The Sharks are well on their way to a home semifinal in the Bankfin Currie Cup competition after beating the Pumas by 37-11 (halftime 18-11) in a Super Eight match on Saturday.

The Sharks scored five tries to one thus taking the maximum points from the game. The one big lesson that the Pumas learned from their defeat is that they lost it in the set scrums where the Sharks had the upper hand from start to finish.

The Sharks did not play like potential Currie Cup champions and they will have to improve considerably if they hope to beat Western Province next Saturday in Durban. And they can take their performance in the last 20 minutes as a start.

But the Sharks did one thing wonderfully right and that made them deserving winners: they waited for the Pumas to make the mistakes and used these imperfections to score two breathtaking long-distance tries.

What would be a worrying factor to the Sharks, however, are the many points that went astray with kicks at goal. Herkie Kruger, usually very reliable with the boot, missed with five attempts, one right in front of the posts.

The first half saw Natal taking the initiative in the first minutes when Kruger slotted home a penalty goal. A minute later the Sharks were amongst the points again when Trevor Halstead intercepted the ball and scored under the posts.

Although the Pumas had more possession and territorial advantage in the first half they did not finished off well enough to ever look like taking the initiative.

Spare a moment however for the boys in grey. They never stop trying and defended very well when the Sharks turned on the heat in the second half.

The visitors had to wait until the 31st minute before they could score their fourth try for the bonus point.

Scorers:

Sharks - Tries: Trevor Halstead, Herkie Kruger, Rodger Smith, Andre Snyman, Stefan Terblanche; Conversions: Kruger (2), Gaffie du Toit; Penalties: Kruger (2).

Pumas - Try: Marius Goosen; Penalties: Goosen (2). - Sapa