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Sharks edge Bordeaux to claim second victory in Champions Cup
By PA
Werner Kok scored a crucial try as Sharks continued their winning start to life in the Heineken Champions Cup with a 19-16 victory over Bordeaux.
The South African franchise were marginal underdogs heading into the clash, despite debuting with a strong win against Harlequins, but once again showed they mean business as they successfully overturned a half-time deficit.
The French side were 13-9 ahead at the interval, with Renato Giammarioli going over for try after just seven minutes.
Jules Gimbert converted and added a couple of penalties as the hosts cashed in on some errors, but nine points off the boot of Curwi Bosch, including a drop goal, kept things tight.
The game broke open at the start of the second period, Kok smartly gathering Boeta Chamberlain’s offload to touch down from close-range and give his side a lead they never surrendered.
Bosch put over the extras and slotted two of his next three penalties, with Zack Holmes replying for Bordeaux.
There was a lengthy delay after Madosh Tambwe suffered an unintentional collision with Kok late on, but when play resumed the Sharks were able to settle in and protect their advantage.
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Latest Comments
More indecision and excuses from Razor.
You've given a spot at 6 to Finau whom you haven't even had the courage to use off the bench in the last two games. Now the young enforcer is going into a big much with no rugby, we should expect a similar result to how Aumua struggled to impact a game after he'd hardly been given any chances of the bench either.
Weve now dropped a back three player who also wasn't even given any game time off the bench for someone coming in cold when they really need to have been playing constantly to perform at their best. There are just so many better pictures that should have been present rather than this mickey mouse selection.
I really hope Finau can overcome this, it won't be the first time he's had to. How is the bench even made up? Could you not just have included these changes in the article as well? I actually like BB coming back in, it highlights how courageous he is after sitting out through another concussion that could just as easily sent him back into months of symptoms again.
Dmac was also off his game last week, as was Ratima, with the poor platform Razor and his team have been setting the players up with. He needs to freedom to clear his mind from the clutter that saw him make so many bad decisions last week. It will still probably be a net loss for the team performance not having him on from the start but it should be better for them in the long run if he's allowed to just come on late and play his game trying to claw things back for the team.
With Roigard starting that might prove an outlet for the team to actually get on top first however. Along with Ardie busting a gut in his new role and emptying the tank by halftime, and being replaced by another new star, might mean that Dmac is just icing on the cake at the end.
Go to commentsLet's hope so, that was a fantastic game.
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