6 July 2023
In their final game at the Academy Week, the Sharks tackled the Griffons, one of the surprise packages of the event, on Thursday at Jeppe High for Boys in Johannesburg. It was a very tight contest, decided with the help of the assistant referee after the final whistle had sounded.
In their previous outings, the Griffons had beaten Free State 25-24 in their opening game, then suffered a narrow 18-24 loss to Western Province, who qualified to face the Lions in the final. The Sharks, meanwhile, had beaten Boland 36-29, but had then gone down 15-30 to the Lions.
Effort
During Thursday’s showdown, the Sharks’ basic skills were not as sharp as they would have liked, but the effort was there. Early on, the boys in black and white were reduced to 13 men by two yellow cards, but they worked industriously and effectively to keep the Griffons out during the first 20 minutes, which the team from the Free State bossed.
The Sharks conceded only a penalty and then, with their first foray into the Griffons 22, they took the lead when Ayabonga Mkhokeli went over wide on the left. It was 5-3 at the break.
In the second half, the Griffons managed to turn the tables, with their impressive flyhalf, Byron Bienas, getting over for a five-pointer, followed by his halfback partner, Ethan Smith, finishing off a long-range counterattack.
Fought back
Trailing 8-15, the Sharks fought back valiantly, with Cameron Veenstra scoring a try in the right-hand corner. Unfortunately for Carlyle Hawkins and his team, the conversion attempt was wide right, leaving them two points adrift.
They came as close as one could possibly hope to come without scoring after the final hooter had sounded, but the referee and his assistant, correctly, determined the Sharks had not grounded the ball in the right-hand corner and the Griffons celebrated a cherished 15-13 victory.
The Sharks XV enjoyed a better final day, running in five tries on their way to a convincing 33-7 victory over the Leopards.
Bunono Jabavu, Murray Baker, Duncan Basson, Roelof Engelbrecht and Daniel Ikotela all crossed the whitewash, while Unathi Mlotshwa added four conversions.
Results
Sharks 13-15 Griffons
Sharks XV 33-7 Leopards
Border 34-24 LSEN
Lions 29-20 Western Province
Griquas 32-11 Eastern Province
Cheetahs 50-19 Boland
Blue Bulls 35-28 Pumas
Namibia 27-25 Zimbabwe
Limpopo Blue Bulls 17-28 South Western Districts
Valke 32-3 Border Country Districts
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