The Hollywoodbets Sharks were made to work hard against Cardiff Rugby, who claimed an important losing bonus point.
The Sharks opened the scoring shortly after the five-minute mark with Johan Mulder seeing his box-kick charged down by Jason Jenkins. With the try-line at his mercy, Callum Sheedy was able to get his boot to the ball but from the ensuing lineout, the Sharks rumbled over with Phepsi Buthelezi the scorer.
Springboks ace Jordan Hendrikse added the extras to make it 7-0.
Cardiff responded with a trick lineout after kicking touch, with Mason Grady winning the ball at the front, but in difficult conditions, possession was lost as the drive formed.
Minutes later, Cardiff went back to the corner after Keiron Assiratti won a scrum penalty, and a scrappy ball was won.
Mulder put his side on the front foot after sniping from the base. Following a succession of phases, and playing with advantage, the ball was slung wide, but play broke down.
Belcher took the tap and, following slick hands from Sheedy and Ioan Lloyd, Grady scored in the corner. Sheedy converted from wide to level the scores after 17 minutes.
Cardiff remained well in the battle, and they were handed a good attacking opportunity when Hendrikse was sent to the sin-bin for a deliberate knock on. Sheedy knocked Cardiff to the 22, and another clever lineout saw Liam Belcher burst down the wing.
After being brought down, Cardiff went wide, but with further Sharks interference, which gave the visitors the advantage. Sheedy regathered and moved the ball to Ben Thomas, who lofted a kick to the corner, which Grady collected on the bounce and powered over.
Minutes later the Hollywoodbets Sharks responded through another driving lineout, again finished by Buthelezi.
Bradley Davis nudged the Sharks back in front, and they grabbed a third try from broken play.
Yaw Penxe collected a loose ball and chipped over the top with the ball sitting up beautifully for a fine individual try. Hendrikse returned to slot the conversion and give his side a 21-12 lead at the halftime break.
Sharks took that advantage into the break, but a stalemate ensued in the second-half. The home side piled on plenty of pressure thanks to their sizeable pack and were benefitting from refereeing decisions, but Cardiff held strong with Botham pouncing for a key turnover.
Cardiff had their own opportunities, largely thanks to Sheedy’s clever attacking game. The best perhaps was a cross-kick on 70 minutes, but it was marginally too long, and Elijah Evans was unable to hold onto the ball while trying to stay in play.
Ioan Lloyd broke the deadlock on 73 minutes to put Cardiff in losing bonus-point territory and six points behind the hosts.
The Sharks threatened in the closing stages but opted to boot the ball out while on the attack to secure their win against spirited Cardiff.
Scorers:
Hollywoodbets Sharks: Tries: Phepsi Buthelezi (2), Yaw Penxe. Conversions: Jordan Hendrikse (2), Bradley Davids.
Cardiff Rugby: Tries: Mason Grady (2), Conversion: Callum Sheedy. Penalty: Ioan Lloyd.
Teams:
Hollywoodbets Sharks: 15 Luan Giliomee, 14 Yaw Penxe, 13 Ethan Hooker, 12 Andre Esterhuizen, 11 Makazole Mapimpi, 10 Jordan Hendrikse, 9 Bradley Davids, 8 Nick Hatton, 7 Vincent Tshituka, 6 Phepsi Buthelezi, 5 Emile van Heerden, 4 Jason Jenkins, 3 Hanro Jacobs, 2 Fez Mbatha, 1 Phatu Ganyane. Replacements: 16 Eduan Swart, 17 Ox Nche, 18 Vincent Koch, 19 Corne Rahl, 20 Jannes Potgieter, 21 Jaden Hendrikse / Ross Braude, 22 Jean Smith, 23 Le Roux Malan.
Cardiff Rugby: 15 Ioan Lloyd, 14 Iwan Stephens, 13 Harri Millard, 12 Ben Thomas, 11 Mason Grady, 10 Callum Sheedy, 9 Johan Mulder; 8 Taulupe Faletau, 7 Dan Thomas, 6 James Botham, 5 Rory Thornton, 4 Josh McNally, 3 Keiron Assiratti, 2 Liam Belcher (Captain), 1 Corey Domachowski. Replacements: 16 Daf Hughes, 17 Danny Southworth, 18 Javan Sebastian, 19 Alun Lawrence, 20 Taine Basham, 21 Ellis Bevan, 22 Rory Jennings, 23 Elijah Evans.