It was the Elton Jantjies show at Coca-Cola Park in Johannesburg on Saturday as the MTN Golden Lions beat The Sharks by 28-19 in a high intensity top of the table Absa Currie Cup clash.
Lions flyhalf Jantjies produced a flawless kicking display as he landed all eight his kicks at goal for a personal contribution of 23 points, that had most of the almost 32,000 spectators smiling at the end of the game. The Golden Lions last won the Absa Currie Cup in 1999.
Each team could only score one try – Lionel Mapoe for the Golden Lions and Stefan Terblanche for the Sharks – but the big difference was Jantjies, who punished the visitors for a number of indiscretions at the breakdown.
Apart from his superb display with the boot, Jantjies also produced the goods on the attack, keeping the Sharks guessing with a number of good runs, one of which lead to Mapoe’s try in the first half
Where The Sharks, the current defending champions, struggled to get their hands on the ball in the first half, it was a different story after the break, but the home team’s defence held out as they won an entertaining match to end the first round of the 2011 Absa Currie Cup.
Scorers:
- MTN Lions – Try: Lionel Mapoe. Conversion: Elton Jantjies. Penalties: Jantjies (7).
- The Sharks – Try: Stefan Terblanche. Conversion: Frederic Michalak. Penalties: Michalak (3).
Teams:
- MTN Lions: 15 Jaco Taute, 14 Deon van Rensburg, 13 Lionel Mapoe, 12 Alwyn Hollenbach, 11 Michael Killian, 10 Elton Jantjies, 9 Michael Bondesio, 8 Warren Whiteley, 7 Derick Minnie, 6 Cobus Grobbelaar (captain), 5 Franco van der Merwe, 4 Wikus van Heerden, 3 Patric Cilliers, 2 Bandise Maku, 1 JC Janse van Rensburg. Replacements: 16 Martin Bezuidenhout, 17 Jacobie Adriaanse, 18 Johan Snyman, 19 Michael Rhodes, 20 Jaco Kriel, 21 Doppies La Grange, 22 Burton Francis.
- The Sharks: 15 Louis Ludik, 14 Sibusiso Sithole, 13 Stefan Terblanche, 12 Meyer Bosman, 11 Lwazi Mvovo, 10 Frederic Michalak, 9 Charl McLeod, 8 Ryan Kankowski, 7 Marcell Coetzee, 6 Keegan Daniel (captain), 5 Ross Skeate, 4 Anton Bresler, 3 Wiehahn Herbst, 2 Craig Burden, 1 Dale Chadwick. Replacements: 16 Kyle Cooper, 17 Eugene van Staden, 18 Jan Andre Marais, 19 Jean Deysel, 20 Jacques Botes, 21 Conrad Hoffmann, 22 Adrian Jacobs.
Absa Currie Cup Premier Division Log
Pos. Team – P – W – D – L – PF – PA – PD – TF – TA – BPts – Pts
- MTN Golden Lions – 7 – 6 – 0 – 1 – 240 – 158 – 82 – 26 – 15 – 3 – 27
- DHL Western Province – 7 – 4 – 1 – 2 – 201 – 130 – 71 – 17 – 8 – 4 – 22
- The Sharks – 7 – 5 – 0 – 2 – 186 – 165 – 21 – 16 – 12 – 2 – 22
- GWK Griquas – 7 – 4 – 1 – 2 – 195 – 212 – -17 – 21 – 26 – 3 – 21
- Toyota Free State Cheetahs – 7 – 3 – 0 – 4 – 242 – 166 – 76 – 28 – 16 – 6 – 18
- Vodacom Blue Bulls – 7 – 4 – 0 – 3 – 171 – 188 – -17 – 18 – 20 – 1 – 17
- Ford Pumas – 7 – 0 – 0 – 7 – 138 – 241 – -103 – 15 – 28 – 5 – 5
- Platinum Leopards – 7 – 1 – 0 – 6 – 125 – 238 – -113 – 15 – 31 – 1 – 5
