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23 July 2010 (21:06) - The Sharks wrapped up their second consecutive bonus point victory at The Absa Stadium when they beat the Pumas 27-17, in a tough game against worthy opposition.

The Pumas came to Durban full of energy and passion and certainly gave The Sharks a run for their money, starting well but ultimately foiled by periods of excellent rugby from the hosts, notably in the second half where they held the Pumas scoreless.

The Sharks were forced to play catch-up as the Pumas came into the game with an underdog label they refused to accept. While The Sharks had plenty of opportunities, they would rue their finishing, something Coach John Plumtree hinted at afterwards saying, “We turned too many balls over and if we had held on, we would have had more opportunities to score.”

Keegan Daniel managed to score his team's first try after the visitors had shocked the crowd, scoring first.

With the scores tied at 10-apiece, the visitors delivered a psychological blow on the stroke of half-time when Ronnie Uys managed to get over the line, and with the successful conversion, the Pumas led 17-10 at the break.

Whatever was said at half time galvanised The Sharks and they started looking more decisive on attack. Their second try which evened matters came off a clinical build-up after keeping the ball alive through the phases. It was the perfect answer and came at the right time to counter the earlier score from the visitors.

Keegan Daniel was then driven over in the corner for his second try as The Sharks took the lead for the first time in the game. They controlled the remainder of the match but there wasn't a lot between the sides with neither able to really stamp their authority completely.

The Pumas were forced to play with scraps of possession and failed to score a solitary point in the second half while Daniel got over for his third, the bonus point heralding try and an important score for The Sharks.

They travel to Bloemfontein to take on the Free State Cheetahs next Saturday in a tough away game.

Sharks: 27 (10)
Tries: Keegan Daniel (3), Charl McLeod
Conversions: Pat Lambie (2)
Penalties: Patrick Lambie (1)

Pumas: 17 (17)
Tries: Christo le Roux, Ronnie Uys
Conversions: Ricardo Croy (2)
Drop-Goal: Ricardo Croy (1)
Penalties:

Referee: Jonathan Kaplan