits. Instead they gave away a try when they followed a lost line-out with a penalty. The Force tapped, charged through Scott Fava and then went wide left where Digby Ioane scored.
Other than that the Force did not come close.
The Sharks not only came close but actually scored four tries, the third as good as any. They did get over for a fourth when Scott Mathie darted over from close in, but the referee did not allow the try, saying: "I got in the road. I obstructed the tackler." Which may not be anything contained in law however kind it may be.
The Sharks' first try came before three minutes had been played as a penalty became a maul which they shunted at speed down the field. They had a bash and on advantage played the ball wide to their left where right-wing Odwa Ndungane had an easy job of scoring. Montgomery converted.
When Warren Brits got his timing slightly wrong and was penalised for an early tackle, Cameron Shepherd made it 7-3. Then, Digby Ioane's try apart, the Sharks took over, zooming about the field with energy and confidence.
They played to the back of a line-out, but then played it to the middle where Jacques Botes went racing through. Opponents and support were left behind but eventually support arrived. On advantage the Sharks went right where Brent Russell passed to Ndungane. The pass was behind the big wing but he managed to gather it in and dot down neatly in the corner, whence Montgomery converted.
Then came the great try, as the Sharks started inside their own 22 on their right and passed with skill and confidence - a line of ball going down their backline to Brent Russell who destroyed Josh Graham with his dodging feet and set him running. He gave to Botes who cut between two Force players and homed in on the posts, where Montgomery again converted. 22-3 after 21 minutes.
The Sharks came back on the attack and had a six-metre line-out but the Force sacked Johann Muller and then the Sharks were guilty of doing a truck-'n-trailer, to bring relief to the besieged Force.
It was after this that the Force got their try and Montgomery added another penalty.
By this stage the Force were already outscrumming the Sharks.
In the second half the Force had four five-metre line-outs and a five-metre scrum, which is some indication of the effect of penalties conceded by the Sharks. At one stage early in the second half the sequence of events was:
Penalty to the Force, maul, penalty to the Force, line-out five metres, maul knock-on by the Force, scrum to the Sharks, penalty to the Force five-metre line-out, maul.
It is no wonder that at this stage Scott Fava had the ball when they plunged over the line. This time Cameron Shepherd, whose boot was often errant, converted.
The Sharks, as if galvanised, attacked after this but a skip pass by Botes nullified a double over-lap and the Force survived the immediate threat. They were penalised there and from the ensuing five-metre line-out the Sharks got a successful maul working and Brits scored the bonus point try.
Now it was all about winning by ten points or more. There were 28 minutes to play. Sharks' supporters would have liked the final siren just then.
They would have liked it all the more as the drama of the last minutes unfolded. But not before a bit of Pietersen magic.
The Force had by far the better of the half and especially these last 12 minutes but for one bit of horror.
Far on the left Matt Henjak kicked a low kick across the field into the Sharks' 22. Pietersen was there. He gathered and started running. He kicked high. The ball bounced generously and there was Pietersen effortlessly outsprinting the Force for a smiling try. That brought the score to 41-15 with 20 minutes to play.
The penalties came thick and fast against the Sharks and kept the Force attacking. The Sharks kept ramming fingers into the dyke and it was to their credit that the score stayed 41-15 till there were just eight minutes to play.
In fact they could have scored and would have when they broke from their own line had Jacobs not held on with Pietersen and his lightning free on his left.
Instead after penalties, including a warning about contempt for the 10-metre concession at a penalty, and line-outs kept the Force hammering at the Sharks' line till Shepherd stepped inside Jacobs for a little dart to score. 41-20.
Three minutes later Lachlan MacKay chipped ahead. The ball ricocheted off Jacobs and into the welcoming arms of Shepherd who gleefully scored his second try. 41-25 with five minutes to play.
The Sharks survived till Ioane knocked on and Pietersen kicked the ball into a grateful stand.
Man of the match: For the Force there were Scott Fava and Nathan Sharpe and their front-row trio of David Fitter, Tai McIsaac and Angus Scott. Brent Russell was off for a lot of the match but was brilliant while he was there. Johan Muller and Warren Brits were heroic and so was our Man of the Match, flank Jacques Botes whose season has been one of great progress.
The scorers:
For the Sharks:
Tries: Ndungane 2, Botes, Britz, Pietersen
Cons: Montgomery 5
Pens: Montgomery 2
For the Western Force:
Tries: Ioane, Fava, Shepherd 2
Con: Shepherd
Pen: Shepherd
