Cape Town — The Sharks produced a much-improved second half performance to claim a 38-6 bonus-point win in their United Rugby Championship match against Zebre Parma in Durban last night.
While they bagged a full house of points, it wasn’t a complete performance from the hosts.
They were first on the board when they scored a try through Henco Venter in the eighth minute (7-0).
The Sharks run in five tries on their way to a 38-6 bonus-point victory against Zebre in the Vodacom #URC 🦈 pic.twitter.com/MB4sWfl47m
— SuperSport 🏆 (@SuperSportTV) March 19, 2022
Last week, Aphelele Fassi — who left the field with injury — produced a masterclass in a Man-of-the-Match performance and he again had a hand in the Sharks’ opening try after a solid kick deep into Zebre territory. The Sharks secured the ensuing lineout and drove forward patiently before Venter went over the converted try (7-3)
From there on, the home side enjoyed most of the territory and possession, and while Zebre had very few attacking opportunities, the Sharks didn’t do nearly enough with the ones they did have.
While it was a very different performance from the Italian side compared to the one they produced against the Stormers last weekend, it was more a case of the Sharks being frustratingly poor at times.
From Zebre, it was a much-improved performance. There was more accuracy overall, especially at the breakdown, while they were also competitive at the scrum in the second half and put up a decent defensive display.
The Sharks, however, will certainly lament the errors they were guilty of in that first half.
A woeful pass from Springbok hooker Bongi Mbonambi to Fassi prevented what looked like a certain try. But that was just one example of passes going astray and just overall untidy play.
Just before the half-hour mark, Curwin Bosch added three more points for the Sharks to take them 10-0 up.
Flyhalf Antonio Rizzi — who had a shot at goal earlier in the game but ran out of time — brought his side into the scoresheet in the 32nd minute, and on the stroke of half time, he added a second penalty conversion after the Sharks conceded a breakdown penalty (half time 10-6).
The Sharks would certainly have had a tough half-time talk after all that could have been in the first half. Shortly after the break, they put together a clinical piece of play to add a try through Mbonambi (17-6).
The Sharks put together a superb attacking display which resulted in scrumhalf Grant Williams going over for the try, but there wasn’t much reviewing needed to see how forward the final pass went.
Sharks looked much better in the second half, scoring three tries in 17 minutes, with Khuta Mchunu going over before Williams this time got his try (31-6).
Zebre’s two yellow cards in the second half didn’t make things any easier for them, and the hosts got their fifth try when Bosch — who had a flawless night off the tee — ran at angle to add his name to the try-scorers as well with 10 minutes to go (38-6).
While Kerron van Vuuren was shown yellow in the 80th minute, it mattered not as Zebre couldn’t get a consolation try.
Point scorers:
Sharks — 38: Tries:000 Henco Venter, Bongi Mbonambi, Khuta Mchunu, Grant Williams, Curwin Bosch; Conversions: Curwin Bosch (5) Penalty: Bosch Yellow card: Kerron van Vuuren
Zebre — 6: Penalties: Antonio Rizzi (2) Yellow cards: Potu Junior Leavasa, Iacopo Bianchi
IOL Sport