Lionel Cronjé overcame a shaky start to lead the Sharks to victory in Pretoria, writes BRENTON CHELIN.

Cronjé grew in confidence as the match wore on, and played a key role in the Sharks' second, and match-deciding try. Cronjé showed great vision and pinpoint accuracy to find S'bura Sithole on the right wing with a crosskick in the 48th as the Sharks opened up a 20-12 lead, that they wouldn't relinquish.

Two relatively easy early penalty misses aside, Cronjé showed himself worthy of the Sharks flyhalf berth, with a composed performance on the highveld.

His line kicking and game management allowed the Sharks to overcome an early deficit and secure a valuable away win. Goal-kicking aside, his opposite number failed to have any positive impact on the match, as the Bulls were unable to cope with the pace injected by the Sharks backs and loose forwards.

Photo: Johan Pretorius/Gallo Images/Barry Aldworth/BackpagePix