Following an uninspiring 12-3 victory over the Scarlets, here’s how we rated John Plumtree’s charges in the United Rugby Championship clash in Durban.
Sharks player ratings v Scarlets
15 Aphelele Fassi: Shifted to fly-half after Masuku’s injury. He was calm as ever in the backfield and slotted three key penalties to see the Sharks to victory, his first three attempts in the competition too. 7
14 Ethan Hooker: A back with a flanker’s work-rate and desire to get involved, it’s easy to see why he has caught the Springboks’ eye. Made a textbook tackle to stop a rampaging Vaea Fifita. He was solid in all facets and one of the few players who got good metres with ball-in-hand while he was strong under the high ball. He is a centre playing wing, but because of his all-round skillset, it doesn’t show. 7
13 Jurenzo Julius: There was more disconnect with him and Esterhuizen in the midfield on attack. He managed to weave past a few tackles, but it was a quiet game from the talented youngster. 4
12 Andre Esterhuizen: A mixed bag from the abrasive centre was repeatedly tasked to thunder into the red wall in front of him and did so to good effect. However, when he did attempt to get smart with a neat pass, more often than not, his teammates weren’t on the same page or simply split it. 6
11 Makazole Mapimpi: In the first hour of the game, he had just one carry – an indication that it just wasn’t a game for wingers. He did what he could to get involved and won a great turnover at the breakdown when the Scarlets looked to threaten. Contested and chased well with Etzebeth, too. 6
10 Siya Masuku: Concerning scenes as the fly-half was helped off the pitch early in the second half, particularly with Jordan Hendrikse sidelined too. He didn’t do too much wrong during his 51 minutes, kicking decently out of hand and making his tackles when required, forcing a knock-on from one. 5
9 Jaden Hendrikse: The Sharks relied heavily on his kicking prowess, and it paid dividends at times, but unsympathetic passes made it difficult to get any kind of rhythm on attack. A big improvement needed. 5
The pack
8 Phepsi Buthelezi: A back-rower who enjoys it far more loose, but he got stuck into the thick of the arm-wrestle. Piled into the rucks and was largely error-free. 6
7 Vincent Tshituka: Finally eligible for the Springboks and invited to the alignment camp immediately. Showed why today. He is just a well-rounded and hardworking back-rower who is excellent at the lineout too. Nothing flashy, but the lights at Kingspark were about the only thing that was today. 6
6 Tino Mavesere: Not the flanker’s finest outing, and his frown when he was replaced suggests he thought so too. Penalised early at the breakdown and had several handling errors, one of which was from a quick tap five metres from the Scarlets’ line. 3
5 Emile van Heerden: The lineout operated well with Van Heerden and his locking partner. Made his tackles, though the Sharks dominated possession, and was busy in the rucks. 6
4 Eben Etzebeth (c): Hard to believe that he had to be assisted off the pitch last week. Forced a lot of errors from the Scarlets through his kick-chase brilliance and constant pressure on Archie Hughes’ kicks. Did a lot of grunt work and was a safe option at lineout time. A brutal colossus in a gutter match. 8
3 Vincent Koch: There is a theme of the front row forwards simply doing the basics and a lot of it as the game moved from scrum to scrum to lineout in the first hour. Anything outside of that was a bonus as they must have been buggered. 6
2 Bongi Mbonambi: Made his tackles, found his jumper for all but one of his lineout throws, and there were 17 of those! Just the one carry as he did what was required of him. 6
1 Ox Nche: One excellent turnover in the first half while the scrum battle with Henry Thomas was even, if not tiring, with so many resets. Made some good metres with his carries. 6
Replacements: Something had to give to stop this suffocating match from being a stalemate, and ultimately it was the Sharks’ bench. More specifically, their replacement front row forwards. Jason Jenkins and Nick Hatton made telling impacts, too. But the scrum started to get the upper hand, which paved the way for victory and send the Scarlets to Dublin for the knockout stages. The bench saved the Sharks’ blushes in a proper grin,d but overall it was a blunt and bleak showing. 8
Src: Planetrugby.com - https://www.planetrugby.com/news/sharks-player-ratings-colossus-eben-etzebeth-a-shining-light-in-a-bleak-showing
