The Sharks cruised to a 38-13 victory over the EP Kings in very wet conditions in Port Elizabeth in their final warm-up match ahead of the new season of Super Rugby.
The Durban side took a 10-3 lead into the half-time break, but came out firing in the second half to dominate every facet of the game.
The Sharks were dealt a blow before the match, with experienced flank Jacques Botes pulling out of the game with an infection on his leg. The decision was a precautionary measure and gave an opportunity for Lubabalo Mtembu to start on the side of the scrum.
The wet conditions made things difficult, but the forward were able to control the ball for the Sharks and dictate the pace of the match to the Kings.
The only black mark on the Sharks performance was a yellow card to Keegan Daniel for killing the ball on the ground.
While the Sharks were down to 14-men the Kings made the most of their advantage, and Boetie Britz crossed the line for the home side's only try of the match.
More to follow...
Scorers:
For Kings:
Try: Britz
Con: Rose
Pens: Oelschig 2
For Sharks:
Tries: Ndungane, Kankowski, Viljoen, Daniel 2, Jordaan
Cons: Lambie 4
Yellow card: Keegan Daniel
The teams:
Kings: 15 Tiger Mangweni, 14 Marcello Sampson, 13 Dwayne Jenner, 12 Wayne Stevens, 11 Norman Nelson, 10 Shane Gates, 9 Falie Oelschig, 8 Vleis Engelbrecht, 7 Mpho Mbiyozo, 6 Boetie Britz, 5 David Bulbring, 4 Darron Nell (captain), 3 Clint Newland, 2 Hannes Franklin, 1 Jaco Engels.
Replacements: 16 Bobby Dyer, 17 Zane Killian, 18 André Schlechter, 19 Wayne van Heerden, 20 Reynier Bernardo, 21 Thembelani Bholi, 22 Siya Mangaliso, 23 Danie Faasen, 24 Earl Rose, 25 Matthew Tayler-Smith, 26 Kieran Goss.
Sharks: 15 Riaan Viljoen, 14 Odwa Ndungane, 13 JP Pietersen, 12 Tim Whitehead, 11 Lwazi Mvovo, 10 Patrick Lambie, 9 Charl McLeod, 8 Ryan Kankowski, 7 Lubabalo Mtembu, 6 Marcell Coetzee, 5 Anton Bresler, 4 Steven Sykes, 3 Jannie du Plessis, 2 Bismarck du Plessis (captain), 1 Dale Chadwick.
Replacements: 16 Craig Burden, 17 Julian Redelinghuys, 18 Wiehahn Herbst, 19 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 20 Ross Skeate, 21 Keegan Daniel, 22 Cobus Reinach, 23 Meyer Bosman, 24 Paul Jordaan.
Referee: Jonathan Kaplan
Assistant referees: Christie du Preez, Phillip Bosch
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