Sharks: The good, bad and ugly

STAT ATTACK: The Sharks may have been unconvincing throughout the season, but have done enough to finish third on the United Rugby Championship table.

The result guarantees them a home quarterfinal and a potential home semifinal.

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Their Round 18 clash against the Scarlets was nerve-wracking for their supporters, a hard watch for the neutral, yet they got the job done by kicking four penalties to edge the Welsh outfit by 12-3.

In part two of our four-part series, @rugby365com takes a look at key statistics of the Sharks’ regular season.

The good: Line-outs

The Durbanites are ranked fourth overall at line-out time with an 88 percent success rate.

They’re also ranked sixth for line-out steals, with utility forward Vincent Tshituka ranked first overall for the most steals won (10) during the regular season.

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The bad: Scrum success

For a side littered with Springbok forwards such as Ox Nche, Bongi Mbonambi, Vincent Koch, Eben Etzebeth, Siya Kolisi and Jason Jenkins, it is quite concerning that the Sharks are ranked 14th for scrums won with an 89 percent success rate.

However, they are in sixth place for scrum penalties won (30), which proved to be crucial at times throughout the season to get them out of trouble in close games.

The ugly: Defence

Ranked 15th overall, the Sharks have a mere tackle success rate of 79 percent. Despite being third on the table, this doesn’t exactly shout “title contenders”.

They’re also ranked first for turnovers lost (287), which is a big concern.

*Keep an eye out for the final piece of our three-part series

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