Sharks scrumhalf Ruan Pienaar struck a conversion from the sideline in stoppage time to give his side a thrilling 27-26 Super 14 win against the Canterbury Crusaders at Absa Stadium in Durban on Saturday.
The Sharks, who trailed 13-6 at the change-over, ran the ball from deep inside their own half after the 80 minutes were up and scored in the left hand corner through winger Odwa Ndungane to leave the onerous task of converting for the win to Pienaar.
And then Pienaar stepped up and knocked the ball over to ensure his side remain the only unbeaten team in this year's southern hemisphere inter-provincial rugby union championship.
For Ndungane it meant he had redeemed himself as he had somehow dropped the ball over the line when all he had to do was touch it down earlier in the second half.
It was a pulsating encounter with both sides having a number of opportunities to score throughout the 80 minutes.
It was also a fantastic weekend for the South African teams, with the Bulls, Lions and Stormers winning earlier in the day. The Cheetahs drew with the Waikato Chiefs on Friday.
Visiting flyhalf Stephen Brett opened the scoring as early as the fifth minute with a three-pointer, but veteran Sharks fullback Percy Montgomery canceled that score out with a penalty of his own only minutes later.
However, the men from Canterbury took charge midway through the first period mainly because they enjoyed territorial dominance, but also because of some poor handling by the home side which resulted in good turn-over ball for the Crusaders.
Brett put his side back in front on 25 minutes and then two minutes later it was the turn of flanker Kieran Reid to score the first try after fullback Scott Hamilton had sliced through the Sharks midfield. Brett converted to give his side a deserved 13-3 lead.
Montgomery reduced the deficit on the stroke of halftime with his second penalty and then, only four minutes after the interval, replacement lock Albert van den Berg stuck his arm through a ruck to score the Sharks' first try. Montgomery added the extras to leave the scores level.
The Sharks were now spending a good deal of time in the Crusaders' attack zone and it wasn't long before Ndungane was put into a gap by Jacques Botes, but the winger dropped the ball inside the try area.
The visitors once again edged ahead in this tightly contested affair just before the 60 minute mark when loose forward Mose Tui'iali'I found acres of space after his side had won a lineout inside the Sharks' 22.
Brett once again made no mistake with the conversion.
The Sharks hit back almost immediately through replacement hooker Bismarck du Plessis, but the Crusaders seemed to be finishing stronger, with Brett adding a further penalty and a superbly taken drop-goal. But the Sharks still had enough resolve to score in the corner through Ndungane and Pienaar added the icing on the cake.
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