A last-gasp try from Fidelity Lions fullback Gilermo Mentoe gave his team a 22-22 (halftime 10-5) draw against the Hollywoodbets Sharks XV in a penultimate-round Carling Currie Cup match played at Woodburn Stadium, Pietermaritzburg, on Friday night.
The stalemate was the worst possible result for both sides, who might just have eliminated each other from the semifinal race with a round to play.
Despite getting three points from the match, the Sharks XV remain seventh on the log with 13 points, and they will need all the remaining chips to fall their way in order to progress.
The Lions remain in sixth place with 15 points, and they will be hoping that the likes of the DHL Stormers (fifth) and Sanlam Boland Cavaliers (fourth), who both have 16 points, will stumble in the closing stages.
On a chilly evening in the KZN capital, the large crowd were treated to a tense arm-wrestle in the opening stanza, with a litany of errors from both sides leading to a stop-start affair.
That being said, this had all the hallmarks of a must-win match for both sides as the race for semifinal places reaches the boil in the world’s oldest provincial rugby competition.
The result was a tightly-contested match between two well-matched sides, with the visitors eventually opening the scoring after 15 minutes through a close-range penalty from flyhalf Sam Francis.
On any other day this season, Francis would have put a kick into the corner for a lineout drive, but the added jeopardy of this fixture saw skipper Rynhardt Jonker, who was playing in his 50th match, immediately point to the posts.
The home side scored the first try on the half-hour when scrumhalf Ross Braude burrowed over following a strong lineout drive.
The Lions responded in kind six minutes later when flanker Vuyo Gwiji wrestled himself across the line following a patient build-up close to the line. Francis added the extra points to make it 10-5.
The game properly caught fire shortly after the restart, with two quick Sharks tries, to 19-year-old hooker Willem van Wyk and right wing Christie Grobbelaar, bringing the fans to their feet.
LIONS HAVE THE FINAL SAY
Swiel’s conversion of Grobbelaar’s score in the right-hand corner opened up a seven-point lead with half an hour left to play.
However, the Lions weren’t about to go away quietly into the cold KZN night, hooker Armand Combrink drawing his team level after 55 minutes when he barged over from a rolling maul and Francis nailed the touchline conversion.
Lions left wing Latica Nela looked to have scored a wonderful try with 10 minutes left after a scintillating run by fullback Mentoe, but exceptional backtracking by Sharks centre Lyle Matthews saw him force a knock-on from Nela on the tryline.
The Sharks looked to have finally put the game to bed with three minutes to go when flanker Meno Barnard rounded off their best movement of the night, with forwards and backs interchanging for what would have been a bonus-point victory.
But instead it was Mentoe who had the final say, after a strong break from Junior Springbok sensation and replacement centre Ethan Adams carved up a tiring home defence.
Francis had the chance to bag the win after the hooter, but his conversion drew left, meaning neither side have their respective destinies in their own hands any longer.
In Friday’s two earlier matches, defending champions Suzuki Griquas thumped the Airlink Pumas 38-14 in Nelspruit to all but nail down a home semifinal, while the DHL Stormers XXIII kept their play-off hopes alive with a 50-26 dismantling of the winless Vodacom Bulls XV in Pretoria.
The final match of the round will see the Toyota Cheetahs host the Sanlam Boland Cavaliers in Bloemfontein on Sunday, with no Saturday Currie Cup rugby owing to the highly-anticipated Springboks v All Blacks test in Johannesburg.
SCORERS:
Hollywoodbets Sharks XV 22 – Tries: Ross Braude, Willem van Wyk, Christie Grobbelaar, Meno Barnard; Conversion: Tim Swiel.
Fidelity ADT Lions 22 – Tries: Vuyo Gwiji, Armand Combrink, Gilermo Mentoe; Conversions: Sam Francis (2); Penalty: Francis.