Durban – Flyhalf Lionel Cronje scored 23 points as the Sharks claimed a 53-24 victory over the Eastern Province Kings in their Currie Cup encounter at Kings Park in Durban on Saturday afternoon.
The hosts ran in seven tries, including two for Paul Jordaan, with the visitors replying with three tries of their own.
However, the quality of the defending champions proved too much for the Eastern Cape outfit as they remained without a win after eight games.
The win for the Sharks kept them in third position on the table, level on points with the Golden Lions, who have a game in hand.
The Sharks began excellently by dominating all the early possession and territory as the Kings battled to find their footing.
Before the visitors could string together an attack, the hosts had their first try as Lourens Adriaanse went in after eight minutes – following good initial work by Jordaan and then the forwards after a strong drive.
The home side continued to dominate and extended their lead through a Cronje penalty, awarded when the Kings’ defence failed to roll away.
There was finally some joy for the Port Elizabeth outfit when JC Astle was punished for illegally holding on to the jersey of Tobie Botes at a ruck, allowing Gary van Aswegen to kick over their first points.
The Kings were reduced to 14 men after 17 minutes when Martin Ferreira was punished for not rolling away.
As a consequence of the penalty, Lwazi Mvovo scored the second try when he ran onto a pass at the base of a powerful five-metre home scrum.
The third try followed within the space of four minutes, a score created by the pace and precision pass of Mvovo as he drew two defenders and sent the ball wide for Andre Esterhuizen to run in on the left.
The bonus-point try followed just after the half hour when Cronje intercepted a loose pass by the visiting backs and ran in to score under the post.
The Sharks flyhalf also benefited from an error as the ball was knocked on by Ntabeni Dukisa over the line as he tried to pass.
The Kings did manage to score their first try before the interval with Paul Schoeman going in on the right after an excellent lineout drive by his fellow forwards.
The next one came immediately after as Esterhuizen’s poor tackle attempt allowed Shane Gates to slip through and score under the post.
But Cronje kept the scoreboard ticking with his second penalty, before Tim Whitehead dealt his former side another blow by going in under the post after 53 minutes following a missed Cronje tackle.
However, Jordaan crossed in the right corner two minutes later to give his side more breathing space.
Replacement Stephan Lewies and centre Jordaan then crossed twice in the final three minutes to take the Sharks past 50 and give them the comfortable win.
Scorers:
- Sharks – 53 (31): Tries: Lourens Adriaanse, Lwazi Mvovo, Andre Esterhuizen, Lionel Cronje, Paul Jordaan (2), Stephan Lewies. Conversion: Lionel Cronje (6). Penalties: Cronje (2).
- Eastern Province Kings – 24 (10): Tries: Paul Schoeman, Shane Gates, Tim Whitehead. Conversion: Gary van Aswegen (3). Penalty: Van Aswegen.
Read More: Sharks maul EP Kings.
Alan Straton
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