Sloppy Sharks edge Zebre in nervy Kings Park affair
MATCH REPORT: The Sharks cemented their place in the top four of the United Rugby Championship with a nervy one-point win in a nine-try thriller at Kings Park on Saturday.
The home team, twice had to come from behind against a willing and energetic Italian outfit, a Jordan Hendrikse conversion of an Ethan Hooker try with five minutes to go saw them sneak a 35-34 victory.
The bonus-point win will see them finish Round 13 in third or fourth place in the standings.
Zebre did their best to turn it into a scrappy affair, with plenty of chaotic movement – hoping to disrupt the more structured Sharks, relying heavily on the Springbok-laden pack.
The biggest issue for the home team was that they were not always clinical enough – with their turnovers into double digits by half-time already.
At times the Sharks got sucked into the visitors’ game of chaos – with 20-odd turnovers and almost as many handling errors.
Sharks captain Siya Kolisi summed it up perfectly in his post-match briefing, saying: “We made it so hard for ourselves.
“They [Zebre] are good at broken play and we could have lost this game.
“However, I am proud of the fight the team showed at the end.”
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The Sharks got off to a flying start – a trick play at the line-out earning them a penalty, that resulted in another penalty and another line-out. Captain Siya Kolisi finished off a number of forward raids. Jordan Hendrikse added the conversion – 7-0 after just four minutes.
Next followed a sublime counter that saw Makazole Mapimpi put Jurenzo Julius over for the second try. The conversion made it 14-0 after 12 minutes.
Zebre, still preferring an unstructured approach, saw Gesi Alessandro collect a cross-field kick from Giovanni Montemauri for their opening try. Montemauri added the conversion – 7-14 after 14 minutes.
Just past the quarter mark flank Giacomo Ferrari wormed his way over from close range, with the Sharks on the wrong side of the referee and Kolisi also getting a talking to about the team’s discipline. Montemauri levelled it up at 12-all with the conversion.
That was followed by a yellow card against Makazole Mapimpi, for a cynical foul – kicking the ball back from an offside position.
Montemauri slotted the penalty, as Zebre gook a surprise 17-14 lead on the half-hour mark.
Kolisi, from a line-out maul, sniped down the right wing and sprinted 40 metres for his second and the Sharks’ third try. Jordan Hendrikse made it 21-17 with the conversion.
The Sharks returned to their power game, with Vincent Koch getting the bonus-point try. Jordan Hendrikse made it 28-17, putting the home team in a commanding position going into the half-time break.
Match Summary
Zebre started the second half by exploiting some sloppy play from the Sharks – Yaw Penxe throwing the ball to an opponent, a play that ended with fullback and captain Geronimo Prisciantelli kicking ahead, chasing, Jordan Hendrikse kicking it over his own line and Prisciantelli scoring. The Montemauri conversion narrowed the gap to four points – 24-28.
The Italian fullback was back at it minutes later – an intercept inside the Sharks 22, kicked ahead, chased and sloppy play by the Sharks allowing Prisciantelli to score. The conversion saw Zebre reclaim the lead – 31-28.
It was back to the power game for the home team, but the Sharks were held up over the goalline.
That was followed by a 50-22 in favour of Zebre, as the Sharks’ big forwards were made to retreat. Prisciantelli was wide with a drop-goal attempt.
Another moment of madness, Jordan Hendrikse playing the ball on the ground, allowed Montemauri to stretch the lead to six points – 34-28.
Again the Sharks returned to their power game – the forwards taking it through numerous phases and raids by the forwards.
That resulted in two scrum penalties and a warning by the referee, after which the Sharks opted for another scrum deep inside the Zebre 22.
Muhamed Hasa was yellow-carded in the 72nd minute for repeated scrum infringements.
However, all these resets and scrum penalties took five minutes off the clock.
Eventually, after another series of raids by the forwards, Andre Esterhuizen flung a pass wide out to Ethan Hooker – who stretched over for the try, Jordan Hendrikse landed the touchline conversion to reclaim the lead – 35-34, four minutes left on the clock.
The Sharks now relied on their defence to hold out a desperate Zebre,
Man of the match: Lock Matteo Canali was the visitors’ best forward, with flyhalf Giovanni Montemauri keeping them in the game through his accurate kicking. Captain and fullback Geronimo Prisciantelli, with his chasing of stray possession, earned his team two valuable tries. For the Sharks, veteran wing Makazole Mapimpi had a mixed bag, with some sublime moments and moments of madness. The home team’s real heroes were in the pack – the front row of Vincent Koch, Bongi Mbonambi and Ox Nche particularly destructive. My award goes to Sharks No.8 Siya Kolisi for his ‘captain’s innings’ – not a flawless display, but by some distance the home team’s most productive and effective player. his eight carries produced more than 50 metres and two tries, including a brilliant sprint down the right wing for one of those tries. He also did not shirk his duties at the breakdown and on defence.
The scorers
For the Sharks
Tries: Kolisi 2, Julius, Koch, Hooker
Cons: Jordan Hendrikse 5
For Zebre
Tries: Alessandro, Ferrari, Prisciantelli 2
Cons: Montemauri 4
Pens: Montemauri 2
Yellow cards: Makazole Mapimpi (Sharks, 27 – cynical foul, kicking the ball from an offside position), Muhamed Hasa (Zebre, 72 – foul play, repeated scrum infringements)
Teams:
Sharks: 15 Henry Immelman, 14 Yaw Penxe, 13 Jurenzo Julius, 12 Ethan Hooker, 11 Makazole Mapimpi, 10 Jordan Hendrikse, 9 Jaden Hendrikse, 8 Siya Kolisi (captain), 7 Vincent Tshituka, 6 Phepsi Buthelezi, 5 Emile van Heerden, 4 Jason Jenkins, 3 Vincent Koch, 2 Bongi Mbonambi, 1 Ox Nche.
Replacements: 16 Fez Mbatha, 17 Ntuthuko Mchunu, 18 Hanro Jacobs, 19 Corné Rahl, 20 James Venter, 21 Bradley Davids, 22 Francois Venter, 23 Andre Esterhuizen.
Zebre: 15 Geronimo Prisciantelli (captain), 14 Scott Gregory, 13 Fetuli Paea, 12 Filippo Drago, 11 Gesi Alessandro, 10 Giovanni Montemauri, 9 Alessandro Fusco, 8 Davide Ruggeri, 7 Luca Andreani, 6 Giacomo Ferrari, 5 Matteo Canali, 4 Francesco Ruffolo, 3 Juan Pitinari, 2 Tommaso di Bartolomeo, 1 Luca Rizzoli.
Replacements: 16 Giampietro Ribaldi, 17 Muhamed Hasa, 18 Ion Neculai, 19 Leonard Krumov, 20 Bautista Stavile, 21 Jacopo Bianchi, 22 Thomas Dominguez, 23 Enrico Lucchin.
Referee: Sam Grove-White
Assistant referees: Christopher Allison, Hanru van Rooyen
TMO: Mike Adamson
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* Picture credit: Steve Haag Sports
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