Sharks edge 14-man Rebels

The Sharks survived a late Rebels charge to walk away with a narrow 25-21 victory in a match that saw six tries and a red card after an uneventful first half.

Two tries and a try assist to Rebels' captain Scott Higginbotham put the visitors within touching distance as the game neared its conclusion, however, the Sharks were able to hold on for a second successive victory and leave the Rebels with just a losing bonus point to show for their endeavours in a game which saw each side score three tries.

A subdued opening half hour, notable only for a Lionel Cronje penalty goal, gave no indication of what was to come as Laurie Weeks saw red after Jannie du Plessis initiated a coming together of the tight heads, with the Sharks instantly taking advantage to score through Sibusiso Sithole.

The Rebels hit back on the stroke of half time, Higginbotham spotting a gap to score his 31st Super Rugby try and Jack Debreczeni superbly converting from out wide to go in to the break down 7-10.

The Sharks' fliers were able to take advantage of the numerical difference early in the second half, with first Lwazi Mvovo and then Heimar Williams scoring, but the Rebels refused to back down and Higginbotham was able to charge in next to the uprights for a double to set up a grandstand final twenty minutes.

A second Cronje penalty extended the Sharks' lead momentarily, however when Higginbotham broke the line the Rebels were able to go coast to coast and score through Bryce Hegarty, to narrow the margin to just four points with five minutes remaining.

But time ran out for the visitors as they eventually went down, despite their best efforts.

Man of the Match: Scott Higginbotham proved once again that he is the heart and soul of the Rebels, bagging a brace while being instrumental in the build-up to their third try. For the Sharks, Sibusiso Sithole was a constant threat with blistering runs at the Rebels defence and grabbing the opening try of the match. Odwa Ndungane proved to be a nuisance under the high ball and placed the Rebels' defence under all sorts of pressure. Our award goes to a debutant who carried himself like a seasoned professional. Khaya Majola made a nuisance of himself at the breakdowns and showed an all-round solid performance.

Scorers:

For the Sharks:

Tries: Sithole, Mvovo, Williams

Cons: Cronje 2

Pens: Cronje 2

For the Rebels:

Tries: Higginbotham 2, Hegarty

Cons: Debreczeni 3

Yellow card: Jannie du Plessis (Sharks, 29 – foul play; slapping an opponent)

Red card: Laurie Weeks (Rebels, 29 – foul play; repeatedly punching an opponent)

Teams:

Sharks: 15 Lwazi Mvovo, 14 Odwa Ndungane, 13 JP Pietersen, 12 Andre Esterhuizen, 11 Sibusiso Sithole, 10 Lionel Cronje, 9 Stefan Ungerer, 8 Renaldo Bothma, 7 Etienne Oosthuizen, 6 Khaya Majola, 5 Marco Wentzel (captain), 4 Mouritz Botha, 3 Jannie du Plessis, 2 Bismarck du Plessis , 1 Tendai Mtawarira.

Replacements: 16 Franco Marais, 17 Matt Stevens, 18 Lourens Adriaanse, 19 Lubabalo Mtyanda, 20 Jean Deysel, 21 Conrad Hoffmann, 22 Fred Zeilinga, 23 Heimar Williams.

Rebels: 15 Mike Harris, 14 Dom Shipperley, 13 Sefanaia Naivalu, 12 Mitch Inman, 11 Tom English, 10 Jack Debreczeni, 9 Luke Burgess, 8 Scott Higginbotham (captain), 7 Colby Fainga'a, 6 Sean McMahon, 5 Lopeti Timani, 4 Luke Jones, 3 Laurie Weeks, 2 Pat Leafa, 1 Toby Smith.

Replacements: 16 Tom Sexton, 17 Cruze Ah-Nau, 18 Paul Alo-Emile, 19 Cadeyrn Neville, 20 Scott Fuglistaller, 21 Nic Stirzaker, 22 Jordy Reid, 23 Bryce Hegarty.

Referee: Jaco van Heerden

Assistant referees: Rodney Boneparte, Ben Crouse

TMO: Marius Jonker