The Lions celebrated their return to Vodacom Super Rugby with a good win over the Toyota Cheetahs in Bloemfontein before the Cell C Sharks showed they mean business in 2014 with a bonus-point victory over the Vodacom Bulls in Durban.
For the Cell C Sharks, under a new coach in former Springbok mentor Jake White, it was a perfect start to the season. They got their 4th try at the death of their 31 / 16 win after scoring 3 five-pointers in the first 40 minutes.
Interestingly enough, it was the first time ever that the Cell C Sharks managed to score a bonus-point victory at home in February, when Durban’s notorious high heat and humidity play havoc with handling.
In fact, it was only the 2nd time since the inception of Vodacom Super Rugby that a side managed 4 February tries at Kings Park – the Toyota Cheetahs did just that when they beat the Sharks by 27 / 26 in 2006.
Yesterday however the Cell C Sharks were firmly in control, but the Toyota Cheetahs’ performance was unlike that day when they won in Durban in 2006 – they came unstuck against a spirited Lions side that shocked a lot of people with a 21 / 20 victory in Bloemfontein.
Lions flyhalf Marnitz Boshoff contributed all of his team’s points with a near flawless kicking display – he slotted all 6 his attempts at penalty goals and got 1 from 2 drop-goals. His opposite numbers though struggled with the boot and between Johan Goosen and Elgar Watts, they squandered 9 points with missed kicks at goal.
Boshoff’s exploits were similar to those of Elton Jantjies in 2012, when the currently injured Lions flyhalf kicked all of his team’s points as they beat the Toyota Cheetahs by 27 / 25 in the opening round.
The DHL Stormers had a bye this weekend but will be in action next week when the teams from Down Under also get in on the action.
Toyota Cheetahs (10) 20 / 21 (9) Lions:
Marnitz Boshoff, making his Vodacom Super Rugby debut, broke the Toyota Cheetahs’ hearts with a 78th minute drop-goal to help the Lions to a good 21 / 20 victory in the opening match of the season at the Free State Stadium in Bloemfontein.
Even though they were outscored by 2 tries to 0, the Lions – back in Vodacom Super Rugby after missing out last season – never gave up. The home side simply gave away too many kickable penalties and Boshoff duly made the scoreboard tick over when he got an opportunity.
And when the Lions played themselves into a promising attacking position late in the match, fans of the Toyota Cheetahs must’ve been on the edge of their seats. Boshoff’s antics were enough for the visitors as he pushed his personal tally to 21 points thanks to six penalty goals and a drop goal.
Both sides showed some early-season rustiness and they were very keen on throwing the ball around, which resulted in way too many unforced errors.
The Toyota Cheetahs though, did get the first 2 tries of the season after some enterprising play – first by Raymond Rhule and in the 2nd half Cornal Hendricks, who was this week named the SA Sevens Player of 2013, capped his Vodacom Super Rugby debut with a good try.
For the Lions, this was just the way to re-enter Vodacom Super Rugby, while last season’s surprise package, the Toyota Cheetahs, will be left wondering where things went awry for them.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=84FxGreFTeM[/youtube]
Scorers:
Toyota Cheetahs:
- Tries: Raymond Rhule (1), Cornal Hendricks (1)
- Conversions: Johan Goosen (2)
- Penalty goals: Johan Goosen (1), Elgar Watts (1)
Lions:
- Penalty goals: Marnitz Boshoff (6)
- Drop goal: Boshoff (1)
Cell C Sharks (23) 31 / 16 (9) Vodacom Bulls:
The Cell C Sharks, thanks mainly to a superb 1st half effort, got their season off to a great start when they beat the Vodacom Bulls by 31 / 16 at Growthpoint Kings Park in Durban on Saturday evening.
The home side scored 3 crucial tries in the first 40 minutes of a match that was played at a great pace by 2 teams having a full go.
The Cell C Sharks though were more composed, took their chances and bagged the points. On the other hand, the Vodacom Bulls were not patient enough on the attack and didn’t convert their opportunities into points.
Their maul was very good, but the team from Pretoria got very little reward when they came within striking distance. Their only try, by Jono Ross late in the 2nd half, came from a rolling maul.
The home team though looked sharp on the attack and scored 3 tries in the first half, followed by a crucial 4th one, by Patrick Lambie, in injury time.
The first 2 tries came from Paul Jordaan (after a sniping run by Lwazi Mvovo) and Cobus Reinach. However, Odwa Ndungane’s superb effort in the right-hand corner, coming from a pin-point cross-kick by Frans Steyn after the buzzer in the 1st half, was probably the pick of the tries this weekend.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5sFMF09fgi8[/youtube]
Scorers:
Cell C Sharks:
- Tries: Paul Jordaan (1), Cobus Reinach (1), Odwa Ndungane (1), Patrick Lambie (1)
- Conversion: Patrick Lambie (1)
- Penalty goals: Patrick Lambie (3)
Vodacom Bulls:
- Try: Jono Ross (1)
- Conversion: Handré Pollard (1)
- Penalty goals: Louis Fouché (2)
- Drop-goal: Louis Fouché (1)
Combined Log
| Pos | Team | P | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | BPts | Pts |
| 1 | Cell C Sharks | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 31 | 16 | 15 | 0 | 5 |
| 2 | Waratahs | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 3 | Crusaders | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 4 | Lions (Q) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 21 | 20 | 1 | 0 | 4 |
| 5 | Toyota Cheetahs (Q) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 20 | 21 | -1 | 0 | 1 |
| 6 | Vodacom Bulls (Q) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 16 | 31 | -15 | 0 | 0 |
| 7 | Brumbies | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 8 | Western Force | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 9 | Melbourne Rebels | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 10 | Chiefs | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 11 | Blues | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 12 | Hurricanes | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 13 | Highlanders | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 14 | DHL Stormers | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 15 | Reds | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Australian Conference
| Pos | Team | P | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | BPts | Pts |
| 1 | Waratahs | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2 | Reds | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 3 | Western Force | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 4 | Melbourne Rebels | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 5 | Brumbies | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
New Zealand Conference
| Pos | Team | P | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | BPts | Pts |
| 1 | Blues | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2 | Highlanders | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 3 | Hurricanes | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 4 | Chiefs | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 5 | Crusaders | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
South African Conference
| Pos | Team | P | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | BPts | Pts |
| 1 | Cell C Sharks | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 31 | 16 | 15 | 0 | 5 |
| 2 | Lions | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 21 | 20 | 1 | 0 | 4 |
| 3 | Toyota Cheetahs | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 20 | 21 | -1 | 0 | 1 |
| 4 | DHL Stormers | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 5 | Vodacom Bulls | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 16 | 31 | -15 | 0 | 0 |
@ Stormersboy:
Eben a huge loss for you guys, and although we have god locks, specially at 5 we at the Sharks need a Eben or Bakkies type enforcer,
177 @ Snoek:
You know I almost picked them by one and that is what they won by. I just though no don’t start this Superbru daft like last year and only went with Cheetahs by 4 as I thought Lions would give them a good go as they play similar. Did pick up a half point there though. Felt good for the Lions to win their first one especially after what they went through last year.
@ Sharks_forever:
Ha ha, our locks are good, not sure about gods.
@ Puma:
Yes I saw that. Feel for the guy. So much promise, unrealized of course.
Yes we had De Kock at 4 (his best run of games ever ironically) for the first half of the season.
Eben is just such a massively influential player, his loss is felt in a big way. Like the Bulls losing Arno, or you guys last year as we said.
@ Sharks_forever:
God=good
@ Puma:
I saw you picked up half a point, well done. going to be tough this year, don’t really know the strength of some teams. Time will tell.
Thanx Puma. But the one thing i think everyone can agree on is that there is alot of space for improvement in all the sa teams. I must be honest the bulls didnt look good. But the fact is they have a hell of alot of talent they just need to use it properly.
But honestly i still think the stormpies is going to be the suprize package.
@ Snoek:
That hurt.
Ouch.
184 @ Stormersboy:
Eben is a massive loss much like Bissie was for us last year. So I do understand how much of a loss he will be.
Who was the lock you let go to Irland I think? Just forget his name.
190 @ Puma:
Meant – Ireland
@ Puma:
Puma, he was a young lock if I remember correctly, also cant remember his name
187 @ Rambo_Hunter_BigBok:
I never underestimate any of the saffa teams. Any could beat each other on the day. That goes for your Lions always weary of them as they have had our number so many times before.
When is A. Coetzee back? He is one of my favourite players at the Lions.
@ Sharks_forever:
I think that between PSDT and that strange looking fella Bressler you have it covered, but Eben is a cut above most players and therefore he elevates us when he plays.
192 @ Snoek:
Just forget his name, but he was really talented. Stormers will be wishing they never let him go and I bet AC could kick himself for not signing Swiel. He can play fh and fullback. Pleased Sharks have him now.
He is out for six weeks unfortunatly. Yes derbies are challenging i just hope all the saffa teams klap the aus and nz teams.
186 @ Snoek:
I got it very wrong last year, probably will again this year. Super Rugby is the toughest to pick on bru out of any tourney. Many teams win that you think will lose and vice versa.
Hope we can beat the Canes. They will be tough to beat I think. Wonder if they arrived here early as they never played last week.
196 @ Rambo_Hunter_BigBok:
Well at least you get him back for a good part of this tourney. Great player is A. Coetzee. Now that Elton is back you think he will start, well I see he won’t start this week but next week. As I thought Boshoff was very good at flyhalf this past game. Then again he is also good at fullback though I prefer A. Coetzee at fullback. If it was me when Coetzee is back I would move Boshoff back to flyhalf and leave A. Coetzee at fullback and have Elton on the bench. Doubt that will happen though.
@ Puma:
Quinn Roux. Massive loss for us, and for SA Rugby.
199 @ Stormersboy:
Yes that is him. Thought he was a really talented player. Pity he left.
Okay need to dash. Catch up later or tomorrow.
Cheers everyone.
190 Was it Quinn Roux???? @ Puma:
Snoek wrote:
Lol, final, what final?
Short term memory bud
Or rather, selective memory
Puma wrote:
Cheers Pooms, why the hurry?
Do you need to go wrap
Lambie in some cotton wool?
POST199 Well done pal. @ Stormersboy:
@ nortierd:
Lambie looks in good shape, what do you think?
Gets off field practice as well since married
Snoek wrote:
He did look good, made me a pocketful of points on the fantasy rugby, hope he continues like this.
Steyn looked fit and trim as well, things really look very positive for the Sharks, no real weak links except Jannie
POST207 Amen on Jannie.Adriaanse looking good @ nortierd:
@ Rambo_Hunter_BigBok:
haha no I wont say we are suur. we know we got beaten by the better team. This bulls team really struggles with patience. its been coming since currie cup and we never looked like winning…
but we are realistically worried about the tmo call, as refs have tried to make the game more fluent, these kind of calls have a big impact on any game. it is absolutely worrying that a tmo can make such a blatant error. the problem is that sometimes the refs can make hastily decisions or no decision at all and will surpass this game is into other games.
Last year referee calls made an impact on most games that left all of us supporters puzzled. and it seems like nothing has changed.
I read the Sharks players start at 07H00 in the morning and finish off daily at 18H00.
Hard work = in shape
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