Following a 29-10 victory for the Sharks over the Ospreys, here are our five takeaways from the United Rugby Championship clash at Kings Park Stadium on Friday.

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The Sharks made sure of a home URC quarter-final after they proved far too strong for the Ospreys, whose play-off chances were effectively ended with this defeat in Durban.

Built on the sheer physically of their Springboks stars, the hosts overcame an early setback via Dan Edwards’ penalty to control the rest of the half and build a 14-3 advantage at the interval. That was despite an injury to Eben Etzebeth just before the half-hour mark, which left him on crutches.

They responded well to losing a player of the calibre of Etzebeth and secured the win when Ethan Hooker touched down. Sam Parry did briefly give the Ospreys hope, but a good evening for the Sharks by Phepsi Buthelezi’s score, which sealed the try bonus-point.

Sharks walking wounded

John Plumtree and Rassie Erasmus will be holding their breath that Etzebeth’s injury is not nearly as bad as it looked, as the Springboks veteran was helped off the pitch by a golf cart after attempting to play through the pain.

The Sharks skipper looked in fantastic form during his 29 minutes on the park but an awkward fall in a tackle ended his evening as he clutched at his knee.

The Durbanites have secured their place in the URC play-offs but unless they get a boatload of good injury news, it is going to be a real test of depth.

Etzebeth is the latest Boks player sidelined with Trevor Nyakane’s season over, while fellow props Ruan Dryer and Ox Nche are also on the growing injury list. Scrum-half Grant Williams is also out, along with fellow half-back Jordan Hendrikse, who has a back injury.

Scottish international Dylan Richardson is out alongside fellow forwards Corne Rahl, Emile van Heerden and Gerbrandt Grobler. Loanee Henry Immelman also missed today’s fixture through injury as did Marnus Potgieter. Finally, Lukhanyo Am is also sidelined.

Outside of Etzebeth, Manu Tshituka left the pitch for an HIA, which he failed, while James Venter went off for blood. The Sharks are in a great position on the table to go deep into the URC play-offs but the injury list is not going to make it any easier.

Learning from narrow victories

The Sharks claimed clutch victories in the Northern Hemisphere in April, edging Edinburgh courtesy of a late Makazole Mapimpi try and a week later came from 19 points down to beat Ulster in Belfast.

It’s clear to see that since returning to Durban, the Sharks coaching team went about sorting out the issues that plagued them in the north and the positives that got them over the line.

In the second half against Ulster, they produced a far more pragmatic approach using the kicking expertise of the Hendrikse brothers and their excellent chasing tactics. That was evident again today with Hendrikse and Masuku hanging the ball up well with Etzebeth, Mapimpi, Hooker and Jurenzo Julius making life tough for the Ospreys back three department.

The Sharks also struggled at lineout time against Ulster, but today there was clearly more deception to set a strong platform and that trickier led to the opening try for Jenkins. They also contested far better, not allowing the visitors easy access to the ball.

While the injury list is a major concern going forward, the coaches will be smitten about the vastly improved overall showing in their execution.

Eben Etzebeth on crutches after suffering another concerning injury in Sharks URC clash

Ospreys have run their race

The Welsh region might have gone into this weekend just three points away from the play-off places, but this was a must-win. They went into the penultimate match of the regular season in 11th place and had to overcome the Sharks to keep themselves in contention, but they weren’t quite good enough on Friday.

As a result, they are effectively out of the race for the top-eight with just one game to go – against the Lions in Johannesburg next weekend. After qualifying for the end-of-season shake-up last season, it is ultimately a disappointing end to the campaign for the Welshmen, who will rue the heavy 36-19 home defeat to arch-rivals Cardiff last month, which put them on the back foot heading into their South African tour.

Jac Morgan Lions watch

There must be a certain amount of pressure for those that were selected in the British and Irish Lions squad on Thursday, who may feel the need to justify their inclusion. Equally, they will hope to steer clear of injury so a balance certainly has to be struck, which is exactly what Morgan did.

Against a Springboks-laden Sharks, the back-rower was absolutely immense on both sides of the ball. No doubt his biggest influence came in defence as Morgan caused real issues for the hosts at the breakdown, slowing the ball down and winning turnovers.

The flanker also proved his worth with ball in hand and made some dents in contact, showing his all-round class. He was very much a leading light for the Ospreys, who as a team were outclassed by the hosts.

READ MORE: Sharks player ratings: Springboks hopeful stars as Bomb Squad ‘fires’ where starters stuttered

Src: Planetrugby.com - https://www.planetrugby.com/news/sharks-v-ospreys-five-takeaways-as-rassie-erasmus-holds-his-breath-over-eben-etzebeth-injury