News24.com | Maturing Curwin hailed as king of simplicity as Sharks tame Lions: 'He bossed us in 2nd half'

Curwin Bosch. (Photo by Sydney Seshibedi/Gallo Images)

Curwin Bosch might still have his detractors when it comes to getting the best out of his backlines on attack, but his overall product has certainly improved immensely this season.

The Sharks pivot cemented his status as one of the stars for the Sharks in an up-and-down campaign by producing a masterclass in tactical simplicity, his booming boot paving the way for an ultimately solid 29-7 victory over the Lions at Ellis Park.

Bosch was simply relentless, kicking out of hand brilliantly to punish virtually every clumsy mistake by the hosts on attack, invariably leading to overturned attacking opportunities, which the Durbanites capitalised on fairly ruthlessly. 

Yet one couldn't exactly ignore his eye in spotting a yawning gap between heavyweights Asenathi Ntlabakanye and Willem Alberts, which led to the opening try he rounded off himself, while a neat dab ahead for Grant Williams clinched a bonus point for the visitors.

Varied and effective was the name of his peformance.   

On a damp afternoon where both team struggled for coherence, the 25-year-old was definitely the standout.

READ | Cool-hand Curwin Bosch lights up flawed Sharks victory over clueless Lions

"He's done well for us this season and he showed in that second half with how he managed the game in that period with his boot," said Neil Powell, the Sharks' director of rugby.

"He's definitely put good performances together consistently and it's great that we can rely on our 10 to lead the way. It's obviously always a risk to go in with a 6-2 split on the bench, but it paid off for us and he made it easier too."

For the hapless Lions, who imploded in the second half after making no use of a dominant first 40 - they only had a try for Marius Louw and three missed penalties by Gianni Lombard to show for their efforts - Bosch's pragmatism had Lions mentor Ivan van Rooyen envious.

"Curwin just showed his class in the second half in terms of controlling territory," he said.

"Almost every scrum in their 22 ended up being a set-piece for them in our half. And when we made a mistake, they got a penalty. There was a 20-minute period where he just bossed us. To recover from that, you need your halfbacks and fullback to get you out of there and we simply weren't able to do that."

Indeed, as panic grew within the Lions' ranks, so did the propensity to pursue needlessly risky tactics. 

"The challenge is to fall back to the real basics when you're under severe pressure, to keep it simple. To try and force a solution at the back instead of playing towards what the obvious solution is what hampered us," said Van Rooyen. 

"That's what Curwin did so well. He never chanced his arm if he wasn't sure it wasn't going to put his team under pressure."

Powell hailed a promising outing for a youthful (and only recently fit) bench that made a marked difference once the Lions' enthusiasm waned, former Lion Vince Tshituka and Scottish international Dylan Richardson standing out.

"That was the aim, we wanted guys to come on and finish the game for us. It's great to have them available. We needed them to make a difference," he said.

"I'm happy with the outcome, but there are still a lot of things we're not doing well. Decision-making in particular is a concern and there were times we felt we lack a bit of extra effort in that regard."