Leinster ease past Sharks
MATCH REPORT: Sharks’ United Rugby Championship campaign came to an end as they went down 5-35 to Leinster in the quarterfinal clash in Dublin on Saturday.
The fixture at the Landsdowne Road was a very one-sided affair, with Leinster dominating all areas.
*To recap all the action CLICK HERE!!!
The Irish side scored five tries on their way to a semifinal spot.
Leinster will host either Glasgow Warriors or Munster pending the results in the fourth quarterfinal.
For the Sharks, it’s another URC season that will be regarded as a failure.
They headed to Dublin without captain Siya Kolisi, Eben Etzebeth and Curwin Bosch, which really put them on the back foot.
The Sharks struggled and only managed to score one try on Saturday.
Grant Williams’ 10th try of the URC campaign saw the injury-hit Sharks strike early, but Makazole Mapimpi’s yellow card in attempting to stop Caelan Doris’ score was followed by two more converted efforts from Leinster.
Michael Milne and Jordan Larmour both crossed to establish a 21-5 half-time lead, with further seven-pointers from Max Deegan and replacement Jamison Gibson-Park putting the Irish province through to face either Glasgow Warriors or Munster next week.
Thomas du Toit won the Sharks’ first scrum penalty, getting the decision over Milne, and scrumhalf Williams followed up with a brilliant seventh-minute solo try.
The once-capped Springbok broke in between Tadhg Furlong and Ryan Baird before outpacing Dave Kearney for the right corner. Boeta Chamberlain’s conversion went wide.
An impressive Kearney counterattack put Leinster in a position to respond, and Doris was fed from a maul to smash his way over past Mapimpi. The Sharks wing was sin-binned for an awkward head-led tackle.
Harry Byrne converted and also added the extras to Milne’s 20th-minute try, which saw the prop pile over with support from Deegan.
A Byrne cross-field kick played in Larmour for try number three, and the hosts also stopped a big drive from the Sharks pack, which had Carlu Sadie on for the injured du Toit.
A costly scrum free-kick, coupled with a late Chamberlain penalty miss, left the Sharks frustrated. Their scrum continued to be dominant on the restart, with Ox Nche to the fore.
However, a neat line of passes soon sent the lurking Deegan over from the left touchline, with replacement Jack Conan supplying the assist. Byrne’s right boot made it 28-5.
Gibson-Park completed the scoring in the 74th minute, going over from a deft Kearney kick-through. Fellow replacement Ross Byrne converted.
The Sharks, who miss out on Champions Cup rugby for next season, had a Rohan Janse van Rensburg try ruled out for James Venter connecting with Andrew Porter’s head at a ruck. The flank ended the game in the sin bin.
Player of the Match
Try-scoring number eight Doris scooped the medal for an excellent individual performance and Harry Byrne also managed the game well from number 10.
Sharks scrumhalf Williams tried his best from the limited ball, despite their scrum being in the ascendancy.
Play of the Match
Leinster scored their third try out of their own 22. Ciaran Frawley found a gap before Hugo Keenan broke past halfway and bounced off a tackle from his opposite number Aphelele Fassi. Flyhalf Byrne utilised the space out wide, his cross-field kick sitting up nicely for Larmour to step inside Fassi and touch down.
The scorers:
For Leinster:
Tries: Doris, Milne, Larmour, Deegan, Gibson-Park
Cons: Byrne 5
For Sharks:
Try: Williams
Yellow cards: Makazole Mapimpi (Sharks, 14 – high and dangerous tackle), Shaun Venter (Sharks, 72 – Shoulder charge)
Teams:
Leinster: 15 Hugo Keenan, 14 Jordan Larmour, 13 Ciarán Frawley, 12 Charlie Ngatai, 11 Dave Kearney, 10 Harry Byrne, 9 Luke McGrath (captain), 8 Caelan Doris, 7 Scott Penny, 6 Max Deegan, 5 Jason Jenkins, 4 Ryan Baird, 3 Tadhg Furlong, 2 Dan Sheehan, 1 Michael Milne
Replacements: 16 John McKee, 17 Andrew Porter, 18 Cian Healy, 19 Joe McCarthy, 20 Jack Conan, 21 Jamison Gibson-Park, 22 Ross Byrne, 23 Liam Turner
Sharks: 15 Aphelele Fassi, 14 Marnus Potgieter, 13 Lukhanyo Am (captain), 12 Ben Tapuai, 11 Makazole Mapimpi, 10 Henry Chamberlain, 9 Grant Williams, 8 Sikhumbuzo Notshe, 7 Vincent Tshituka, 6 James Venter, 5 Gerbrandt Grobler, 4 Corne Rahl, 3 Thomas du Toit, 2 Mbongeni Mbonambi, 1 Retshegofaditswe Nché.
Replacements: 16 Fez Mbatha, 17 Ntuthuko Mchunu, 18 Carlü Sadie, 19 Jeandre Labuschagne, 20 Phendulani Buthelezi, 21 Cameron Wright, 22 Nevaldo Fluers, 23 Rohan Janse van Rensburg.
Referee: Craig Evans (Wales)
Assistant referees: Sam Grove-White (Scotland), Hollie Davidson (Scotland)
TMO: Ben Whitehouse (Wales)
*Additional Source: URC
