High-five as Cardiff seal first league win of 2024
FLY-HALF Ben Thomas pulled Cardiff ’s strings perfectly and kicked 11 points in a stand-out display against 14-man Sharks in Durban.
The Blue and Blacks scored five tries in a relentless away victory to end their ignominious record eight-game losing league run, and claim a first URC win of 2024.
No.8 Alun Lawrence, blindside Ben Donnell, inside-centre Willis Halaholo, openside James Botham and outside-centre Mason Grady all crossed the whitewash as Matt Sherratt’s outfit got the monkey off the their back in style.
Man of the match Ben Thomas said: “We needed that performance, we’ve had a lot of games where we’ve ran teams close and not come away with the result. Our defence was the foundation for the win.
“Credit to our forwards, they were massive and made it an easy job for us backs.”
With Kings Park hitting humidity levels of around 80 per cent at kick-off, it was expected to be a slippery and forward dominated contest, and that proved to be the case early-on. Cardiff dominated possession from the start with former Jersey forward Lawrence charging through from short range to open the scoring.
It looked poised to be a tight tussle until Sharks blindside Tino Mavesere was sent-off for a high tackle on Cardiff fullback Cameron Winnett in the 20th minute.
The visitors took advantage straight away with Donnell crashing over from close range to score his first try for the Glamorgan side.
Despite Sharks’ being a man down, and playing a much-changed and largely second-string side, they pinned Cardiff deep, and when sloppy handling led to a loose ball, outside-centre Diego Appollis pounced to slide over between the sticks.
Halaholo burst through a gap and pirouetted past two defenders to finish a stylish try on the half-hour mark, as Cardiff went into the ascendancy and scored 22 unanswered points.
Botham pincered through a driving maul to score in the left corner for the bonus point try, while Thomas added three points off the tee straight after half-time.
Grady ran a great line to skirt Lionel Cronje and score late-on before playmaker Curwin Bosch scored an extraordinary solo kick-chase in the final minutes – the ball bouncing off the uprights and falling perfectly for him to slide over.