The Hollywoodbets Sharks beat a much-depleted Cardiff Rugby 42-24 in a Round 10 match of the United Rugby Championship.
Cardiff were without all eight of their Wales Six Nations squad members – Josh Adams, Taulupe Faletau, Ben Thomas, James Botham Keiron Assiratti, Teddy Williams, Ellis Bevan and Evan Lloyd – along with around a dozen players through injury.
After Jordan Hendrikse failed to deal with a Sheedy kick, Hamer-Webb secured the deflection which eventually led to Alex Mann scoring Cardiff's first try of the match.
Stung into action, the Sharks responded with a period of sustained pressure which culminated in tries from Bongi Mbonambi and Jurenzo Julius in the space of three minutes. Hendrikse converted both to go into the lead 14-05 after seventeen minutes of play in the first half.
A cross-kick from fly-half Siya Masuku saw the ball evade Cam Winnett and bounce up for wing Makazole Mapimpi to score, with Jordan Hendrikse adding a third conversion to extend the Sharks lead to 21-05.
The Sharks immediately stretched their lead once again when Mchunu burst through and gave an offload to Bongi Mbonambi who powered over for his second try, extending their lead to 28-05.
Cardiff replied almost immediately with Tom Bowen scoring his second try of the night. He mastered a great grubber from Winnett, taking the ball on the bounce and cutting inside the last man to gleefully slide over underneath the posts. The Sheedy conversion cut the deficit to 28-17.
Cardiff scored their bonus point try when Cam Winnett put Gabriel Hamer-Webb into space to score in the corner, cutting the Sharks' lead to 28-22.
However, in the closing stages, Francois Venter and Yaw Penxe both went over to secure the 42-22 bonus point win for the Sharks.
Scorers:
Cardiff Rugby: Tries: Alex Mann, Tom Bowen (2), Gabriel Hamer-Webb. Conversions: Callum Sheedy.
Hollywoodbets Sharks: Tries: Bongi Mbonambi (2), Jurenzo Julius, Makazole Mapimpi, Francois Venter, Yaw Penxe. Conversions: Jordan Hendrikse (6).
Teams
Cardiff Rugby: 15 Cam Winnett, 14 Gabriel Hamer-Webb, 13 Rey Lee-Lo, 12 Rory Jennings, 11 Tom Bowen, 10 Callum Sheedy, 9 Johan Mulder, 8 Alun Lawrence, 7 Thomas Young, 6 Alex Mann, 5 Seb Davies, 4 Josh McNally (c), 3 Rhys Litterick, 2 Daf Hughes, 1 Rhys Barratt. Replacements: 16 Efan Daniel, 17 Danny Southworth, 18 Will Davies-King, 19 Rory Thornton, 20 Mackenzie Martin, 21 Ethan Lloyd, 22 Jacob Beetham, 23 Regan Grace.
Hollywoodbets Sharks: 15 Jordan Hendrikse, 14 Yaw Penxe, 13 Jurenzo Julius, 12 Ethan Hooker, 11 Makazole Mapimpi, 10 Siya Masuku, 9 Grant Williams, 8 Nick Hatton, 7 Emmanuel Tshituka, 6 Phepsi Buthelezi, 5 Jason Jenkins, 4 Vincent Tshituka (c), 3 Trevor Nyakane, 2 Bongi Mbonambi, 1 Ntuthuko Mchunu. Replacements: 16 Ethan Bester, 17 Ruan Dreyer, 18, Vincent Koch, 19 Deon Slabbert, 20 Jeandre Labuschagne, 21 Jaden Hendrikse, 22 Francois Venter, 23 Lukhanyo Am.