Natal Sharks turned in a devastating second-half performance, running in four
tries to beat Harlequins 31-13 in the Springbok Bar Challenge at The Stoop.
After a scrappy first-half, the Super 12 outfit clicked into gear and turned
over a 6-3 deficit with two tries from South African centre Andre Snyman and
scores apiece for Shaun Sowerby and Thinus Delporte.
Fly-half Mark Mapletoft scored a consolation try but, for a weakened Quins,
the game was an unwanted distraction with a crucial bottom-of-the-table Zurich
Premiership clash with Bath on Saturday.
In front of a sell-out crowd, they started without new England scrum-half Nick
Duncombe, wing Dan Luger and injured Ireland hooker Keith Wood, whose damaged
calf remains a worry for both club and country.
For the Sharks it is still pre-season, with their Super 12 opener against the
Stormers not until February 23.
Missing a number of their big-hitters - Springboks Ollie Le Roux and Mark
Andrews remained in Durban - and despite a 39-25 victory over the Cats at Ellis
Park on Friday, the Sharks looked rusty early on.
Two penalties from Mapletoft gave Quins a hard-fought 6-3 half-time lead.
But after the interval - during which Quins made five changes from their
15-man bench and the Sharks four - the visitors came alive to stretch an
increasingly ragged Quins defence.
The Sharks gave an early warning when Thinus Delport was sent clear, only for
referee Steve Lander to recall play for a forward pass.
And within minutes the Sharks had worked excellent field position and centre
Andre Snyman burst onto a pass from Von Hoesslin to charge over under the posts,
giving Natal the lead for the first time on the night.
And from there on in the game was up for Quins. Within three minutes number
eight Shaun Sowerby had peeled off a ruck and powered over in the corner as the
Sharks took an impenetrable grip on the game.
Thinus Delport, aiming for an international recall, soon added another and
then Snyman ran in his second of the night as the Sharks stormed into a 31-6
lead with 15 minutes remaining.
Mapletoft stopped the rot by touching down his own grubber - but only after
Loubscher's calamitous attempt to smother the ball.
Teams:
Harlequins: O'Neill, Moore, Burrows, Bell, Jewell, Mapletoft,
M. Powell, Leonard, Tiatia, Douglas, Morgan, White-Cooper,
Winters, Sheriff, Diprose.
Tries: Mapletoft.
Cons: Mapletoft.
Pens: Mapletoft 2.
Natal Sharks: Delport, Loubscher, Snyman, van Rensburg,
Terblanche, Du Toit, von Hoesslin, Carstens, J. Smit, Coetzee,
P. Smit, van den Berg, van der Walt, Van Rensburg, Sowerby.
Tries: Delport, Snyman 2, Sowerby.
Cons: Du Toit 4.
Pens: Du Toit.
Ref: Steve Lander (RFU).
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