The Hollywoodbets Sharks scored an emphatic 36-21 Vodacom United Rugby Championship victory over Cardiff at Cardiff Arms Park on Friday evening.
Chilly and windy conditions met the two teams in the Welsh capital and the going was tough at times, but relentless play from start to finish earned the Hollywoodbets Sharks a vital five pointer, away from home.
It was a start of mixed fortunes for the Hollywoodbets Sharks who scored in the opening two minutes, Ethan Hooker benefitting from a good mini break and offload from Jurenzo Julius, but a minute earlier losing captain Andre Esterhuizen who landed awkwardly and had to leave the field.
There would be plenty more disruptions to the backline through injury, but the Durban side showed their pedigree, competitive throughout.
Cardiff were under the pump, but made the most of a rare opportunity inside the opening 10 minutes, capitalising from a ball lost on the ground and quickly transitioned from defence into attack, scoring a 70m try to equalise, with the conversion taking them into a 7-5 lead.
Matt Romao ran onto the perfect slip-pass from Jaden Hendrikse to score the second try in the 26th minute after Man of the Match Zekhethelo Siyaya’s excellent solo effort earlier on was denied by a TMO call on an earlier knock-on, but the score came at a pivotal time in the game, with flyhalf Gianni Lombard adding the extras for a 12-7 lead.
With two minutes of extra time played in the first half, the Hollywoodbets Sharks were clinical in the dying moments following a dominant scrum and penalty, kicked to touch and then mauled closer and closer to the line before lock Jason Jenkins managed to get the ball over for a 17-7 half-time lead.
Cardiff struck first blood five minutes into the second half, a patient build-up finally getting the reward they were seeking and with the conversion, had cut the deficit to three points.
With the game headed for the final quarter, Cardiff kicked a penalty to touch and managed to maul the ball over the tryline to retake the lead, the conversion giving them a 21-17 advantage.
But the Hollywoodbets Sharks struck back immediately, Siyaya’s kick and chase regaining possession and then the forwards hammering away through numerous pick-and-drive efforts before Thomas du Toit managed to get over, with Lombard converting for a 24-21 lead and 17 minutes left to play.
From that moment on, the confidence just grew and grew and with it, sheer dominance, from mauling to lineout steals to scrum penalties and finally a fifth try, Ethan Bester being driven over from a convincing rolling maul. When Siya Masuku converted, the Hollywoodbets Sharks held a 10-point lead with five minutes left to play.
The final minutes were played at a frenzied pace with Cardiff in search of a losing bonus point, but pressure told and a turnover won saw Romao, ever–present throughout, snatching the ball and racing over to close out a dominant and quite convincing performance.
