The Hollywoodbets Sharks achieved what many thought would have been the impossible when they scored a 30-19 bonus point victory over the DHL Stormers in a decisive Vodacom United Rugby Championship victory on Saturday evening.
For the table-topping DHL Stormers, their record this year was finally broken, while it was the first win ever in the tournament for the Hollywoodbets Sharks in Cape Town.
A massive 50 000 strong crowd came out to witness the coastal derby and they would have witnessed a Hollywoodbets Sharks side that came to play, and to win.
As the clock hit five minutes of elapsed game time, the Hollywoodbets Sharks made good on their early territorial dominance, a penalty sent to touch for a close-quarter lineout and from the maul, the home side just didn’t have the power to stop the Durban pack and Jason Jenkins emerged from the bottom as the try-scorer, with Jordan Hendrikse converting.
But a regain at the kick-off handed the DHL Stormers the perfect opportunity to strike back and they made no mistake to score in the corner, with the touchline conversion missing the mark.
Five minutes later it was Jaco Williams’ turn to trouble the scoreboard, a pin-point cross kick from Hendrikse threaded the needle past the final defender and into the SA Under 20 star’s welcoming hands to get over for the second try, Hendrikse on the mark again with his conversion from out wide for a 14-5 lead.
A beautiful 50-22 kick from Aphelele Fassi handed his team another attacking lineout and from the ensuing attack, Ethan Hooker was tackled without the ball, handing Hendrikse another shot at posts, once more on target to stretch the lead to 12 points after 16 minutes of highly entertaining rugby.
A quick tap penalty in the 25th minute saw the home side cut the lead to 17-12 and for the remainder of the half, the game resembled a test match, such was the physical intensity both sides brought to their attack and defensive efforts.
A stolen lineout gave the Hollywoodbets Sharks the opportunity to close out the half in front, denying the home side a chance to go level or ahead at the break.
The Hollywoodbets Sharks laid the platform for the opening score of the second half with sustained pressure in the danger zone and after repeated penalties and warnings, the DHL Stormers lost a man to the sin bin and there was no stopping the powerful maul with Phepsi Buthelezi breaking through to score his team’s third try in the 47th minute for a 22-12 lead.
What followed was a period of intrigue as the home side fought valiantly in stages to change the course of inevitability as the Hollywoodbets Sharks continued to play with passion and determination.
Dominating the lineouts almost at will and with a few scrum penalties thrown in, it was the Durbanites who seemed to grow in confidence, the self-belief evident as they chased a rare victory for visiting sides.
A Hendrikse penalty just before the final 10 minutes extended the lead to 25-12, with the result looking positive, but knowing the DHL Stormers, not yet secured.
But another lineout failure, on the Hollywoodbets Sharks’ 5m line, and then a tackle in the air and another yellow card conceded made their task to maintain a 100% success rate that much more elusive.
But the result was put out of question in the 73rd minute when Andre Esterhuizen, part of a dominant rolling maul, went over for the bonus point try to take an unassailable 30-12 lead.
A penalty try in the dying moments wasn’t enough for the home side, but they chased a losing bonus point which could be important at the conclusion of the pool stages. But a skew lineout, on attack, put paid to their ambitions and they had to leave the field without reward, while the Hollywoodbets Sharks leave Cape Town with huge smiles on their faces.