Sharks stunned by sharp Lions

The Lions defied the critics by producing a clinical and accurate performance to stun the Sharks 38-28 in an intense derby in Johannesburg on Saturday.

The deserved victory which ends their 11-match losing streak was built on a breathtaking first-half which saw the home team run in four tries, and despite a two-try blitz from the Sharks after half-time they managed to hold on for their second victory of the season.

The loss comes as a massive blow to the Sharks who have built up good momentum with four consecutive wins, but left Coca-Cola Park empty-handed leaving their play-off prospects in some doubt.

The Lions started the game with a clear intent to keep the ball and take the game to the Sharks, but they were punished almost immediately when pressure from Bismarck du Plessis forced Derrick Minnie to hold on to the ball in front of the posts.

Lambie knocked the penalty over to put the visitors in front but that did not deter the Lions who surged upfield, stretching the Sharks out wide and testing their defensive resolve.

With his team on the front foot and the Sharks charging up on defence Lions flyhalf Elton Jantjies put a little chip over the top and speedy flank Grant Hattingh chased hard before collecting and cruising over for an impressive try.

The bottom-placed team were not done there and jumped straight back on the attack, with the stunned Sharks forced to scramble back once more. Minnie showed his ball-carrying abilities in the 22 and surged at the line to score a try that had to be confirmed by the TMO.

Jantjies' second easy conversion put the home side 14-3 ahead after a frantic opening seven minutes which left the Sharks looking rattled.

The Durban side tried to get some momentum of their own going but battled to sustain pressure in opposition territory and had to be content with exchanging penalties to take the score to 17-6 after 20 minutes.

Against expectations it was the Lions who were forcing the Sharks onto the back foot and they made the pressure count again when outside centre Lionel Mapoe broke the Sharks defensive line before stepping his way over the tryline to put his team 24-6 ahead.

If things were looking bleak for the Sharks they got even worse when Steven Sykes was shown a yellow card for trying to pull Lions captain Josh Strauss out of a ruck by his neck, giving Jantjies the opportunity to extend the lead to 27-6.

However, things took a turn when Mapoe was shown a yellow card for deliberately not rolling away in the tackle in order to snuff out a promising attacking movement from the Sharks.

The Sharks were in good position and they made good use of it, shifting the ball out to the dangerous Lwazi Mvovo who skipped over to narrow the gap to 27-11.

The Lions responded by launching a punishing rolling maul that took them deep into Sharks territory, and thanks to some slick handling they crucially managed to capitalise on the opportunity when Deon van Rensburg burst over to hand his team the bonus point on the stroke of half-time.

The Sharks desperately needed to make something happen and they bolted out of the changeroom, scoring two quick tries to get right back into the contest at the start of the second half.

An unrelenting march towards the Lions tryline was capped off when JP Pietersen burst through a gap for the first try, and they managed to score almost directly from the restart when Charl McLeod made a break from the base of a ruck before putting Odwa Ndungane over.

Lambie made no mistake with either conversion and the Sharks were within striking distance just like that at 32-25.

The home team managed to get some control back with two penalties from Jantjies to one from Lambie which left them leading 38-28 with 15 minutes left, but with the Sharks pressing desperately the game was still in the balance.

The Sharks launched a series of raids in the Lions 22 in an attempt to salvage something from the game in the final stages but the Lions held them off admirably to claim a famous victory that could be hugely significant in the South African conference.

Man of the match: Lions flyhalf Elton Jantjies pulled the strings for the home side and the backline shone as a result, but the platform was laid by the forward pack and in this regard Derrick Minnie was immense and made the biggest impact on the game with and without the ball.

The scorers:

For the Lions:

Tries: Hattingh, Minnie, Mapoe, Van Rensburg

Cons: Jantjies 3

Pens: Jantjies 4

For the Sharks:

Tries: Mvovo, Pietersen, Ndungane

Cons: Lambie

Pens: Lambie 2

Yellow card: Steven Sykes (28 mins - Foul play) Lionel Mapoe (34 mins - Professional foul)

Teams:

Lions: 15 Andries Coetzee, 14 Deon van Rensburg, 13 Lionel Mapoe, 12 Butch James, 11 Anthonie Volminck, 10 Elton Jantjies, 9 Tian Meyer, 8 Joshua Strauss (captain), 7 Grant Hattingh, 6 Derick Minnie, 5 Franco van der Merwe, 4 Hendrik Roodt, 3 Patric Cilliers, 2 Callie Visagie, 1 CJ van der Linde.

Replacements: 16 Martin Bezuidenhout, 17 JC Janse van Rensburg, 18 Etienne Oosthuizen, 19 Cobus Grobbelaar, 20 Ross Cronje, 21 Waylon Murray, 22 Ruan Combrinck.

Sharks: 15 Patrick Lambie, 14 Odwa Ndungane, 13 JP Pietersen, 12 Meyer Bosman, 11 Lwazi Mvovo, 10 Frederic Michalak, 9 Charl McLeod, 8 Keegan Daniel (captain), 7 Willem Alberts, 6 Marcell Coetzee, 5 Anton Bresler, 4 Steven Sykes, 3 Jannie du Plessis, 2 Bismarck du Plessis, 1 Tendai Mtawarira.

Replacements: 16 Craig Burden, 17 Wiehahn Herbst, 18 Jandre Marais, 19 Ryan Kankowski, 20 Jacques Botes, 21 Marius Joubert, 22 Louis Ludik.

Referee: Garratt Williamson (New Zealand)