Julius hat-trick helps Sharks thrash hapless Benetton

MATCH REPORT: The Sharks thrashed Benetton by 46-7 in Round 17 of the United Rugby Championship at Hollywoodbets Kings Park on Saturday.

The Sharks’ dominance at scrum time laid the platform for the backs to have a field day, with Springbok wing Edwill van der Merwe grabbing a brace and former Junior Bok Jurenzo Julius scoring a hat-trick.

Despite not slotting any of his conversion attempts, Zekhethelo Siyaya justified his selection at flyhalf with a solid display in his first outing as playmaker in his URC career.

*To recap all the action, CLICK HERE!

The home side drew first blood when Van der Merwe dotted down for the opening score in the 11th minute following an offload at speed by Jaco Williams.

The Sharks’ second try came in the form of Julius, who left defenders for dead as he powered through four defenders from 10 meters away to score in the 22nd minute.

Moments later, following a TMO consultancy, Benetton went down to 14 players after Bautista Bernasconi was sent to the sinbin for a grasscutter tackle on Vincent Koch.

The Sharks cashed in on the numerical advantage almost immediately when Siya Kolisi dotted down for his team’s third try in the 27th minute off the back of a rolling maul.

Just as Benetton returned to their full complement, Jacob Umaga went to the sinbin for a dangerous tackle against Makazole Mapimpi, which forced the Bok winger off the field with the aid of a medical cart in the 37th minute.

Before play resumed, the call came from the bunker that Umaga’s yellow card was upgraded to a 20-minute red card.

The Sharks opted for a scrum, which set the platform for Van der Merwe out wide to grab his brace and the bonus point try for his team seconds before halftime.

The match report continues below…

Andre Esterhuizen added his name to the scoresheet in the 43rd minute, beating three defenders in the process for the Sharks’ fifth try of the afternoon.

Bradley Davids slotted the Sharks’ first successful conversion attempt to make the score 27-0 in favour of the home side.

Julius grabbed a brace in the 58th minute after running a beautiful line at pace to grab the pass from Esterhuizen. Jean Smith added the conversion.

The centre partnership of Esterhuizen and Julius made amok moments later when combining to send the boogeyman away for a hat-trick. Smith’s conversion made the score 41-0.

Benetton finally erased the doughnut from the scoreboard when Cristiano Tizzano dotted down for the visitors, with Garbisi adding the extras.

The Sharks, however, had the final say when Litelihle Bester dotted down in the corner after the fulltime siren sounded.

Scorers

For the Sharks:
Tries: Van der Merwe 2, Julius 3, Kolisi, Esterhuizen, Bester
Cons: Davids, Smith 2

For Benetton:
Try: Tizzano
Con: Garbisi

Yellow card: Bautista Bernasconi (Benetton, 26′ – Dangerous play: grasscutter tackle)

Twenty-minute red card (upgraded from yellow): Jacob Umaga (Benetton, 37′ – Dangerous play:  high tackle)

Teams

Sharks: 15 Jaco Williams, 14 Edwill van der Merwe, 13 Jurenzo Julius, 12 Andre Esterhuizen (captain), 11 Makazole Mapimpi, 10 Zekhethelo Siyaya, 9 Bradley Davids, 8 Nick Hatton, 7 Emmanuel Tshituka, 6 Siya Kolisi, 5 Emile van Heerden, 4 Jason Jenkins, 3 Vincent Koch, 2 Eduan Swart, 1 Ox Nche.
Replacements: 16 Fez Mbatha, 17 Phatu Ganyane, 18 Hanro Jacobs, 19 Corne Rahl, 20 Matt Romao, 21 Ross Braude, 22 Jean Smith, 23 Litelihle Bester.

Benetton: 15 Rhyno Smith, 14 Louis Lynagh, 13 Tommaso Menoncello, 12 Leonardo Marin, 11 Ignacio Mendy, 10 Jacob Umaga, 9 Alessandro Garbisi, 8 Lorenzo Cannone, 7 Alessandro Izekor, 6 Riccardo Favretto, 5 Giulio Marini, 4 Niccolò Cannone (captain), 3 Marcos Gallorini, 2 Bautista Bernasconi, 1 Destiny Aminu
Replacements: 16 Nicholas Gasperini, 17 Ivan Nemer, 18 Tiziano Pasquali, 19 Mattia Midena, 20 So’otala Fa’aso’o, 21 Federico Ruzza, 22 Cristiano Tizzano, 23 Federico Zanandrea

Referee: Ben Breakspear (Wales)
Assistant referees: Hanru van Rooyen (South Africa) and Stephan Geldenhuys (South Africa)
TMO: Craig Evans (Wales)