Sharks secure first URC win but fail to impress in 29-19 victory over winless Scarlets

The Sharks achieved their aim of notching their first win of the United Rugby Championship season, but in terms of performance they were largely off-target as they struggled to put away the winless Scarlets 29-19 at Kings Park in Durban on Saturday.

Scoring four tries to three, the bonus point win for the Sharks lifts them to eight points on the log, just outside the top-10. Scarlets, despite putting up a good fight, remained anchored to the bottom of the standings with zero points.

But even though they fielded another XV loaded with Springboks, the Sharks battled to break down the determined Scarlets side, while they suffered lapses in defence to keep the Welsh side in the game.

The Tshituka brothers, Vincent and Emmanuel, managed to achieve the feat of scoring the first two tries for the Sharks. A storming run by fellow loose forward Siya Kolisi set up Vincent to score in the fifth minute, but Emmanuel did his own running, beating three defenders in a surge from the 22m line.

In between, however, a defensive lapse allowed new Springbok Marnus van der Merwe to score for Scarlets. Centre Johnny Williams was allowed to carry through the middle by some weak tackles, he offloaded to lock Harvey Cuckson, who galloped clear before passing to the hooker.

The Sharks were poor at the restarts, kicked too many contestables from deep in their own half and made too many errors in their territory, giving agency to Scarlets’ efforts.

Straight after the second Tshituka try, Scarlets fullback Blair Murray chipped over the defensive line and some sloppy clearing work allowed him to regather and swerve away for the try. Flyhalf Sam Costelow converted and the visitors were suddenly 14-12 ahead.

But a good contestable kick by scrumhalf Grant Williams was won by wing Ethan Hooker, producing an opportunity to attack out wide and earn a penalty. The lineout was set in the 22 and prop Lee-Marvin Mazibuko went over from close range, the Sharks leading 19-14 at the break.

Just five minutes into the second half, the Sharks were defending like apprentices again as replacement scrumhalf Archie Hughes ran from the base of a scrum, popping a pass to right wing Tom Rogers, who raced through a gaping hole for an easy try from a set-piece outside the 22.

While some of the Sharks’ many Springboks seemed to have alibis for the game, Kolisi was not one of them and swivelled out of a rolling maul and scored in the 49th minute to give the home side a handy seven-point lead.

Flyhalf Jean Smith, who provided much evidence that he can be trusted at URC level, then nailed a long-range penalty into the wind to put the Sharks 10 points up with 17 minutes remaining.

The Sharks defence were certainly committed in the final quarter, Mazibuko pulling off a tryline save and the backs holding up a dangerous attack out wide soon afterwards.

The one area of absolute excellence for the Sharks was the scrum, with the home side getting increasing dominance through the match. Loosehead prop Ox Nche was the man of the match.

A haul of seven tries and their second successive victory shows there is progress on the Lions front as they beat previously unbeaten Ulster 49-31 at Ellis Park on Saturday.

Ulster have beaten the star-studded Sharks and Bulls teams over the last two week, and were just 31-34 down to the Lions with only 10 minutes left to play on Saturday. But the Lions scored three tries in the closing minutes to blow the scoreline out.

Scorers

Sharks - Tries: Vincent Tshituka, Emmanuel Tshituka, Lee-Marvin Mazibuko, Siya Kolisi. Conversions: Jean Smith (3). Penalty: Smith.

Scarlets - Tries: Marnus van der Merwe, Blair Murray, Tom Rogers. Conversions: Sam Costelow (2).