A brilliant performance from the Sharks saw them stun the Stormers by clinching a fully deserved 30-19 bonus point United Rugby Championship (URC) win at the Cape Town Stadium on Saturday night to end the Cape sides unbeaten start to the competition in emphatic style.
A firing set piece from the visitors, and much more clinical finishing proved to be the difference, as an error ridden Stormers side let down a full house of over 50000 fans who turned out to watch the cracking local derby, and saw them lose their first URC match of the season after eight straight wins.
It is a historic win for the Sharks as they picked up their first ever URC win in Cape Town, and they will hope this performance will reignite their flagging season that sees them still down in the bottom half of the URC log.
Flying start
It was a flying start to the match for both teams, as the Sharks got themselves on the board in the fourth minute, setting up a lineout deep in the Stormers 22m, securing the ball and powering a maul over for lock Jason Jenkins to dot down, converted by flyhalf Jordan Hendrikse.
Straight from the kick-off the Stormers hit back, as the Sharks lost the ball, allowing the hosts to attack, flyhalf Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu worked the space and put away inside centre Damian Willemse for the unconverted score to make it 7-5 after six minutes.
In the 11th minute the Sharks were in for their second try, attacking into the Stormers 22m, where Hendrikse kicked a perfect cross kick out to wing Jaco Williams to catch and go over for the converted score, followed by a Hendrikse penalty five minutes later to put them up 17-5.
The Stormers had a chance to reduce the deficit in the 22nd minute, but Feinberg-Mngomezulu sent his long range penalty from in front wide.
But the Stormers captain made up for that miss in the 26th minute, catching the Sharks defence napping by taking a quick tap penalty in their 22m and putting away Willemse for his second try, with Feinberg-Mngomezulu’s conversion making it 17-12.
The Stormers continued to improve over the rest of the half, but a strong Sharks scrum and defence made sure that their side would go into the break leading.
Strong start
It was a strong start to the second half from the Sharks that allowed them to extend their lead, as they put massive pressure on the Stormers with multiple penalties going against them in their 22m leading to a yellow card to replacement lock Salmaan Moerat.
The Sharks finally got the score their pressure deserved in the 46th minute, as they set the 5m lineout, secured the ball and mauled, with flank Phepsi Buthelezi breaking through the middle and scoring the unconverted try.
The Stormers were now chasing the game, but as hard as they tried, they just couldn’t get back in range, largely due to their misfiring lineout which the Sharks were picking off at will, and allowed them to extend their lead to 25-12 with another Hendrikse penalty in the 67th minute.
In the 70th minute the Stormers had a lineout on the Sharks 5m, but after the ball was overthrown, and caught by Sharks captain Andre Esterhuizen, replacement prop Sazi Sandi tackled him in the air, leading to a penalty and yellow card, as the visitors cleared their lines.
With the win practically secured, the Sharks made sure that there wouldn’t be any chance for the Stormers to make a late comeback in the 74th minute, as they kicked a penalty into the Stormers 22m, secured the lineout and rumbled over a maul for Esterhuizen to score.
The Stormers still had time to earn a late penalty try after a maul looked to be powering over in the 78th minute, but it was just a consolation as the Sharks saw out a famous win in Cape Town.
Scorers
Stormers: Tries – Damian Willemse (2), Penalty Try; Conversion – Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu
Sharks: Tries – Jason Jenkins, Jaco Williams, Phepsi Buthelezi, Andre Esterhuizen; Conversions – Jordan Hendrikse (2); Penalties – Hendrikse (2)
