Sharks skipper Jeremy Ward led from the front as the home side defeated the Pumas in their Currie Cup opening encounter at Kings Park on Friday.
As it happened | Sharks v Pumas
The Sharks won 45-10, after leading 31-3 at half-time.
The hosts wasted little time to show their intent as hooker Kerron van Vuuren crashed over the tryline in the fifth minute, but luckily for the Pumas the TMO reviewed it and saw a forward pass.
Nevertheless, the lead was the Sharks' shortly thereafter as they successfully scored the opening try at their second attempt. Jeremy Ward charged down an attempted clearance and scored before Curwin Bosch converted for 7-0.
In the 18th minute, the Sharks emphasised their dominance as they doubled their lead with a second try and conversion. Scrumhalf Sanele Nohamba took the ball from behind his team's rolling maul and burst over the tryline.
The momentum stayed with the KwaZulu-Natal outfit as Ward scored his second try in the 28th minute. The Pumas once again tried to alleviate the pressure with a clearance from deep inside their territory, but Ward was on top of them and snatched the ball. Bosch missed the conversion this time.
The Pumas saved face a few minutes later as they scored their first points of the game thanks to Devon Williams' penalty kick.
However, it was only a brief glimpse for the away side as the Sharks scored a fourth try to make it 24-3, as Bosch missed the conversion. Van Vuuren powered over the tryline after a strong maul from the Sharks.
On the stroke of half-time, the Sharks further extended their lead with a fifth try. Dylan Richardson was smuggled over the line from a lineout maul, and Bosch this time converted for a 31-3 lead at the break.
The Pumas finally found their first try eight minutes into the second half when a maul from a lineout five metres out resulted in a five-pointer for flank Phumzile Maqondwana. Williams converted to make it 31-10.
Unfortunately for the travellers, the home team responded quickly to score their sixth try. Sibusiso Nkosi drifted past the Pumas defence from the kickoff to score the try, and Bosch converted.
As the desperation built, the Pumas tried to push for the attacking plays and were punished by substitute Nkosi once again as he intercepted and scored his second try. Bosch converted to cap off the comfortable victory at 45-10.
Next week, the Sharks will have a bye and the Pumas will host the Griquas on Friday, 4 December (19:00).
Scorers:
Sharks
Tries: Jeremy Ward (2), Sanele Nohamba, Sibusiso Nkosi (2), Dylan Richardson, Kerron van Vuuren
Conversions: Curwin Bosch (4)
Pumas
Try: Phumzile Maqondwana
Conversion: Ginter Smuts
Penalty: Smuts
Teams:
Sharks
15 Manie Libbok, 14 Yaw Penxe, 13 Jeremy Ward (captain), 12 Marius Louw, 11 Madosh Tambwe, 10 Curwin Bosch, 9 Sanele Nohamba, 8 Thembelani Bholi, 7 JJ van der Mescht, 6 Dylan Richardson, 5 Hyron Andrews, 4 Ruben van Heerden, 3 Thomas du Toit, 2 Kerron van Vuuren, 1 Ox Nche
Substitutes: 16 Daniel Jooste, 17 Khwezi Mona, 18 Hanro Jacobs, 19 Zain Davids, 20 Sikhumbuzo Notshe, 21 Cameron Wright, 22 Werner Kok, 23 S'bu Nkosi
Pumas
15 Devon Williams, 14 Morne Joubert, 13 Erich Cronje, 12 Ali Mgijima, 11 Etienne Taljaard, 10 Theo Boshoff, 9 Ginter Smuts, 8 Francois Kleinhans, 7 Phumzile Maqondwana, 6 Daniel Maartens, 5 Pieter Janse van Vuren (captain), 4 Darrien Landsberg, 3 Ruan Kramer, 2 HP van Schoor, 1 Liam Hendriks
Substitutes: 16 Marko Janse van Rensburg, 17 Wikus Groenewald, 18 Brandon Valentyn, 19 Heath Backhouse, 20 Chriswill September, 21 Wayne van der Bank, 22 Tapiwa Mafura, 23 Dewald Maritz
- TEAMtalk media