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Currie Cup hero Jordan Hendrikse dedicated the Sharks' victory over the Lions and the part he played in it to his late father.
He produced a punt from the heavens in the last act of the game to snatch a dramatic 16-14 victory for the Sharks who seemed doomed moments earlier when the Lions secured a line-out and simply had to find touch.
Instead they mauled, the Sharks turned over possession presenting Hendrikse a 59m shot at goal and glory. When Hendrikse teed up the match-defining kick he wasn't just thinking about personal acclaim.
“My family has not been going through the easiest ... my mother just had an op. It was quite a personal situation and circumstance. This will put a smile on their faces,” he said about his mom, brother Jaden who played for the Springboks on Saturday night, and his dad.
“This is also one for my dad. He would have loved to see me and my brother play together (they are both contracted to the Sharks). This cup and this final is definitely for him and I know he'll be smiling down at us.”
The punt that launched him into Currie Cup folklore was a real kick in the teeth for the team he had left earlier this year.
On a bone chillingly, cold afternoon Hendrikse was booed when he touched the ball the first time but, in the end, it was he who momentarily froze Ellis Park as his kick sailed over the crossbar.
“It is a personal one. Coming to Ellis Park I knew the fans will go against me but I knew I had to stay in the moment and the game.
“My move was to challenge myself and challenge my environment,” he said about his move to Durban. “With the coaches there I knew I was going to grow as a player. The perks of that is winning a Currie Cup.”
The successful kick was no fluke. “All the early mornings half past five, training those pressure kicks. One day when you get that opportunity that's when you need to nail it. Thinking back to my time at the Lions there were a couple of kicks that I missed. The one to win the game against the Bulls as well.
“For it was about staying calm and thinking about the small processes leading to the kicks. Backing yourself, believe in yourself and just head down follow through.”
Sharks coach John Plumtree interjected suggesting that at Friday's captain's practice Hendrikse was nailing it from further back. “I was teasing him saying 'mate, that looks really good but can you do it in a pressure moment?' He got his chance and he showed his coach.”
The win was also a triumph for Plumtree who admitted he didn't think he'd hold the Currie Cup aloft again. The Sharks left Gauteng victorious on three occasions during their Currie Cup campaign and that will serve them well in the URC.
“I’m really proud of the boys,” said Plumtree. “It’s great for our confidence and the never-give-up attitude we’re instilling in the team,” he said about his players who also bagged the Challenge Cup earlier this year.
“The URC is the main goal, the Champions Cup and getting all the Springboks players back together, but for this group of players it’s important, not just the players that played tonight but the players that played through the first six, seven rounds and the management team.
“I think it is unique, it makes it special that we have won tonight for a lot of people. The ex-players sent me messages, and they were excited, there are a lot of people back in Durban who will be very happy tonight so reflecting on that, it is important.
“A trophy like that is beautiful, I did not think I would ever hold it again. That felt quite good.”
