Sharks win as 12-man WP see red

The Sharks managed to score a season double, two Currie Cup victories, after beating an ill-disciplined Western Province 43-27 in Durban on Saturday.

In a series of bizarre events at the Kings Park stadium, the visitors were reduced to 12 players by the end - following two red cards for punching and a yellow card for a late charge.

This match had it all.

The first red card came when WP's Canadian import Jebb Sinclair was sent off in the 53rd minute, but not before putting rival Jean Deysel on the seat of his pants - which earned the Sharks flank a yellow card for 'provocation'.

The visitors were later reduced to just 13 players, when flank Tyrone Holmes was also red-carded for punching. And that became 12, when Wilhelm van der Sluys was yellow-carded for a late charge on Louis Ludik.

Add to this the 350 millimetres of rain that fell since Friday - which resulted in the age-group curtain-raisers having to be shifted - it meant kicking was the order of the day. There was an array of high bombs and the low, skidding variety of kicks that tested the back three of both teams.

The puddles of water that had collected on the field made it tricky for player to retain their footing, while handling was also problematic in the testing conditions. This did not stop the teams from at least attempting to play some rugby.

Within the first minute, after the Sharks got the shove on at the opening scrum, Province conceded a penalty and Meyer Bosman made it 3-0. However, virtually from the restart Anton Bresler conceded a penalty at a maul and Demetri  Catrikilis levelled the scores - 3-all.

And the tit-for-tat penalty saga continued - De Kock Steenkamp penalised for a high tackle from the restart. And again Bosman was on target - 6-3 after seven minutes. Catrikilis levelled it again in the 14th minute - another penalty at the breakdown, this time against Jacques Botes.

However, Botes made amends moments later when he scored the opening try of the match, a chip-kick after a turnover ball exposing the Province defence. Odwa Ndungane was there to collect the bouncing ball, with Riaan Viljoen up in support and Botes taking the ball over the line. Bosman added the extras for a 13-6 lead.

Catrikilis eventually pulled three points back just short of the half-hour mark.

Six minutes before the half-time Cobus Reinach kicked the ball through and chased hard - beating off interference by both Jebb Sinclair and Gio Aplon - before the TMO ruled that he had failed to ground the ball.

However, almost immediately Nic Groom was penalised for obstruction and Bosman made it a seven-point game, 16-9.

Right on half-time the Sharks were penalised for a breakdown offence right on their line and after WP initially attempted to maul it over - only for the Sharks to again infringe - the visitors went for the kick at goal and Catrikilis made it 12-16 at the break.

Bosman  had a chance to stretch the lead almost straight from the restart, but he was just short from about 45 metres out. However, a minute later - after JP du Plessis was penalised for playing a man off the ball - Bosman made it a seven-point game again (19-12).

The penalties continued to mount against Province, without the referee issuing his customary warning for repeated infringements. Bosman made it a 10-point (22-12) game with half-an-hour remaining.

The game was thrown wide open when Province No.8 Jebb Sinclair was red-carded for a short-right jab to the jaw that put Jean Deysel (Sharks flank) on the seat of his pants. Deysel was yellow-carded for 'provocation' - leaving both teams a man short.

Province were the first to score, a Catrikilis penalty, as the game moved into the final quarter.,

However, Sharks captain Keegan Daniels got the game's crucial score - picking up the ball from the middle of a ruck and sprinting through a huge hole in the WP defence. Bosman's conversion made it 29-15.

The visitors were certainly not throwing in the towel and replacement scrumhalf Louis Schreuder sniped around a ruck to dot down under  the uprights. Catrikilis's conversion made it 22-29 with 15 minutes remaining.

The TMO had more work to do on the foul-play front, and the TV evidence revealed that Tyrone Holmes had punched Jacques Botes - leaving EWP with just 13 players on the field.

And from the resulting line-out and maul Botes flopped over for his second try and the Sharks' third. Bosman added the touchline conversion for a 36-22 lead with 10 minutes left on the clock

Schreuder managed to give his team a glimmer of hope when he intercepted inside his half and raced clear for both his and WP's second try. Joe Pietersen missed the conversion and when Wilhelm van der Sluys was yellow carded minutes later for a late charge the eight-point (27-36) margin looked to big for the 12-man WP to close down.

The home team got their bonus-point try as a result of that numerical advantage - when the WP scrum was reduced to just five players and the referee was left with no option but to award a penalty try after the visiting scrum repeatedly collapsed on their own line. Bosman added the conversion for a 43-27 margin.

Man of the match: You can look at Louis Ludik for his bravery under the high ball, or Meyer Bosman, who produced some sublime kicking in appalling conditions, also collecting a few of those high bombs himself. However, our award goes to Sharks scrumhalf Cobus Reinach - for his tactical appreciation in the conditions.

Scorers:

For the Sharks:

Tries: Botes 2, Daniel, Penalty try

Cons: Bosman 4

Pens: Bosman 5

For Western Province:

Tries: Schreuder 2

Cons: Catrikilis

Pens: Catrikilis 5

Yellow  cards: Jean Deysel (Sharks, 53 - foul play, slap in the face), Wilhelm van der Sluys (Western Province 74 - foul play, late charge)

Red cards: Jebb Sinclair (Western Province, 53 - foul play, punching), Tyrone Holmes (Western Province, 68 - foul play, punching)

Teams:

Sharks: 15 Louis Ludik, 14 Odwa Ndungane, 13 Tim Whitehead, 12 Meyer Bosman, 11 Rosko Specman, 10 Riaan Viljoen, 9 Cobus Reinach, 8 Keegan Daniel (captain), 7 Jean Deysel, 6 Jacques Botes, 5 Anton Bresler, 4 Jandré Marais, 3 Wiehahn Herbst, 2 Pieter Dixon, 1 Dale Chadwick.

Replacements: 16 Monde Hadebe, 17 Julian Redelinghuys, 18 Peet Marais, 19 Brynard Stander, 20 Charl McLeod, 21 Marius Joubert, 22 S'bura Sithole.

Western Province: 15 Gio Aplon, 14 Gerhard van den Heever, 13 JP du Plessis, 12 Marcel Brache, 11 Damian de Allende, 10 Demetri Catrakilis, 9 Nic Groom, 8 Jebb Sinclair, 7 Tyrone Holmes, 6 Deon Fourie (captain), 5 De Kock Steenkamp, 4 Don Armand, 3 Brok Harris, 2 Scarra Ntubeni, 1 Deon Carstens.

Replacements: 16 Steven Kitshoff, 17 Tom Botha, 18 Wilhelm van der Sluys, 19 Helmut Lehmann, 20 Louis Schreuder, 21 Kurt Coleman, 22 Joe Pietersen.

Referee: Lourens van der Merwe

Assistants: Jaco van Heerden, Reuben Rossouw

TMO: Shaun Veldsman