The Hollywoodbets Sharks travelled to face the Sale Sharks in Manchester on Saturday, and despite a gutsy performance, the Sale Sharks secured a commanding 26-10 bonus-point win in the second half.
A bit of a scrappy start to the match, with Siya Masuku converting a penalty following eight minutes of play in the first half.
The Sale Sharks attacked from the resulting kick off using their forwards to attack the tryline of the visitors. Eventually, it was Rekeiti Ma'asi-White who crashed over to score the Sale Sharks' first try. George Ford converted to extend the Sale Sharks' lead to 07-03 after twelve minutes of play in the first half.
The rest of the half had little to no reason to get excited, and Sale Sharks led 07-03 at the halftime break.
The Sale Sharks dominated the first ten minutes of the second half, and Bevan Rodd scored their second try off the back of a five-meter lineout-maul. George Ford converted to extend the host’s lead to 14-03.
Thereafter, Sale Sharks upped the pace of their attack, and Tom O’Flaherty scored their third try of the night to extend their lead to 19-03 and twenty-four minutes still to play in the second half.
However, the Hollywoodbets Sharks’ Emmanuel Tshituka was not willing to stop the fight and scored a great try, picking a ball up behind a maul to run thirty-odd meters to score the visitors’ first try of the match. Masuku converted to cut the Sale Sharks’ lead to 19-10.
With eighteen minutes to play in the second half, Sale Sharks struck back when Tom O'Flaherty scored his second try of the match. Ford converted to restore the Sale Sharks’ sixteen-point lead (26-10), which was also the final score.
Scorers:
Sale Sharks: Tries: Rekeiti Ma'asi-White, Bevan Rodd, Tom O’Flaherty (2). Conversions: George Ford (3).
Hollywoodbets Sharks:Try: Emmanuel Tshituka. Conversion: Siya Masuku. Penalty: Siya Masuku.
Teams:
Sale Sharks: 15 Joe Carpenter, 14 Obi Ene, 13 Rob du Preez, 12 Rekeiti Ma’asi-White, 11 Tom O’Flaherty, 10 George Ford, 9 Gus Warr, 8 Tom Curry, 7 Sam Dugdale, 6 Jacques Vermeulen, 5 Ernst van Rhyn (captain), 4 Ben Bamber, 3 James Harper, 2 Nathan Jibulu, 1 Bevan Rodd. Replacements: 16 Ethan Caine, 17 Si McIntyre, 18 Willgriff John, 19 Tom Burrow, 20 Hyron Andrews, 21 Dom Hanson, 22 Marius Louw, 23 Gurshwin Wehr.
Hollywoodbets Sharks: 15 Hakeem Kunene, 14 Yaw Penxe, 13 Francois Venter, 12 Jurenzo Julius, 11 Le Roux Malan, 10 Siya Masuku, 9 Ross Braude, 8 Nick Hatton (captain), 7 Emmanuel Tshituka, 6 Tinotenda Mavesere, 5 Emile van Heerden, 4 Corne Rahl, 3 Vincent Koch, 2 Eduan Swart, 1 Lee-Marvin Mazibuko. Replacements: 16 Ethan Bester, 17 Phatu Ganyane, 18 Mawande Mdanda, 19 Vincent Tshituka, 20 Matt Romao, 21 Ceano Everson, 22 Jean Smith, 23 Marnus Potgieter.