Hollywoodbets Sharks won in Durban despite the brave Ospreys' performance. Ospreys put in a huge defensive shift, but the Sharks had too much in the tank and battled to a 29 - 10 victory at home.
The Ospreys started off sharp. After a massive turnover by Morgan Morse in Hollywoodbets Sharks territory, Dan Edwards was able to put the Ospreys into an early three-point lead.
The following five minutes saw the Sharks control a lot of the possession, but some tenacious defending from the boys meant that they often found themselves kicking after a few phases without penetration.
After a scrum penalty gave the hosts good field possession from a lineout, the home team were eventually able to get the first try of the game through a Jason Jenkins carry near the line, with Masuku adding the conversion.
It looked like the Ospreys had scored their first try after some solo brilliance down the blindside from Kieran Hardy, but it was chalked off after a TMO review for a knock-on deemed he had just lost control of the ball.
The Ospreys began to win the scrum battle after conceding an early penalty, with some top work early on from the boys in the front row. Dewi went close to scoring off a smart lineout move down the blindside, but he was just about tackled into touch before he could dot it down, with a strong tackle coming in from eventual player of the match, Ethan Hooker.
With 20 minutes played, the Ospreys were right in the game, asking questions of the Hollywoodbets Sharks in both defence and attack. Both teams were contesting strongly in the aerial battle in the first half, chasing well and putting constant pressure on every kick.
Despite some quality red-zone defence from the Ospreys, the Sharks added to their try tally with five minutes to go in the first half. The Ospreys began to push the Sharks back, but a loose ball from the breakdown eventually fell to Andre Esterhuizen, who was able to take his chance and finish, Masuku adding the conversion to extend the Sharks' lead, 14 - 03, which was also the halftime score.
The Sharks pressure did eventually tell, and they were able to score a third try with 10 minutes gone in the second half with Ethan Hooker picking up a kick from Hendrikse, Masuku converting extending the Sharks lead to 21 -03.
Despite a new front row being on the field, the Ospreys continued to dominate the Sharks at scrum time, and once again gave the Ospreys good field position.
The pack made use of the field position and their rolling maul made light work of the five metres they had to gain, Sam Parry getting the score that was converted by Dan Edwards.
With Ospreys seemingly in ascendency, the home team quickly replied after Mapimpi recovered a cross-field kick and popped inside to Phepsi Buthelezi for the try.
Thereafter, the game quickly became loose, however, the Sharks ended the game converting a penalty, securing a 29-10 win over the Ospreys.
Scorers:
Hollywoodbets Sharks: Tries: Jason Jenkins, Andre Esterhuizen, Ethan Hooker, Phepsi Buthelezi. Conversions: Siya Masuku (2), Aphelele Fassi. Penalty: Siya Masuku.
Ospreys: Try: Sam Parry. Conversion: Dan Edwards, Penalty: Dan Edwards.
Teams:
Hollywoodbets Sharks: 15 Aphelele Fassi, 14 Ethan Hooker, 13 Jurenzo Julius, 12 Andre Esterhuizen, 11 Makazole Mapimpi, 10 Siya Masuku, 9 Jaden Hendrikse, 8 Siya Kolisi, 7 Vincent Tshituka, 6 James Venter, 5 Jason Jenkins, 4 Eben Etzebeth (c), 3 Vincent Koch, 2 Bongi Mbonambi, 1 Dian Bleuler. Replacements: 16 Fez Mbatha, 17 Ntuthuko Mchunu, 18 Hanro Jacobs, 19 Emmanuel Tshituka, 20 Phepsi Buthelezi, 21 Bradley Davids, 22 Francois Venter, 23 .Yaw Penxe
Ospreys: 15 Jack Walsh, 14 Daniel Kasende, 13 Evardi Boshoff, 12 Keiran Williams, 11 Keelan Giles, 10 Dan Edwards, 9 Kieran Hardy, 8 Morgan Morse, 7 Jac Morgan (c), 6 James Ratti, 5 Adam Beard, 4 Will Spencer, 3 Tom Botha, 2 Dewi Lake, 1 Gareth Thomas. Replacements: 16 Sam Parry, 17 Steffan Thomas, 18 Ben Warren, 19 Will Griffiths, 20 Harri Deaves, 21 Reuben Morgan-Williams, 22 Owen Williams, 23 Iestyn Hopkins.