Teenager Curwin Bosch continued Saturday to be an outstanding deputy for injured Coastal Sharks skipper Patrick Lambie, kicking 18 points in a 38-30 Super Rugby victory at Central Cheetahs.
The 19-year-old fly-half slotted four penalties and three conversions from eight attempts in the South African derby at the Free State Stadium in Bloemfontein.
Bosch was voted man of the match and hailed the Sharks pack for making his task easier as the Sharks made it four wins in a row since losing the opening game of the season.
“Our forwards were outstanding and they made my job a lot easier,” said the South Africa U-20 star.
“We responded well tonight after being a bit discouraged by a poor performance last weekend when scraping a win over the Southern Kings.”
Bosch also praised his kicking coach, former South Africa fly-half Braam van Straaten.
Springbok Lambie hurt his back in the opening minutes of a third round match, offering Bosch a chance to score 54 points in three outings.
In a round 5 match of three distinct phases in Bloemfontein, the Sharks built a 12-point lead, trailed 20-15 at half-time and later by eight points, then moved 15 points clear.
A last-minute try by winger Raymond Rhule left Cheetahs flattered by the final scoreline as they were outplayed throughout the second half.
Sharks are second in the Africa 2 conference, two points behind 2016 Super Rugby runners-up the Golden Lions, who they tackle in Johannesburg next weekend.
Traditional strugglers the Cheetahs have lost three of five matches, including two at home, and trail Africa 1 pacesetters the Western Stormers by eight points.
Sharks succeeded while having two forwards sin-binned — prop Coenie Oosthuizen in the first half and lock Etienne Oosthuizen late in the game.
Wingers Lwazi Mvovo and Kobus van Wyk (2) and substitute loose forward Daniel du Preez were Sharks try scorers with Bosch claiming the rest of the points.
Skipper and centre Francois Venter and wingers JW Jonker and Rhule scored tries for the Cheetahs.
Fly-half Fred Zeilinga gave a flawless goal-kicking performance for the losers, kicking three conversions and three penalties.
Join GhanaStar.com to receive daily email alerts of breaking news in Ghana. GhanaStar.com is your source for all Ghana News. Get the latest Ghana news, breaking news, sports, politics, entertainment and more about Ghana, Africa and beyond.