Curwin Bosch kicked 14 of the Sharks’ points as they downed Western Province 19-9 in their Currie Cup semifinal clash at Newlands on Saturday.
The 23-year-old pivot had his team 9-0 up inside the first 12 minutes as he proved the importance of having a kicker that can slot home long-range penalties.
While WP had opted for touch when getting penalties from range, Bosch het gewys hiesa is ek baas with the boot.
The Durbanite had his first attempt in the third minute of the last match ever at Newlands, when WP prop Ali Vermaak was penalised in a scrum on the halfway mark (3-0).
Seven minutes later WP fullback Damian Willemse caught a high ball from a Bosch kick, but with captain Siya Kolisi not able to clear the Sharks tackler, Willemse was penalised for holding on.
Bosch converted from almost on his 10m line (6-0).
Vermaak was penalised again at a breakdown for a failed clean out and WP had their backs to the wall at 9-0 with only 12 minutes played.
In a match that failed to entertain in terms of running rugby, playing catch up was always going to be tough.
With the Sharks down to 14 men after Ox Nche was yellow carded following repeated infringements by his team as WP threatened their line, WP flyhalf Tim Swiel finally broke their duck with a penalty conversion in the 32nd minute (9-3).
Province doubled their tally after getting a scrum penalty in front of the sticks five minutes later (9-6) and that’s how it stayed until half time.
WP then drew level straight from the restart when the Sharks were penalised for offside.
Man of the Match Bosch entered the fight in the 48th minute again, to land a drop goal and regain the lead (12-9).
Bosch missed his shortest kick of the match (47m) from the restart after Frans Malherbe was penalised at a breakdown.
Province replacement Ernst van Rhyn was then sent to the cooler with 13 minutes left following repeated infringements by WP as the Sharks threatened their try-line.
The Sharks thought they had scored from a rolling maul after opting for a lineout following that penalty.
But the TMO picked up that lock JJ van der Mescht was in front of scorer Thembelani Bholi and made contact with the WP defender, leading to a penalty for the hosts and some relief.
The relief didn’t last long, though, as Van der Mescht scored the last try at Newlands ever from close quarters (19-9).
WP tried hard to fight back, but the Sharks stood strong to book their place in next week’s Loftus Versfeld final against the Blue Bulls.