Durban - The dark cloud that had been hovering over the Sharks all week was blown away along with the Dragons at Hollywoodbets Kings Park on Friday night and the URC challenge of the Durbanites is firmly back on track.
With Thomas du Toit and his forward pack rampant, flyhalf Curwin Bosch rediscovering his mojo, and the effervescent Werner Kok setting the energy levels, the Sharks’ response to their loss to Edinburgh was as emphatic as the 51-3 score-line.
This game was vital for the Sharks on a number of fronts given their poor performance against the Scots. Mostly, they needed to cash in on a home fixture and ensure they didn’t drop out of the top eight, and they needed a morale-boosting performance after a week of criticism.
In short, they needed to make a statement. And to do that they needed to show composure on the attack after the previous week’s avalanche of errors, and then ruthlessness in the Dragons’ 22.
They got that right in the fifth minute when patient phase play took them to the verge of the tryline and when they earned a penalty, Bosch had a shot at goal in front and to the relief of many, he stroked it home.
And two minutes after that, the first scrum of the game saw the Dragons pack destroyed and the Sharks had the first of many scrum penalties. The next one came in front of the Dragon’s posts and Bosch made it 6-0 before
Dragons flyhalf Josh Lewis pulled three back when the Sharks were caught offside but they would be his team’s only points of the match.
The first quarter ended with no try having been scored by the Sharks but a third Bosch penalty meant they were scoring points at regular intervals.
Bosch was responding well to the pressure heaped on him over the last few weeks and when he kicked a beautiful 50-22 from just outside his own 22, Ox Nche barrelled powerfully over for the first try.
When Werner Kok gets going, there is 𝙉![CDATA[]]>𝙊 stopping him 👋
The Cell C Sharks are running riot against the Dragons and the fans are loving it!
📺 Stream Vodacom #URC live: https://t.co/0BMWdeEYT3 pic.twitter.com/DgoiDImLY3
His front row partner Bongi Mbonambi minutes later mirrored that feat and at 23-3, the dye was cast as far as the result was concerned.
Sadly, at this point, the Dragons lost their Welsh international, Ross Moriarty, to what looked like a serious knee injury.
With the Sharks forwards rampant and Bosch growing in confidence, the flood gates were set to open in the second half.
And when Werner Kok scored a superb solo try just after the break, the crowd was on their feet and the bonus-point try was a formality.
It came in the form of a penalty try when Lewis slapped down a pass from Marius Louw aimed for unmarked Jaden Hendrikse. Lewis was also yellow-carded for his sins.
And the exact same thing happened minutes later when another Welshman deliberately slapped down a try-making pass and the penalty try pushed the Sharks up to 44 and the Dragons down to 13.
Fullback Anthony Volmink made the most of the gaps out wide for a try to complete the rout.
Scorers
Sharks - Tries: Ox Nche, Bongi Mbonambi, Werner Kok, penalty try (2), Anthony Volmink. Conversions: Curwin Bosch (5). Penalties: Bosch (3).
Dragons: Penalty: Josh Lewis.