Sharks edge out Blues
A workmanlike Sharks outfit did enough to sneak past the Blues 23-10 and move into ninth position in the Super 14 table.
Last Updated: 24/04/10 6:45pm
A workmanlike Sharks outfit did just enough to sneak past the Blues 23-10 and move into ninth position in the Super 14 standings on Saturday.
It was by no means a classic in Durban but the hosts continued on their late-season revival to end the Aucklanders' hopes of making the play-offs.
Ruan Pienaar was the orchestrator for the Sharks as he claimed a canny try, two penalties and a 78th-minute drop-goal to seal the Blues' fate.
The victory, however unentertaining it came about, was John Plumtree's side's fifth on the bounce as both teams were cagey over avoiding defeat.
Cagey
But the deadlock was eventually broken on 17 minutes when Stephen Brett sent over a penalty as Steven Sykes was found guilty of side entry.
Pienaar then levelled things up with a penalty of his own, before the New Zealanders grabbed the lead courtesy of the game's first try.
Brett was the provider, dodging two tackles to break the line and then sending Saili away to score under the post.
The Blues' number 10 easily added the extras, but the gap was instantly cut back by Pienaar, who got the chance after the visitors were caught off-side.
He had another chance to cut further into the lead, but this time sent a 35 metre kick wide, before making amends with the first five-pointer of the game for his side - a strong passage of play on the stroke of half-time eventually carving open the visiting defence.
Pienaar missed the conversion, but the Sharks still went into the break ahead for the first time in the game at 11-10.
The second period started much like the first one did as both sides found scoring opportunities few and far between.
Errors
The hosts eventually had their first chance 10 minutes in - the Blues were penalised for not retreating after an initial penalty - with Andy Goode bagging his first points of the game.
Brett had an opportunity to cancel out the Englishman's effort, but pulled his own shot wide.
With the clock ticking over, the home side had plenty of good field position, which they failed to maximise fully as the error count also mounted.
Substitute scrum-half Rory Kockott did manage to extend the lead further, though, sending over back-to-back penalties - the first of which was from his own half.
Knowing it was too late to score the three more tries needed for a bonus-point win, Pienaar added a late drop to seal their fate and move to 25 points, nine off the semi-final places.
