Lambie takes Sharks to victory over Highlanders

Updated May 06, 2012 08:31:44

Fly half Patrick Lambie scored all of his team's points to give the Sharks a 28-16 victory over the Otago Highlanders in their Super Rugby match at Kings Park.

Fly half Lambie scored a try and kicked a conversion and seven penalties to hand the Highlanders only their third defeat of the season.

"It was one of our better all-round performances," Sharks captain Keegan Daniel said in a pitchside interview. "We are in the middle of the pack at the moment but we need to build some momentum from this win."

The first half was dominated by the boots of Lambie and his opposite number Mike Delany with both teams guilty of conceding penalties at the breakdown.

Lambie succeeded with all five of his penalty attempts while Delany responded with three of his own.

The Sharks reached halftime holding a 15-9 lead but the visitors could consider themselves a touch unlucky to be trailing as they had dominated possession and territory to such an extent that the hosts had not made a single incursion into the Highlanders' 22-metre area.

The New Zealanders finally made their domination count 10 minutes after the restart when replacement wing Kurt Baker scored in the corner after the Sharks simply ran out of defenders.

Delany succeeded with the difficult touchline conversion as the Highlanders edged into the lead for the first and last time while light rain began falling over the ground.

Lambie continued to haunt the Highlanders with two further penalties before scoring a try when he followed up a wickedly bouncing ball to dot down.

He succeeded with the conversion as the Sharks moved in to a 28-16 lead with just under a quarter of the match to play, a lead that they never relinquished.

"We had opportunities to win but to the Sharks' credit they matched us physically. You have to front up every week in this competition or you get a smack," Highlanders skipper Jamie Mackintosh said.

Sharks 28: Try: P Lambie. Cons: Lambie. Pens: Lambie 7.

Otago Highlanders 16: Try: K Baker. Cons: M Delany. Pens: Delany 3.

AFP

Tags: sport, rugby-union, super-rugby, south-africa

First posted May 06, 2012 07:14:27

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Lambie seals close win for Sharks

Posted May 29, 2011 06:20:00

Two late penalty goals by Patrick Lambie enabled the Sharks to scrape home 26-21 in a Super Rugby clash with the Waratahs at King's Park on Saturday.

Fly half Lambie hit the left upright with his team trailing by a point 14 minutes from the end but made amends when he landed goals in the 70th and 79th minutes.

It was a hard-fought battle between two teams struggling to finish in the top six on the log and earn a place in the competition play-offs.

The Sharks win lifted them to fifth, one point and one place ahead of the Waratahs.

"We're playing for our lives every weekend," said Sharks captain and loosehead prop John Smit.

"When that kick hit the poles my heart nearly stopped."

Both teams scored two tries in remarkably similar fashion. Fly halves Lambie and Daniel Halangahu, a late replacement for the Waratahs, both went over for individual tries after breaking from scrums, while both teams scored long-range tries after turnovers.

The Sharks looked in control when they led 13-6 five minutes before half-time but after another break by Lambie they lost the ball five metres short of the Waratahs line.

Flank Dave Dennis grabbed the ball for the Australian team and Halangahu raced down the left touchline before passing to wing Lachlan Turner, who scored in the corner to make the score 13-11 at the break.

It was the Waratahs' turn to take the ascendancy after Halangahu's try in the second half.

They went eight points ahead when Sharks flank Jean Deysel was yellow-carded for an illegal tackle and full-back Kurtley Beale landed the resultant penalty.

With the Sharks down to 14 men, Beale led a Waratahs attack but lost the ball when he was tackled near the Sharks 22.

Wing JP Pietersen picked up the loose ball and sprinted 70 metres to score in the right corner. Lambie converted to set up a tense finish.

The Sharks produced most of the attacking rugby but the Waratahs had the better of the tight forward exchanges despite losing prop Sekope Kepu to a leg injury after 13 minutes.

Kepu's replacement, Al Baxter, had an impressive match alongside fellow Wallaby front-rowers Benn Robinson and Tatafu Polota-Nau.

Waratahs captain Dean Mumm blamed his team's defeat on "ill discipline and (playing) too much in our own half when it really mattered".

He said next weekend's match against the Bulls in Pretoria was crucial if the Waratahs were to retain control of their play-off destiny.

- AFP

Tags: sport, rugby-union, super-14, australia, nsw, sydney-2000, south-africa

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