Super Rugby: Lions thump sorry Sharks
By Keith Moore
Last Updated: 02/07/16 6:09pm
The Lions scored five tries to hammer their Super Rugby rivals the Sharks 37-10 in Johannesburg.
The Sharks scored two late tries to add a margin of respectability to the score, but were thoroughly outplayed by their opponents in every facet as the Lions stretched to a 37-0 lead within an hour.
Recently capped Springbok scrum-half Faf de Klerk was a menace all afternoon as he and half-back partner Elton Jantjies dismantled the 2012 finalists.
The win puts the Lions in pole position in the overall Super Rugby standings, leading the second-place Chiefs by a point. The Sharks can still qualify for the play-offs as a wildcard entry, but have made the job harder for themselves with a sub-par performance at Ellis Park.
The visitors started poorly when in-form centre Paul Jordaan limped off the field in the sixth minute, and it got worse as Jantjies added three points after Franco Marais interfered with De Klerk as he attempted to grab the ball from a ruck.
Sharks No 9 Michael Claassens then failed to deal with a regulation high ball which was claimed by Courtnall Skosan, and after the ball was recycled by the hosts and sent right, Ruan Combrinck took a soft pass from Jaco Kriel to score near the touchline. Jantjies missed the conversion, leaving the Lions 8-0 ahead.
The fly-half missed another conversion attempt when the Lions were hot on the attack and Rohan Janse van Rensburg spun out of a tackle to crash over from close range. However, he made no such mistake when Combrinck chipped over the defensive line and a wicked bounce saw Ruan Ackermann grab the ball and release Malcolm Marx down the right. The touchline effort made it 20-0 after 32 minutes.
The Lions then had the final say of the half when a series of attacks finally saw Ackermann stretching over to score under the posts. Jantjies added the extras to put his side 27-0 up at half-time.
The Bok No 10 added another penalty two minutes into the second half, and though the Sharks were initially able to stem the tide of tries after the break, Jaco Kriel eventually crashed over to make it 37-0 going into the final quarter.
The visitors were finally able to breach the opposition defence when the ball was sent left through the hands after a scrum and Lwazi Mvovo stepped inside the final defender to notch his side's first points of the game.
Garth April missed the conversion and failed with his second opportunity when Chilliboy Ralepelle went over from the back of a driving maul to make it 37-10.
The Sharks were a much better team in the final quarter, but were unable to make it count on the scoreboard as the Lions held out for an impressive win.