In the world of ambush jobs, this almost turned into the great Gautrain Robbery.
Having topped the Super Rugby points table the Lions came to bask in the Highveld's bright, mid-winter sun, but the Sharks for every minute of this clash sought to steal their thunder.
In the end a long range Ruan Combrinck penalty got them home. Just.
The Lions hardly helped the cause with four missed kicks at goal. Elton Jantjies, a marksman extraordinaire earlier in the competition, was just ordinary with four misses from relatively easy distances.
With persistence armoured in ruggedness the Sharks set about their task of knocking the Lions out of their stride. They warmed to and then relished the task.
Earlier skirmishes this season produced a red winner, but the Sharks did give a decent account of themselves on their previous visit to Ellis Park. In fact, they were one of few teams to rattle the Lions' cage this season.
After last weekend's defeat at home, their coach accused them of lacking effort but he will know why they barely contested a ruck. On this occasion, however, everything was contested with verve and vigour.
The Sharks fed off crumbs of possession, but to play a game of ambush meant that they could give very little away in defence.
The Lions battered away at the Sharks' line in the opening 10 minutes and had only a 3-0 lead to show for it. Their frustration grew greater still when some errant passing from Lionel Mapoe got the hosts in a tangle from a quick throw-in deep inside their own territory. The Sharks made them pay by scoring in the corner.
Despite their surfeit of possession, the Lions fluffed their lines in attack. They were particularly guilty of spilling the ball in the tackle, but that was in part due to the heat the Sharks applied in contact. Jean-Luc du Preez and captain Philip van der Walt cut towering figures, but to be fair most of the Sharks had a touch of mongrel about them.
Van der Walt and Du Preez were instrumental in muddying the waters for the Lions' ball carriers by embracing them in the tackle and keeping them upright, prone to the turnover.
Amid frenzied Lions attacks, the Sharks were required to do an inordinate amount of defending.
The Lions at times laid siege to the Sharks 22, but resilient defence and a lack of composure saw them fritter away chances.
The growing sense of frustration in the Lions ranks was palpable. For the hosts and for the sizeable crowd it must have felt like an unfolding, only in slow motion.
The Lions eked out the hard yards and got themselves back into the game with tries by Franco Mostert and Jaco Kriel, before Harold Vorster's vision and ambition in quick-tapping a penalty that led to Mapoe's 27th Super Rugby try. Combrinck later sealed the nerve- jangling win...