CRAIG LEWIS identifies some of the good, the bad and the ugly to take away from round 11 of Vodacom Super Rugby.
THE GOOD
Ever since last season, it has been an ongoing talking point whether the prodigious talents of Curwin Bosch are being wasted at the Sharks. Whatever the case may be, the youngster earned his first Super Rugby start st flyhalf since 2017 on Saturday, and made it count. Let’s not get too carried away and suggest it was a perfect performance, but he encouragingly did look very composed at 10. His booming boot, strong pass and natural attacking vision shone through, and although Bosch did miss two penalties, he shook that off to slot an important long-range kick later in the game. He ended the match having made eight carries, 43m, while beating three defenders and making four tackles (albeit missing two).
HIGHLIGHTS: Sharks vs Waratahs
THE BAD
Last weekend, the Lions pulled off a quite remarkable victory over the Chiefs in New Zealand despite a highly-disruptive week in the lead-up to that clash. It was a result that illustrated the enduring fighting spirit in the Lions side, and yet on Friday they came up against the irrepressible Crusaders in a replay of last year’s final. Unfortunately it was more of the same as the hosts dominated from start to finish, easily overcoming the Lions 36-10. It’s a result that leaves the Lions at the bottom of the local conference as they now return to South Africa desperately searching for a way to revive their dwindling playoff hopes.
WATCH: Kwagga bounced by Saders wing
THE UGLY
Credit has to go to the Stormers for the manner in which they reversed a 40-5 defeat against the Vodacom Bulls on the opening weekend of Super Rugby, with the Cape-based side claiming a fully-deserved 24-23 win on Saturday. Unfortunately, one of the worrying sights was that of top Bok forward Pieter-Steph du Toit cutting a rather disconsolate figure after landing awkwardly and picking up what looked to be a problematic shoulder injury. One can only hope that it is nothing too serious.
Photo: EPA/Joel Carrett/BackpagePix
