The sharks must surely now have turned the corner after their poor start to this years Super 14 competition, After 3 good wins in a row they now have a week off to recover from their hard trip down under.

There are quite a few injury concerns and this layoff could not have come at a better time.

The Sharks saved South Africa from this year’s first truly black weekend as they produced an excellent performance to close out an exciting game against the Reds in Durban 30-28 and record their third win in a row. This after trailing the first half with the Sharks looking rather tired after their travels.

 But thoughts of a semifinal place will still be far from their minds as they battled against the Reds and stopped the Aussie form side after three straight wins in the competition, and gettiing so close to making it 4 in a row.

There will also be concerns over a pectoral injury to captain John Smit, who was forced to leave the field in the second half and while the Sharks now have a bye, his fitness is crucial to the side for the rest of the campaign, other injuries also to Ryan Kankowski who it is believed to have a broken finger or thumb.

Still, for coach John Plumtree there will be alot to work on, as the Sharks missed too many tackles, were slack at times in defence and had way too many soft moments for their own liking.Eventually after slacking off late in the first half, and allowing the Reds to surge to a 21-9 lead early in the second half, the Sharks surged back with 21 unanswered points before holding out as the Reds attacked late in the game to seal the victory.

Once again it was the Reds dancing magician, Quade Cooper, who started most of their attacking moves, while the Sharks relied heavily on the rolling maul in the second half, which eventually formed the basis of their eventual victory.

Ruan Pienaar’s opening penalty was just the tonic the home fans needed to get behind the team early on, but it was quickly negated as Cooper stepped his way through the Sharks defence for the first try of the match. Pienaar’s boot kept the Sharks in touch, and his third penalty of the match put the Sharks in the lead halfway in the first half.

But then the Sharks dropped their intensity, and the Reds stepped up for two tries by League convert Will Chambers both sides of the half-time break to take a commanding 21-9 lead and look set for their second victory on South African soil.

First it was Chambers who found way too much space close to the line to barge over from close range and after the break, Cooper’s dancing feet set up a perfect gap for the midfielder to go over unanswered close to the posts.

The Sharks upped the intensity and found the Reds wanting against the rolling maul, picking off the penalties from referee Chris Pollock, who controlled the game excellently under intense pressure.

Eventually something had to give, and with the Sharks pounding the Reds line, it was Odwa Ndungane who found himself in space to bring his side within five points of thei opposition after Pienaar slotted the conversion.

They almost took the lead when JP Pietersen dropped a clever cross kick from Andy Goode over the line, but it wasn’t long before they eventually got ahead after the maul once again did the work, and Jacques Botes held onto the ball to crash over and put his side into the lead.

The Sharks continued to pound the line, and after a tough Willem Alberts barge, Pietersen picked up the ball and went over untouched under the posts to extend the lead to nine points.

But the Reds weren’t done, and again it was Cooper who gave the telling pass after a superb dance by Digby Ione to put prop Greg Holmes away for the try to bring the Reds back within two.

The Sharks managed to hold out, much to the delight of their crowd, as well as the rest of South Africa, as they closed the victory out in style. one must mention the way the Sharks came back considering they have just flown black from New Zealand, it showed a lot of heart and commitment from the Coastal side.

SCORERS:

Sharks: Tries – Odwa Ndungane, Jacques Botes., J-P Pietersen. Conversions – Ruan Pienaar (3). Penalty – Pienaar (3).

Reds: Tries – Will Chambers (2), Quade Cooper, Greg Holmes. Conversions – Cooper (4).