Jordan Hendrikse broke the hearts of his former Lions team-mates and supporters when he succeeded with a last-minute long-range penalty goal to hand the Sharks a dramatic 16-14 victory in the Carling Currie Cup Premier Division final at Emirates Airline Park.
The KwaZulu-Natalians scored a converted try and three penalty goals while the Gautengers replied with two converted tries.
Incredibly, the score was 0-0 at halftime after both sides elected not to take penalty goal kicks, but rather seek try scoring opportunities through their lineout maul, which did not deliver dividends.
It was a tense arm wrestle as both sides showed an eagerness to play with ball in hand, however, the slippery and bitterly cold conditions resulted in numerous handling errors and spilled opportunities.
The visitors did a splendid job to nullify the Gauteng hosts’ prolific attacking abilities by keeping the ball tight amongst the forwards.
Sharks vs Lions
Ethan Hooker (left wing) scored the first try of the game after the interval when the Sharks worked the blindside to send the flyer away, who beat a slipping Sanele Nohamba to easily run in for the game’s first score 13 minutes after the break, with flyhalf Siya Masuku adding the conversion to hand them a 7-0 lead.
But the scores were level again barely five minutes later when the Lions scrum half Nico Steyn stretched over after they had put the visitors under pressure, with Nohamba’s conversion making it 7-7.
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Masuku gave his side the lead again when he landed a 40m penalty goal to make the score to 10-7 after the home side strayed offside with 15 minutes to go.
Shortly thereafter Hendrikse, playing in the No 15 jersey for his new province, sent his first penalty attempt through the uprights to increase their lead to 13-7 after the hosts’ Juan Schoeman (replacement prop) was sent to the sin bin for an illegal tackle.
That meant that the Highvelders needed a converted try to overtake the Durbanites, which is exactly what they did with five minutes to go.
The Lions won a penalty scrum and from the lineout maul they worked their way towards the try line. Their efforts were rewarded when replacement flanker Siba Qoma crashed over after a series of pick and goes, and Nohamba’s conversion edged the home side 14-13 ahead.
Lions supporters were beginning to celebrate victory when their team won another turnover penalty with time all but up. All they had to do was to keep possession from the lineout, wind down the clock and kick the ball into the stands.
However, they failed to win back the ball from a fiercely contested maul, handing possession to the Sharks XV and after conceding a crucial penalty, Hendrikse stepped up to nail the championship winning kick from 60m out.
The result is the lowest score and closest winning margin of Carling Currie Cup Finals for the last 10 years, eclipsing the 19-16 win margin of 2014 when DHL Western Province beat the Lions in Cape Town.
Scorers:
Lions 14 (0) – Tries: Nico Steyn, Siba Qoma. Conversions: Sanele Nohamba (2).
Sharks 16 (0) – Try: Ethan Hooker. Conversion: Siya Masuku. Penalty goals: Masuku, Jordan Hendrikse (2).
