No 8 Dan du Preez scored a brace of tries as the Sharks recorded an important 37-21 Currie Cup victory over the Golden Lions at Kings Park in Durban on Saturday.
The Sharks secured their fourth successive bonus-point win, which strengthened their ambitions of a home semi-final. The Lions, on the other hand, slipped down to fourth in the standings after the weekend's results.
The return of Springboks Coenie Oosthuizen and S'bu Nkosi from injury was an interesting sub plot in the match, but it was Du Preez who caught the eye with a powerful display that also featured a number of nifty offloads in the tackle.
The Lions scored the first try of the match when Sylvian Mahuza crossed the line after Du Preez's brother, Robert, opened the scoring for the Sharks with a penalty. Robert then kicked two more penalties, before Dan finished off a brilliant team try. Not long afterwards, Dan du Preez put scrumhalf Louis Schreuder away to score.
The Sharks' handling was impressive in the rain, and they went into the break 30-7 up when Luke Stringer scored from a scrum after Lions lock Marvin Orie was yellow-carded for making contact with Sharks lock Hyron Andrews' face.
Dan du Preez scored the Sharks' bonus-point try shortly after the break, which effectively killed off the visitors' chances of winning the match
The Lions, though, fought back hard second half, with James Venter scoring and replacement Wandisile Simelane scoring a long-range try that stared five metres from their own line. However, that wasn't enough to deny the home side.
Point scorers:
Sharks - Tries: Dan du Preez (2), Louis Schreuder, Luke Stringer. Conversions: Robert du Preez (4). Penalties: Du Preez (3).
Golden Lions - Tries: Sylvian Mahuza, James Venter, Wandisile Simelane. Conversions: Shaun Reynolds (3).