Currie Cup Round 4 Wrap

BLOEMFONTEIN, South Africa – Patrick Lambie scored two late tries as the Sharks pulled off a 25-13 victory against the Free State Cheetahs in the Currie Cup match Saturday.

Down 13-6 early, the Sharks started their comeback late in the second half. Lambie first rounded off a length-of-the field raid initiated by Springbok No. 8 Ryan Kankowski deep inside his own 22-meter area, and then he found himself in the clear on the right wing after the Sharks had again taken advantage of turnover by the Cheetahs.

“We couldn’t finish things off at first, so I am proud to come away with the points,” Sharks Captain Stefan Terblanche said. “And Patrick is a fantastic player and a wonderful talent.”

Cheetahs hooker Adriaan Strauss conceded the better side won. “Credit to the Sharks,” he said. “They kept the ball in hand and our defense couldn’t keep up.”

The Sharks’ victory lifted them into second place in South Africa’s premier provincial competition.

The Blue Bulls, meanwhile, pulled clear in the second half to defeat the Lions 32-18 at Ellis Park.

Flyhalf Jacques Louis Potgieter scored 27 points with a try, a conversion and six penalties for the Currie Cup champions.

“We managed to cope with the pressure quite well,” Bulls captain Gary Botha said.

Despite the loss, Lions captain Franco van der Merwe was pleased with the contributions of the young players like flyhalf Elton Jantjies.

On Friday, Western Province was too strong for the Pumas in Cape Town, scoring the fourth try for the bonus point in the last minutes of the first half in a seven-try 54-13 victory.

Western Province, the only undefeated side in the competition, gave up two tries in the second half but were never in danger of giving up the lead.

Flanker Pieter Louw got two tries for Western Province for the second week in a row, and returning Springbok utility back Gio Aplon got two from the right wing.

In Potchefstroom, Griquas underlined the threat it poses to the bigger unions with a comprehensive 41-27 defeat of the Leopards. Griquas captain Naas Olivier scored 21 points with a try, conversions of all his team’s five tries and two penalties.