Injuries and tries galore as Bok-laden Sharks thump Munster

CHAMPIONS CUP REPORT: The Sharks advanced to the quarterfinals of the Champions Cup after they thumped Munster 50-35 in their Round of 16 clash at Kings Park on Saturday.

The home side scored seven tries on their way to victory. Six of those tries were scored by Springboks with hooker Bongi Mbonambi getting a brace.

Jaden Hendrikse, Eben Etzebeth, Curwin Bosch and Makazole Mapimpi and Werner Kok were the other try-scorers for the Sharks.

While the victory will be celebrated, there will be some injury concerns.

Hendrikse looked like he suffered a serious arm injury when he scored his team’s first try.

Etzebeth didn’t return to the field after half-time and he could be seen clutching an ice pack on the sidelines.

In the second half, the Sharks also lost Etzebeth’s replacement Emile van Heerden as well as fullback Henry Chamberlain to injuries.

The Sharks drew first blood on a sunny afternoon as flyhalf Bosch dispatched a penalty following a line-out infringement from Munster.

But the Irish province responded on their first attack, creating space out wide with a simple backs move before wing Shane Daly stepped inside and finished in a hugely encouraging moment for his side.

Flyhalf Jack Crowley’s conversion put Munster four points up, and that gap would remain as Bosch was off target with a long-range penalty shortly after the restart.

The Sharks were back in front on 15 minutes, though, as wing Mapimpi produced a brilliant step to evade a handful of Munster defenders before feeding fellow EPCR Player of the Year nominee Hendrikse, who had the legs to get over.

Hendrikse injured himself when grounding and was forced off, but they continued to wrestle control of the contest and another EPCR Player of Year nominee was on the scoresheet as lock Etzebeth powered over from close range.

Bosch converted to extend the hosts’ lead to 10 points, but Munster battled their way back into the contest and were rewarded when prop Dave Kilcoyne burrowed over on 31 minutes, Crowley converting again.

The sides would remain separated by just three points at the break, but ill-discipline cost Munster at the start of the second half as they conceded three penalties in quick succession and ultimately allowed to the Sharks to set a line-out drive in the corner, hooker Mbonambi crashing over amid the driving maul.

Munster capitulated after that score and Mbonambi crossed again in a carbon copy of his first effort four minutes later before wing Kok scythed inside to finish for Sharks’ fifth try.

Bosch added a sixth when he gathered a loose ball and streaked down the touchline to dive over, converting for a fifth time on the afternoon.

Replacement hooker Diarmuid Barron gave Munster the faintest of hope when he planted down on the hour mark, but as they pushed for a fourth try, Mapimpi siezed possession and ran in under the posts from halfway.

Munster would notch another when fullback Mike Haley skipped past a number of challenges to finish well, and they ended on a minor positive as replacement lock Fineen Wycherley planted down for the 12th and final try of the game.

Man of the match: The Sharks’ pack laid the foundation for the victory. Hooker Mbongeni Mbonambi was strong in the mauls and he scored two tries. Lock Gerbrandt Grobler showed how important he is in the physical exchanges, while Sikhumbuzo Notshe also had a decent showing at No.8. Wing Werner Kok was also a livewire out wide and he score a fantastic try as well. However, the award goes to prop Retshegofaditswe Nché, who was immense in the scrums. He dominated his opponent in that area of the game and he was a menace at the breakdowns as well.

The scorers:

For Sharks:
Tries: Hendrikse, Etzebeth, Mbonambi 2, Kok, Bosch, Mapimpi
Cons: Bosch 6
Pen: Bosch

For Munster:
Tries: Daly, Kilcoyne, Barron, Haley, F Wycherley
Cons: Crowly 5

Teams:

Sharks: 15 Henry Chamberlain, 14 Werner Kok, 13 Lukhanyo Am, 12 Rohan Janse van Rensburg, 11 Makazole Mapimpi, 10 Curwin Bosch, 9 Jaden Hendrikse, 8 Sikhumbuzo Notshe, 7 Vincent Tshituka, 6 Siyamthanda Kolisi (captain), 5 Gerbrandt Grobler, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Thomas du Toit, 2 Mbongeni Mbonambi, 1 Retshegofaditswe Nché.
Replacements: 16 Kerron van Vuuren, 17 Ntuthuko Mchunu, 18 Carlü Sadie, 19 19 Emile van Heerden, 20 Phendulani Buthelezi, 21 Grant Williams, 22 Ben Tapuai, 23 Thaakir Abrahams.

Munster: 15 Mike Haley, 14 Calvin Nash, 13 Antoine Frisch, 12 Malakai Fekitoa, 11 Shane Daly, 10 Jack Crowley, 9 Craig Casey, 8 Gavin Coombes, 7 John Hodnett, 6 Peter O’Mahony (captain), 5 Rudolph Snyman, 4 Jean Kleyn, 3 Roman Salanoa, 2 Niall Scannell, 1 Dave Kilcoyne.
Replacements: 16 Diarmuid Barron, 17 Josh Wycherley, 18 Stephen Archer, 19 Fineen Wycherley, 20 Jack O’Donoghue, 21 Conor Murray, 22 Joey Carbery, 23 Alex Kendellen

Referee: Wayne Barnes (England)
Assistant referees: Tom Foley (England), Adam Leal (England)
TMO: Stuart Terheege (England)

Additional source: @ChampionsCup