Sharks vs Leinster

The Sharks have leapfrogged Ulster into the top four of the URC, after a nailbiting win against leaders Leinster in Durban.

We reset with a scrum to the blues on half-way. Penalty at the scrum courtsey of Peter Dooley, and Leinster kick it down to the Sharks 22. This is the game!

The Sharks had to show great goal line defence to keep Leinster out of their try line at the death and secure a bonus point win over the URC log leaders.

Then, Leinster camped inside the Sharks 22, looking to weasel through for the try and conversion to break the Sharks' hearts but the home side held on for dear life. Leinster then suffered two yellow cards for lineout and maul drive defence infringements but the Sharks laboured to break the visitors down. The Sharks had to show great goal-line defence to keep the so-called Leinster "B" side out of their try line at the death and secure a four-try bonus-point win over the United Rugby Championship log leaders.

Sharks coach Sean Everitt believes taking Leinster's “B team" lightly ahead of the sides' crucial United Rugby Championship (URC) clash would be a very ...

He is a Springbok and we are very happy to have him back,” Everitt said. “Prior to his injury, he was playing really good rugby. If you look at their team, there are 10 internationals in it though the big names aren’t here,” Everitt said.

When Leinster moved the ball from a smooth lineout, Marius Louw shook the ball free from Max Deegan's grasp. A scrum penalty, given against Andrew Porter, saw ...

Clever work from O’Brien earned a Leinster lineout inside the 22. Leinster needed to dig deep. Sensing the nature of the conditions, the ball was increasingly put to flight and Porter was spotted lifting a leg at a maul to invite pressure from the Sharks lineout. It was Leinster’s turn to move the maul, giving up ground when McCarthy’s launch kick led to another penalty and more maul pressure where Barron was binned for a side entry to reduce Leinster to 13 men. Leo Cullen’s men looked to keep the ball in hand, O’Brien chasing Byrne’s kick, snagging Hendrikse and claiming a penalty on the floor for Frawley to slot the points in the 43rd minute. Leinster’s desire to move the ball was snapped by Makazole Mapimpi’s pick of the pass to rush in under the posts, Bosch converting to tie the scores at the end of the quarter.

Which is why Sharks coach Sean Everitt is delighted to have Aphelele Fassi back from injury at fullback. “I don't think Leinster will change the way they play, ...

But we are really confident at the moment. We know it’s going to take eight-man efforts in the scrums and mauls. “They have stuck to their task and got dominance up front.

The Sharks were made to toil in the Durban rain to claim a vital bonus-point victory over a second-string Leinster side at Kings Park on Saturday night.

Thankfully for the hosts, their scrum and maul fired on all cylinders, allowing them to put Leinster under a mountain of pressure and lose a couple of players to yellow cards in the second half. However, to their immense credit, Leinster continued fighting and put themselves back on top through centre Ciarán Frawley’s third successful penalty of the game. Even when Buthelezi forced his way over from a five-metre scrum, the Sharks still had to scrap to win the game as Leinster hit back in the final 10 minutes and spent the closing stages of the match camped on the Sharks tryline.