Sharks give solid performance against Glasgow to return to winning ways

If the Sharks performance on Saturday against the Glasgow Warriors is anything to go by, the Durban-based franchise will finally move from being pretenders to contenders in the United Rugby Championship (URC).

The Sharks dismantled the Scottish side 40-12 in a URC match at Kings Park Stadium in Durban where the hosts gave an almost perfect performance.

The Sharks' tries came from Anthony Volmink (2), Bongi Mbonambi, Aphelele Fassi and Werner Kok while Thomas Gordon crossed the whitewash twice for the visitors.

In spite of boasting a number of top players in their system, the Sharks were a big disappointment in the URC where they were knocked out of the quarterfinals.

But their third win in four outings shows a lot of promise and some new players seem to be gelling well in their new environment.

Before Saturday, the Sharks hadn’t done badly in terms of getting the desired results as they returned home from a three-week European tour with two wins and a single defeat.

But it was their performance in those matches that was far from perfect and things were expected to be better against the Warriors because they played at home and their squad was boosted by the availability of their top guns.

Sharks coach Sean Everitt had his Springbok stars available for the clash, but didn’t start all of them with Mbonambi, Ox Nche, national team skipper Siya Kolisi, and Makazole Mapimpi all playing from the bench.

However, the coach opted to start the towering lock Eben Etzebeth, playing his first match for the Sharks, and scrumhalf Jaden Hendrikse.

Etzebeth fitted like a glove in the Sharks set-up and he promises to be a key player in the Durban-based franchise's desired success.

The Sharks looked solid and played as a team from the start of the match, controlled and took the game to their visitors from Scotland.

But there were still some worrying lapses of concentration and terrible defending which led to the Warriors crossing the whitewash first through Gordon on 14 minutes.

In spite of trailing at home, the Sharks continued to play with a calmness and Volmink scored his first try of the day with seven minute to the break and they led 13-7 at halftime.

The Sharks had a bad start in the second half as they conceded at least four ruck penalties and missed a line-out that led to Gordon’s second try.

But the introduction of the national team players that were on the bench helped the Durbanites regain control of the game.

Everitt’s men scored three more tries for their bonus-point victory through Volmink, his second, Mbonambi and Fassi.

The Sharks will host Ulster in their next URC match in Durban on Saturday (6.15pm).

Sharks (40): Tries: Anthony Volmink (2), Bongi Mbonambi, Aphelele Fassi, Werner Kok. Conversions: Boeta Chamberlain (2). Penalties: Chamberlain (3).

Warriors (12): Tries: Thomas Gordon (2). Conversions: Tom Jordan.