Bok-laden Sharks fail to produce the goods against Leinster

MATCH REPORT: Leinster ended their South African tour with a gritty 10-7 win over the Sharks in Durban on Saturday.

The team from Dublin entered the match without a host of international stars, yet they managed to frustrate a Bok-laden Sharks outfit.

Two unconverted tries were enough for the visitors, and they produced a magnificent defensive display in difficult conditions at Kings Park.

However, they were up against a Sharks team that lacked rhythm and cohesion in most areas of the game.

John Plumtree’s side even had a chance to level the scores with a penalty at the end. However, they opted for a line-out, which ended in disappointment.

After absorbing early pressure from the Sharks, the visitors grew in confidence with ball in hand.

The Sharks eventually crumbled near their own tryline when Jaden Hendrikse was shown a yellow card for kicking the ball out of an opponent’s hands in the ruck.

Leinster made the advantage count when the ball was spread wide to Henry McErlean, who scored the opening try of the game in the 19th minute. Ciarán Frawley could not find the direction with his conversion.

The home side dominated possession and territory in the final few minutes of the first half, but once again, they couldn’t convert it into points.

The visitors were camped inside the Sharks’ 22 in the opening period of the second half and after sustained pressure, Scott Penny was put into space to score his side’s second try. Crawley found the upright with his conversion attempt.

The Sharks needed to find some rhythm to stay in the game and they found it in their maul with Springbok prop Bongi Mbonambi storming to the tryline in the 52nd minute.

Jordan Hendrikse made it a three-point ball game with the conversion.

The Sharks were nearly in again in the 57th minute after some great backline play put Ethan Hooker into space to race towards the Leinster tryline.

However, he was held up after some great scrambling defence.

It was a huge arm-wrestle in the final quarter, with both teams wasting opportunities.

The Sharks had an opportunity to try and clinch a draw in the final minute after winning a penalty.

However, captain Siya Kolisi was determined to snatch a win and he opted for a line-out instead of the poles.

A maul was formed and it was nullified by a clever Leinster pack.

Man of the match: The award goes to Leinster captain and No.8 Max Deegan. He led by example on the field with his powerful carries and determination on defence.

The scorers:

For Sharks:
Try: Mbonambi
Con: Jordan Hendrikse

For Leinster:
Tries: McErlean, Penny

Yellow card: Jaden Hendrikse (Sharks, 18′ – cynical play in the ruck)

Teams:

Sharks: 15 Yaw Penxe, 14 Ethan Hooker, 13 Jurenzo Julius, 12 Andre Esterhuizen, 11 Makazole Mapimpi, 10 Jordan Hendrikse, 9 Jaden Hendrikse, 8 Siya Kolisi (captain), 7 Vincent Tshituka, 6 James Venter, 5 Emile van Heerden, 4 Jason Jenkins, 3 Vincent Koch, 2 Bongi Mbonambi, 1 Ox Nche.
Replacements: 16 Fez Mbatha, 17 Ntuthuko Mchunu, 18 Ruan Dreyer, 19 Corne Rahl, 20 Manu Tshituka, 21 Bradley Davids, 22 Siya Masuku, 23 Francois Venter.

Leinster: 15 Jimmy O’Brien, 14 Tommy O’Brien, 13 Liam Turner, 12 Charlie Tector, 11 Andrew Osborne, 10 Ciarán Frawley, 9 Fintan Gunne, 8 Max Deegan, 7 Will Connors, 6 Alex Soroka, 5 Brian Deeny, 4 Diarmuid Manga, 3 Thomas Clarkson, 2 John McKee, 1 Cian Healy.
Replacements: 16 Lee Barron, 17 Michael Milne, 18 Rory McGuire, 19 Alan Spicer, 20 Scott Penny, 21 Oliver Coffey, 22 Ross Byrne, 23 Henry McErlean.

Referee: Ben Breakspear (Wales)
Assistant referees: Christopher Allison (South Africa), Hanru van Rooyen (South Africa)
TMO: Ben Whitehouse (Wales)