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A penalty from flyhalf Willie du Plessis opened the account for The Sharks Under 21s after 15 minutes of play and with 15 remaining, he added a second for a marginal 6-nil lead. It was unfortunately overhauled with a converted try to wing Cameron Jacobs who found a gap to score under the posts shortly afterwards. A three-pointer to the home side took them into a 10-6 lead and then a TMO-referred try awarded to Earl Snyman, converted by George Whitehead, gave the home side a handy 17-6 lead with less than five minutes remaining in the first half.
However, a sustained period of attack culminating in penalty after penalty 5m from the tryline saw the referee lose his patience with the home side, awarding a penalty try to The Sharks Under 21s, and with the successful conversion with less than a minute remaining, the scoreline looked a lot better at 17-13 to the hosts. That was the way it stayed going into the break despite a wonderful break from the visitors that almost ended up in points in the final move of the half.
A wonderful break following a possession steal in their own 22 culminated in Arno van Zyl beating the defense to score under the posts for the first points of the second half. Du Plessis converted as the Sharks youngsters took a 20-17 lead.
Going into the final quarter of the game, a drop-goal levelled matters with the game poised on a knife's edge. When Whitehead converted a penalty going into the final 10 minutes, the home side were back in front again and the tension levels (from a spectator point of view) rising.
However, with a couple of opportunities to make amends initially lost, The Sharks Under 21s then scored an excellent try with a patient but sustained build-up culminating in Daniel Ojiambo's match-winning try. The conversion from Ross Cronje was a mere formality despite the difficulty and the game was won with a couple of minutes of the game remaining – the visitors locking the home side.
Coach Swys de Bruin admitted to a feeling of great relief after the match. “It was a fantastic result, one we worked hard to gain,” he said. “It was a team effort and I'm so chuffed for the boys.”
The Sharks Under 21s:
15.Wynand Pienaar, 14. Mark Richards, 13. Arno van Zyl, 12. Howard Mnisi, 11. Sbura Sithole, 10. Willie du Plessis, 9. Jaco Reinach, 8. Cameron Dunlop, 7. Meyer Swanepoel, 6. Lubabalo Mtembu, 5. Peet Marais, 4. Jandre Marais, 3.Julian Redlinghuys, 2. Hanes Snyman, 1. Dale Chadwick.
Replacements: 16. Monde Hadebe, 17. Francois Hanekom, 18. Daniel Ojiambo, 19. Jaco Otto, 20. Ross Cronje, 21. Guy Cronje, 22. Rosco Speckman.
In the opening match of the day, The Sharks Under 19s defeated their Free State counterparts 33-13 in a game of clear domination for the visitors who scored a bonus point win to leapfrog their opponents on the Absa Under 19 log.
An early penalty to Free State was cancelled out by one from flyhalf Ryno Olivier. After a sustained period of pressure, the home side retook the lead with a drop-goal with just over 10 minutes of play remaining in the first half.
With time up on the clock, The Sharks Under 19s took the lead for the first time when they managed to finish off what they had promised a number of times earlier in the game, Heimar Williams dummying and making a wonderful break in the midfield and feeding the perfect pass to Piet Lindeque who raced from the cover defence to score under the posts. Ryno Olivier converted and the visitors went into the break 10-6 to the good.
Ryno Olivier kicked a first minute penalty in the second half to extend the lead to seven and when Francois Kleinhans powered over after a concerted attack, The Sharks Under 19s were on top. But not for long with the home side attacking off a penalty moments later to score under the posts. With the lead reduced to five points, it was game on, but when Olivier converted another penalty and then Heimar Williams scored a runaway try and Olivier converted it, suddenly with a 15 point buffer, a win was on the cards.
Kleinhans went over in the corner during this purple patch as the lead was extended to 20 points with a quarter hour's play remaining and try as the home side did to rescue some dignity, The Sharks youngsters were outstanding on defense to keep the opposition out in the dying minutes to run out deserved winners.
Coach Sean Everitt said afterwards, “We're very happy with the win. We knew we had the team to beat Free State today. The first half was a bit disturbing – we didn't get our first phase right – but we settled down in the second half and played really nicely. Our defensive effort was superb, it's something we've worked hard on and we're very, very happy with that.”
The Sharks Under 19s:
15.Jaco van Tonder, 14. Kieran Goss, 13. Piet Lindeque, 12. Heimar Williams, 11. Mandla Dube, 10. Ryno Olivier, 9. Dwayne Kelly, 8. Marcel Coetzee, 7. Siseko Jafta, 6. Francois Kleinhans, 5. Paul Saunders, 4. Mike Williams (Capt), 3. Nick Schonert, 2. Adrian de la Rey, 1. Danie Mienie.
Reserves: 16. Gideon Bruwer, 17. Riaan Basson, 18. Ado Wessels, 19. Rynhardt van Wyk, 20. Rowan Howse, 21. Reef Naiken, 22. Kyle Wilkinson.
