Sharks down Lions as Powell’s hot streak continues

A more polished second-half display by the Sharks saw them defeat the Lions at Durban's Kings Park Stadium in a United Rugby Championship (URC) encounter as Neil Powell’s hot streak continued.

The Sharks won 37-10 as they gave their supporters, who have ensured a rough year because of the side’s disappointing run in the competition last season, a nice Christmas present.

Tries from Makazole Mapimpi (2), Boeta Chamberlain, Grant Williams and Siya Kolisi were enough for the hosts to clinch the South African derby bragging rights and crucial URC log points.

Edwil van der Merwe’s single try saw the Lions, who were 12-7 down at the break, return to Egoli empty-handed and bring an end to their decent run.

Since director of rugby Powell took charge of coaching duties, the Sharks have registered four victories on the trot in all competitions.

The game was played under a great festive season atmosphere with thousands of fans donning Santa hats to create a Christmas mood.

However, the Sharks showed no mercy or Christmas spirit to their opponents on the field.

The Lions came to Durban on the back of an excellent run of three victories and a draw from their last four outings in the URC and EPCR Challenge Cup.

Vincent Tshituka was meant to face his former side for the first time since he left them for the Sharks.

But the Democratic Republic of the Congo player, who was supposed to start in the number four jersey, fell ill and was replaced by Gerbrandt Grobler ahead of the clash.

The Sharks had a fantastic start to the clash as they scored two tries through Mapimpi and Chamberlain inside the first 15 minutes of the match.

But when the hosts looked to be in control of the game, leading 12-0, errors crept into their play and the Lions capitalised on that as Van der Merwe scored their only try in the first half on 17 minutes.

After that the Lions were able to deal with every threat that the Sharks threw at them, with their forward pack putting on an impressive fight.

However, getting outside their own half still proved to be a problem for most of the opening half.

But the Sharks came back strongly in the final stanza as they scored three more tries to secure a crucial bonus point.

The tries came from the Springbok trio of Williams, Kolisi and Mapimpi as the Durbanites cruised to victory.

The visitors could manage just three points in the final stanza when Hendrikse scored a penalty after the hosts were penalised for their unsuccessful scrum early into the half.

Scorers:

Sharks: Tries: Makazole Mapimpi (2), Boeta Chamberlain, Grant Williams, Siya Kolisi Conversion: Curwin Bosch (2) Penalties: Bosch, Lionel Cronje (2)

Lions: Tries: Edwil van der Merwe Conversion: Jordan Hendrikse Penalty: Hendrikse

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