Lions go down in wet Durban

2018-09-22

The Cell C Sharks retained their unbeaten status in the Currie Cup when they secured a 37-21 win over the Xerox Golden Lions in Durban on Saturday. The home side dominated for long periods although it took them some time to get going as wet weather made handling and underfoot conditions difficult. They eventually outscored the Golden Lions by four tries to three and Robert du Preez finished with a 17-point haul courtesy of four conversions and three penalties.

The Sharks opened the scoring in the third minute via a Robert du Preez penalty but the visitors struck back in the eighth minute when Sylvian Mahuza had an easy run-in for the opening try after gathering a perfectly weighted cross-field kick from Shaun Reynolds.

Reynolds added the extras but that would be the last time the visitors would trouble the scorers during the opening period as the Sharks dominated the rest of the half

The Lions were more competitive after the break and on the hour-mark James Venter scored their second try off the back of a lineout drive deep inside Sharks territory. In the 75th minute, Wandisile Simelane did well to boot the ball up field and beat Sbu Nkosi in a foot race before diving on the ball behind the home side's try line to add some respectability to the final score.

Tries: Sylvian Mahuza, James Venter, Wandisile Simelane

Conversions: Shaun Reynolds (3)

Annemie Bester