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| John Smit. Image © Carl Fourie |
Interestingly, both sides opted to kick for posts early in a game where the result was secondary to the process, although given the pressure of expectations on both sides, they could be forgiven for chasing the victory.
In the first half, the teams were evenly-matched although The Sharks would have probably felt they had the better of their opposition at the breakdowns – stealing one or two balls with effective counter-rucks as well as dominating the penalty count at the contact areas with the home side earning the ire of referee Craig Joubert who sent off flank Francois Louw after his team had committed numerous indiscretions at the breakdown.
The Stormers scored the only try of the first half with a well-worked planned move coming off an attacking lineout with captain Schalk Burger finishing off a good break from Gio Aplon.
Pietersen missed a few kicks at goal as did Rory Kockott who later made up for it with three penalties as the teams went into the break with the home side leading 14-9.
The teams had been going hammer and tongs at each other and this was hardly a “friendly” as it threatened to boil over on numerous occasions.
After the break, The Sharks rang the changes with eight new personnel coming onto the field en-mass and the second half started off at a furious pace with a long sweeping movement well-finished off with Luzuko Vulindlu, on for Waylon Murray, scoring the points’ equaling try for The Sharks moments into the half.
Pietersen added another penalty before a TMO-referred try was awarded to Tiaan Liebenberg, and with the successful conversion, the Stormers had taken a 10 point lead.
The Sharks were going to be under pressure after receiving two yellow cards but managed well under the circumstances. The home side had got their driving maul working to good effect, but had a third try similar to the previous one, also referred to the TMO turned down with the clock ticking down towards full-time.
But with Fijian winger Sireli Naqelevuki putting the game beyond doubt with five minutes remaining when he scored in the corner, the game was pretty much sewn up. The Sharks finished strongly, attacking the gainline in the dying minutes of the game but sadly couldn’t make it count.
Crowd: 22656
Scorers:
The Sharks: 14 (9)
Tries: Luzuko Vulindlu
Conversions: -
Penalties: Rory Kockott (3)
Stormers: 29 (14)
Tries: Schalk Burger, Tiaan Liebenberg, Sireli Naqelevuki
Conversions: Joe Pietersen (1)
Penalties: Joe Pietersen (4)
