Seven-try Sharks reach top of Currie Cup table
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Sharks scored seven tries to demolish Cheetahs 50-26 in Durban Saturday and reach the top of the South African Currie Cup table.
A bonus-point victory brought the Durban side level with title-holders Western Province on 24 points and they have a superior points difference.
Lions rose one place to third by outscoring Bulls five tries to four en route to a 35-26 Highveld derby triumph in Johannesburg.
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The Johannesburg outfit have 20 points, Cheetahs 16, Bulls 11 and Griquas 10 with three league rounds left, and the top four finishers qualify for the semi-finals.
Sharks were ahead within three minutes at Kings Park, led 26-16 by half-time, and scored the bonus-point fourth try five minutes into the second half.
The 2011 and 2012 runners-up welcomed back discarded Springboks Rugby Championship squad flanker Marcell Coetzee and he was voted man of the match.
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Young fly-half Fred Zeilinga was another candidate for the award, contributing 15 points with the boot and playing a pivotal role in the first three tries.
Sharks starred at scrum time, reducing the Cheetahs pack to a retreating mess many times, and were more clinical and less error prone than Cheetahs.
They also made some crucial early second-half turnovers when under pressure after the Bloemfontein visitors cut the deficit to seven points.
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Left-wing Lwazi Mvovo scored two tries for Sharks and full-back SP Marais, centres Heimar Williams and Tim Whitehead, No. 8 Keegan Daniel and substitute scrum-half Cobus Reinach one each.
Zeilinga, who rotates with 2007 Rugby World Cup winner Butch James in the playmaker role, slotted three conversions and three penalties.
Right-wing Riaan Smit landed all six shots at goal for Cheetahs -- two conversions and four penalties -- and moved to the top of the Currie Cup scorers' charts.
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Cheetahs tries came from Ghana-born left-wing Raymond Rhule, who has not recaptured his superb form of last season, and replacement hooker AJ le Roux.
Lions should have been much further ahead than 13-7 by half-time at Ellis Park as they ran at every opportunity against rivals twice reduced to 14 men by yellow cards.
But a dominant third quarter from the 2011 champions delivered tries by props Ruan Dreyer and Jacques van Rooyen and full-back Marnitz Boshoff to build a 32-14 advantage.
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Bulls hit back and a late try by another Springboks reject, left-wing Bjorn Basson, gave the Pretoria outfit a four-try bonus point that lifted them off the bottom.
Right-wing Andries Coetzee and flank Jaco Kriel were Lions' other try scorers, and fly-half Elton Jantjies kicked two conversions and a penalty and Boshoff a penalty.
Basson (two), scrum-half Rudy Paige and centre Francois Venter crossed the try-line for Bulls and fly-half Tony Jantjies, a younger brother of Elton, slotted three conversions.
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Province survived several minutes of intense post-siren pressure from Griquas pressure Friday to win 19-13 at a freezing, rain-lashed Newlands stadium Cape Town.