The Hollywoodbets Sharks were forced to dig deep until the final whistle in their second Vodacom United Rugby Championship match in Newport against the Dragons, with the team staging a dramatic second-half comeback from 22-12 down at halftime to register a memorable 33-30 victory.
The first half was an entertaining affair with both teams trying to make their presence felt, but the Dragons’ finishing gave them the upper hand to score and outscore the Durbanites three tries to two.
The Dragons took advantage of their pace out wide and good inter-play, and this saw them touch down three times in the opening 38 minutes to build up an encouraging 22-5 lead.
The Hollywoodbets Sharks, however, snuck in their second try shortly before halftime after showing good intent on the attack as they strung together impressive phases on attack and got close to the home side’s tryline on a few occasions. But it was eventually Bok scrumhalf Jaden Hendrikse who touched down under the posts after a great break out wide initially and good support play, which allowed them to reduce their deficit to 22-12 going into the sheds.
The second half was a humdinger as the teams threw everything at one another, and it was no surprise that the match came down to the wire with the visitors scoring a try in the last rally to seal the invaluable away victory.
The KwaZulu-Natalians’ comeback was impressive as the team showed tenacity throughout the half, and this paid off with four tries to only one by the hosts.
Had it not been for at least two narrow misses close to the tryline, they could have had the match wrapped up before the end, but they kept on fighting until the end with replacement hooker Fez Mbatha gathering a knock-on by the Dragons after several phases on attack by the KwaZulu-Natalians close to the tryline to dart over the chalk for the nail-biting 33-30 victory.
Scorers:
Dragons RFC: Tries: Taine Basham, Chris Coleman, Rhodri Williams, Ben Carter. Conversions: Lloyd Evans (2). Penalties: Lloyd Evans, Will Reed.
Hollywoodbets Sharks: Tries: Vincent Tshituka, Jaden Hendrikse, Jurenzo Julius, Ethan Hooker, Fez Mbatha. Conversions: Siya Masuku (4).
Teams
Dragons RFC: 15 Angus O’Brien, 14 Rio Dyer, 13 Harry Wilson, 12 Aneurin Owen, 11 Jared Rosser, 10 Lloyd Evans, 9 Rhodri Williams, 8 Dan Lydiate, 7 Taine Basham, 6 Shane Lewis-Hughes, 5 Matthew Screech, 4 Ben Carter (c), 3 Leon Brown, 2 Brodie Coghlan, 1 Rhodri Jones. Replacements: 16 Oli Burrows, 17 Rodrigo Martinez, 18 Chris Coleman, 19 Joe Davies, 20 Ryan Woodman, 21 Dane Blacker, 22 Will Reed, 23 Joe Westwood.
Hollywwodbets Sharks: 15 Jordan Hendrikse, 14 Eduan Keyter, 13 Jurenzo Julius, 12 Andre Esterhuizen, 11 Ethan Hooker, 10 Siya Masuku, 9 Jaden Hendrikse, 8 Manu Tshituka, 7 Vincent Tshituka (c), 6 James Venter, 5 Gerbrandt Grobler, 4 Jason Jenkins, 3 Ruan Dreyer, 2 Dylan Richardson, 1 Ntuthuko Mchunu. Replacements: 16 Fez Mbatha, 17 Trevor Nyakane, 18 Hanro Jacobs, 19 Corne Rahl, 20 Phendulani Buthelezi, 21 Cameron Wright, 22 Lionel Cronje, 23 Francois Venter.