The Sharks faced the Chiefs in what was a rain drenched final Super 14 game of round 1. What promised to be one of the most exciting games of the weekend, on paper, turned into a bit of a sloppy affair due to torrential downpours in Durban.

The Sharks discipline let them down from the word go, and John Smit was sin binned 20 minutes into the game, after deliberately knocking the ball out of Chiefs’ #9, Brendon Leonard’s hand, in what was the Sharks’ 5th infringement at the breakdown.

Both teams enjoy playing an expansive, running type of game, which was made impossible in the appalling conditions. Things were always going to get scrappy from there on out, and both teams went into the break try-less and locked at 6 points a piece. The Sharks managed to take the score to 12 – 6 by the 57th minute, through two more penalties, which were slotted by Rory Kockott.

Four minutes later, and another penalty at the breakdown, took the score to Sharks 15 – 6 Chiefs. At this point one would think the referee would exercise his duty of being consistent throughout, and send a Chiefs player to the bin, but the Sharks weren’t that lucky.

Bismark du Plessisgave away yet another Sharks penalty at a ruck and Donald slotted it, to reduce the lead to 15-9, with 16 minutes left to go. Ruan Pienaar put a perfectly placed kick, out near the Chiefs touchline, but the pressure was quickly relieved when the Chiefs were awarded a free-kick.

The majority of the action was saved for the last 7 minutes of the game, starting with Bismark du Plessis beingyellow carded for a “a deliberate and cynical late tackle with the shoulder”.

The Chiefs were then awarded a penalty after Willem Alberts tackled a player without the ball and JP Pietersen failing to release the ball in a tackle close to his own line. The Chief tapped and went, with Jackson Willison crossing over for the try, which Donald converted, to take the Chiefs into the lead.

The action was far from over though. Richard Kahui was penalised for obstruction and Kockott slotted the kick to to take the Sharks back into the lead with 40 seconds left in play.

Kockott was judged to have knocked on from the ruck after the kickoff, and in what can only be described as a brain fart, Strauss played the ball in front of him, awarding the Chiefs an unnecessary penalty, which highlighted the ill-discipline of the entire game. Donald slotted the goal to take the win.

My two cents worth:

• Referee, Keith Brown needs to work on his consistency.
• What happened to the Sharks should teach kids everywhere that they should always play until the final whistle.
• Rory Kockott did not knock the ball on, it went backwards. An error that cost the Sharks a win, and could possibly bite then in the ass later on in the season.
• Ruan Pienaar should be starting at #10 from here on out. Monty Dumond is very ordinary and missed 3 tackles in the game.
• The Sharks missed 15 tackles, compared to the Chiefs 6.
• The Chiefs may want to have a chat with Adidas about the numbers on their jerseys falling off from the rain.

Sharks VS Chiefs 2010 Highlights: [WRNrugbynews]

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