Sharks edge Dragons at the death in tense Newport clash

MATCH REPORT: Replacement hooker Fez Mbatha scored a try in the 85th minute as the Sharks edged the Dragons 33-30 in a tense United Rugby Championship Round Three clash in Newport on Saturday.

It’s the Durban side’s first win in this year’s tournament after they suffered a 30-36 defeat to Connacht in their tour opener.

The Dragons had a four-point lead for most of the final quarter and it looked like they were going to seal a famous victory when the full-time hooter sounded.

However, the Sharks kept up the pressure and eventually found a way through to secure the win.

The hosts will be kicking themselves after they had a 22-5 lead before the Sharks staged a fightback just before half-time.

The Dragons won a couple of early penalties and flyhalf Lloyd Evans converted one of them into three points.

The Sharks’ discipline in those opening minutes will be a concern for head coach John Plumtree and they were reduced to 14 men in the 11th minute after James Venter was sent to the sinbin for a high tackle.

After relentless pressure from the home side, Taine Basham crashed over for the first try of the game in the 18th minute.

However, it didn’t take long for the Sharks to hit back after that and after their first foray into the Dragons’ 22, captain Vincent Tshituka scored his team’s first try. Siya Masuku missed the conversion.

Minutes later, the home side produced a great set-piece attack and prop Chris Coleman was on hand to score his team’s second try after a few phases.

The Dragons looked lethal when they sent the ball wide and they were rewarded when Jared Rosser beat a few defenders down the touchline before feeding the ball to scrumhalf Rhodri Williams, who ran in for his team’s third try.

However, the Sharks produced some magic on attack just before the break with Jurenzo Julius, Andre Esterhuizen and Ethan Hooker all providing great support play before Jaden Hendrikse crossed the home side’s tryline.

The Sharks carried that momentum into the second half and Julius scored their second try after stretching over the Dragons tryline in the 46th minute. His midfield partner, Esterhuizen will take a lot of credit for that score after he produced a great offload in the build-up.

The visitors then found themselves in front in the 49th minute after Hooker collected the ball from a great cross-field kick from Jordan Hendrikse to score in the corner. Masuku made it a four-point lead with the conversion.

After being under pressure for most of the opening stages of the second half, the Dragons received a boost when Jason Jenkins was shown a yellow card for a deliberate knock-on.

And not long after that, Dragons captain Ben Carter crashed over the Sharks’ tryline for his team’s bonus-point try.

Evans missed the conversion, which meant that the home side just had a one-point lead after 56 minutes.

Will Reed took over the kicking duties after that and he slotted a penalty to give his side a four-point lead heading into the final quarter.

The Sharks dominated possession in the closing stages of the game and after numerous phases, the Dragons’ brave defending eventually gave way to Mbatha who scored the winning try at the death.

The scorers:

For Dragons:
Tries: Basham, Coleman, Williams, Carter
Cons: Evans 2
Pens: Evans, Reed

For Sharks:
Tries: V Tshituka, Jaden Hendrikse, Julius, Hooker, Mbatha
Cons: Masuku 4

Yellow cards: James Venter (Sharks, 11′ – foul play, high tackle); Jason Jenkins (Sharks, 53′ – cynical play, deliberate knock-on)

Teams:

Dragons: 15 Angus O’Brien, 14 Rio Dyer, 13 Harry Wilson, 12 Aneurin Owen, 11 Jared Rosser, 10 Lloyd Evans, 9 Rhodri Williams, 8 Dan Lydiate, 7 Taine Basham, 6 Shane Lewis-Hughes, 5 Matthew Screech, 4 Ben Carter (captain), 3 Chris Coleman, 2 Brodie Coghlan, 1 Rhodri Jones.
Replacements: 16 Oli Burrows, 17 Rodrigo Martinez, 18 Luke Yendle, 19 Joe Davies, 20 Ryan Woodman, 21 Dane Blacker, 22 Will Reed, 23 Joe Westwood.

Sharks: 15 Jordan Hendrikse, 14 Eduan Keyter, 13 Jurenzo Julius, 12 Andre Esterhuizen, 11 Ethan Hooker, 10 Siya Masuku, 9 Jaden Hendrikse, 8 Manu Tshituka, 7 Vincent Tshituka (captain), 6 James Venter, 5 Gerbrandt Grobler, 4 Jason Jenkins, 3 Ruan Dreyer, 2 Dylan Richardson, 1 Ntuthuko Mchunu.
Replacements: 16 Fez Mbatha, 17 Trevor Nyakane, 18 Hanro Jacobs, 19 Corne Rahl, 20 Phendulani Buthelezi, 21 Cameron Wright, 22 Lionel Cronje, 23 Francois Venter.

Referee: Andrew Brace (Ireland)
Assistant referees: Ben Connor (Wales); Nathan James (Wales)
TMO: Brian MacNeice (Ireland)