The Cell C Sharks process to the Heineken Champions Cup Round of 16 following their impressive 32-3 bonus-point victory over Union Bordeaux-Bègles at Hollywoodbets Kings Park on Saturday.
Lionel Cronje started at No. 10 instead of Curwin Bosch, who had to leave with a mild hamstring strain at the last minute. This did not hurt the Durban team’s ability to score points.
The French visitors couldn’t keep up with the hosts’ fast hands and even faster pace, and they were eaten alive by the Springbok-filled pack at scrum time.
So, they didn’t score in the first half and were down to 13 players when front-rowers Christopher Vaotoa and Clement Maynadier got yellow cards just after the half-hour mark. The Cell C Sharks started the party with two tries from the quick scrumhalf Jaden Hendrikse. At halftime, they were ahead 22-0.
They were sloppy, so they had to wait until the 59th minute to get the bonus point. Marnus Potgieter scored the first of his two tries in quick succession, and Bordeaux was again down to 13 players after Matéo Garcia and Alban Roussel were given yellow cards. This meant that they kept their unbeaten streak in the European showpiece in style.
Cronje scored the first try for the Cell C Sharks after a scrum penalty. The Cell C Sharks beat Bordeaux in their own backyard in the previous round and beat Harlequins at home in their first game of the season.
Just two minutes later, Bongi Mbonambi got hurt and had to be replaced by Kerron van Vuuren. This was a big blow to them.
The first try of the game was scored by Jaden Hendrikse, who did well by taking a quick tap and avoiding a tackle to touch down.
Potgieter’s dogged chasing almost got him a try right in front of Bordeaux’s eyes, but he was ruled to have touched down on the dead-ball line.
Instead, it was Hendrikse who gave the Cell C Sharks a bigger lead with a second sniping try. Cronje, who had missed his first try, converted this one, making the score 15-0 after 22 minutes.
The hosts continued to win the scrum when loosehead Vaotoa was sent to the sin bin for not staying square and holding up his end against Thomas du Toit. Soon after, hooker Maynadier also went to the sin bin for not rolling away before Gerbrandt Grobler scored the Durbanites’ third try.
Captain Maxime Lucu missed two shots on goal from near the halfway line in the first half. In the second half, he had an easier task and put Bordeaux on the board four minutes in, but then he missed a fairly easy kick after that.
When Garcia got a yellow card for taking out Boeta Chamberlain in the air on minute 51, they lost the momentum they had built up. From a lineout play, Van Vuuren ran over the line, but Corentin Coularis did a good job of holding him up over the line.
Roussel got 10 minutes in the bin for tripping Hyron Andrews in the lineout, so Potgieter scored a double to finish the job for the Durbanites, who were in charge.
Photo by Billy Stickland/INPHO/Shutterstock/BackpagePix
