By Dewi Williams
The Sharks’ physicality and ruthlessness saw the South
African side edge their way to victory in a nine-try thriller at the Cardiff
Arms Park.
Despite an injury forcing skipper Andre Esterhuizen to leave
the field seconds into the game, the Sharks capitalised first as Ethan Hooker crossed
the line off the back of a wonderful cat-flap offload from Jurenzo Julius in
the second minute.
Cardiff replied minutes later, with some nice interplay
between Cam Winnett and Le Roux Malan in midfield releasing Josh Adams out
wide.
Fly half Jarrod Evans added the extras to give Cardiff a 7-5 lead with
ten minutes on the clock.
Despite some moments of free-flowing attacking play from the
blue and blacks, the Sharks dominated large parts of the following 30 minutes,
with their efforts being held over the line and denied by the TMO.
The scores
eventually came when Matt Ramao and Jason Jenkins got over the whitewash,
giving the visitors a lead of 17 points to 7 going into the break.
Cardiff gained the ascendancy in the opening exchanges of
the second half, with James Botham scoring two tries as Cardiff controlled the
territory. Jarrod Evans kicked both conversions, giving the home side a 21-17
lead with 20 minutes left to play.
The Sharks got themselves straight back into it however,
with replacement loose-head Thomas du Toit crashing over in the 62nd
minute, before a try from replacement hooker Ethan Bester bolstered their lead
ten minutes later.
Matt Ramao scored his second to close out the game, with the
Sharks’ power, pace and physicality ultimately getting the best of the blue and
blacks.
Match Details
Cardiff Rugby: 21
Tries: J Adams (10’), J Botham (46’, 58’)
Conversions: J Evans (11’, 46’, 59’)
Hollywoodbets Sharks: 36
Tries: E Hooker (2’), M Romao (27’, 80’), J Jenkins (40’), T
du Toit (62’), E Bester (74’)
Conversions: G Lombard (27’, 63’), S Masuku (75’)
Referee: Andrea Piardi (France)
Attendance: 8,076
Player of the Match: Zekhethelo Siyaya
At only 19 years of age, the young man from Durban looks
destined to play for the Springboks sooner or later, with his performance in
this match highlighting the quality he possesses.
He constantly looked a threat when he got his hands on the
ball, beating 8 defenders throughout the game with his footwork. He was unlucky
to have his try disallowed in the first half, where he sent Johan Mulder stumbling
with one of his side steps.
His kicking game was also accurate and mature on most
occasions, with an up an under which was recovered by replacement scrum half
Ivan van Zyl crucial in leading to the du Toit try that got the Sharks back
into the game.
With the blustery winds of Storm Austen blowing in the
Cardiff air, it was breakout performance from Siyaya in exceptionally difficult
conditions for a fullback.
Biggest Underperformer: Alex Mann
A big talking point around Steve Tandy’s Welsh squad for this
autumn’s Nations Championship campaign is who will accompany Jac Morgan and
Aaron Wainwright in the starting backrow.
With Alex Mann and James Botham both tipped to wear the
Welsh no.6 shirt, Mann played himself out of the starting position tonight,
whilst Botham did the opposite.
Mann’s attitude and niggly-ness certainly gives him an edge
on the pitch, but his antics tonight did more to hinder his performance than
add to it.
He was lucky not to be penalised for kicking out at Thomas
du Toit in an incident off the ball which would have seen Botham’s try
disallowed, and minutes later he gave away a cheap penalty as he smashed Ivan
van Zyl late, granting the Sharks field position in the Cardiff twenty-two.
He was subsequently brought off the pitch seconds later, and
I’m sure he would like to move on from tonight’s rather disappointing performance.
One to Watch: Jurenzo Julius
Despite not appearing in the second half of the match,
Julius was on fire for the first 40 minutes.
Power, pace and physicality are staples of the boogieman’s game,
and boy did we see plenty of that last night.
His offload to Ethan Hooker for the opener was pure class,
and he managed to break the Cardiff defence time after time, beating six
defenders in the process. Another highlight is when he sat down Cardiff hooker Liam
Belcher off the back of a first phase switch play.
At only 22 years of age, he’s certainly one to look out for in
the future, perhaps next in line to take Jesse Kriel’s place in the national
squad.
Cardiff Rugby Player Ratings
1.
Scott Sio - 5
2.
Liam Belcher (C) - 6
3.
Javan Sebastian - 5
4.
Josh McNally - 7
5.
Teddy Williams - 6
6.
Alex Mann - 5
7.
James Botham - 8
8.
Taine Basham - 7
9.
Johan Mulder - 6
10. Jarrod
Evans - 7
11. Harri
Millard - 5
12. Steff
Emanuel - 7
13. Le
Roux Malan - 8
14. Josh
Adams - 7
15. Cam
Winnett - 7
Replacements
16. Evan
Lloyd - 4
17. Danny
Southworth - 5
18. Keiron
Assiratti - 5
19. Tom
Manz – N/A
20. Semisi
Paea - 5
21. Aled
Davies - 4
22. Callum
Sheedy - 4
23. Tom
Bowen – 6
Hollywoodbets Sharks Player Ratings
1.
Phatu Ganyane – 4
2.
Eduan Swart - 6
3.
Hanro Jacobs - 5
4.
Jason Jenkins – 7
5.
Emile van Heerden – 8
6.
Matt Romao – 8
7.
Manu Tshituka – 7
8.
Nick Hatton – 6
9.
Jaden Hendrikse – 7
10. Gianni
Lombard – 6
11. Ethan
Hooker – 8
12. Andre
Esterhuizen (C) – N/A
13. Jurenzo
Julius – 8
14. Edwill
Van der Merwe – 7
15. Zekhethelo
Siyaya – 9
Replacements
16. Ethan
Bester - 7
17. Ox
Nche - 7
18. Thomas
du Toit – 7
19. Stephen
Lewies – 6
20. Vincent
Tshituka – 5
21. Ivan
van Zyl – 5
22. Siya
Masuku – 6
23. Jaco
Williams – 5
