Sharks have no answers
The Sharks were left with more questions than answers, after they opened their Australasian tour with a bitterly disappointing 15-48 loss to the Highlanders in Dunedin on Friday.
The Highlanders demolished the Sharks by employing a high-tempo passing game and outscoring them by seven tries to two.
Buoyed by the return of All Black trio Ben Smith, Malakai Fekitoa and Aaron Smith, the Highlanders' slick passing game saw them run away with the game in the second half.
The bonus-point victory took the New Zealanders' record to seven wins from 10 matches, consolidating their spot in the top six as a clutch of rivals breathe down their neck.
It was the fourth straight defeat for the Sharks, leaving their finals hopes hanging after the first match of a tough five-week road trip.
"It's quite hard to see any positives at this stage," a despondent Sharks captain Marco Wentzel said.
"We have to look at the negatives first and fix the problems then take it from there.
"It's a tough tour, it doesn't get any easier."
The Highlanders, who head to South Africa for matches against the Lions (in Johannesburg) and Cheetahs (in Bloemfontein), produced a superb display of clever, counter-attacking play.
"Really, both teams were under a bit of pressure and we didn't get the result we were after last week and they've had a couple of losses as well," Highlanders coach Jamie Joseph said.
"I'm really proud of our forward pack.
"If we didn't give silly penalties away it would have been a perfect performance for me."
Star flyhalf Lima Sopoaga said it was a relief to get the win, after last week's loss to the Brumbies.
"We did everything the coaches asked, we lifted when we had to," Sopoaga said.
"When opportunities came we struck.
"We know they are big up front and with any South African side, you have to move them around.
"I thought we did that really nicely and when we executed nicely we put them away."
The Sharks will play the Hurricanes next week in their second tour match.
They then cross the Tasman Sea where they will play the Waratahs and Reds.
