Following a 12-3 victory over the Scarlets, here are our five takeaways from the United Rugby Championship clash in Durban.
The top line
A match played between two teams that at first seemed so hellbent on refusing to lose that they forgot to try to win the match as a woeful first half failed to produce any scores for 38 minutes.
The deadlock was finally broken by Siya Masuku’s penalty, which was quickly cancelled out by a wonderful drop goal by Sam Costelow.
The second half followed suit from the first as both teams struggled to find any kind of fluency on attack, with the defence bossing proceedings.
Ultimately, it was the unlikely boot of Sharks full-back Aphelele Fassi that sealed the win for the hosts, with the Springbok nailing three second-half penalties, the last of which denied the Scarlets a losing bonus point and subjects them to a trip to Dublin for the URC quarter-finals.
Shocking first half
Durban is renowned for being slippery underfoot, which impacts the ball too, but this was a top half of the table clash in the URC and the opening half was far more akin to two sets of 15 blokes who had never played rugby together throwing around an oversized bar of soap.
Fans would not be blamed for nodding off a bit during the first 40 minutes of “action” at Kings Park Stadium, with a play barely starting before it stopped because of a knock-on.
Vaea Fifita made a stunning break and looked to be en route to scoring another brilliant solo try only to be axed down superbly by Ethan Hooker. The Sharks won a turnover at the ensuing breakdown, but just as quickly as the game looked to have been gaining some sort of excitement or tempo, it quickly died down again with yet another knock-on.
The stats tell a sorrowful story. The Sharks made nine handling errors to the Scarlets’ six in the first half, both tallies bettering the respective teams’ scorelines at the break, with not even the 10 scrums, many of which were reset, failing to produce any hint of theatre. The same can be said of the 16 lineouts, while the kicks from hand tally almost hit 30, too.
After 38 and a half painful minutes, scoreboard operators were given something to do as Masuku lined up a shot at goal after Andre Esterhuizen won a penalty at the breakdown, gifting his fly-half an easy three points.
That was quickly followed by the highlight of the game to that point as Sam Costelow did his best impression of Jonny Wilkinson, lining up a drop goal on his right foot before dummying Jaden Hendrikse and shifting to his left to thunder the ball through the sticks.
That kick put all those watching on out of their misery for about 10 minutes as the two sides trotted off to the sheds.
Eben Etzebeth excellence
To the dismay of onlookers, it was not a game of two halves with the second following a similar script to the first, but for the Springboks and Sharks fans, the sight of Eben Etzebeth tearing up and down the pitch will fill them with glee.
The most-capped Springbok of all-time produced concerning scenes last week when he was carted off the pitch with what looked like a nasty injury. Instead, it was an ugly bruise courtesy of Bongi Mbonambi’s cement-esque head.
The lock has been sorely missed from an ability and leadership point of view this season, and today it really showed as he worked tirelessly, applying pressure on the Scarlets’ half-back and chased Hendrikse’s and Masuku’s kicks brilliantly.
He was effective in the lineout too, and in defence, as the Scarlets attempted to get their maul going.
Additionally, he was sharp and confident with his penalty calls and asked good questions of referee Andrea Piardi. There wasn’t too much to be positive about the Sharks’ performance, but Etzebeth’s shift is the exception.
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Scarlets’ shortcomings
A snap drop goal was the only avenue that the Scarlets found for points in Durban as their attack also lacked a cutting edge or finishing product. The ever-brilliant Fifita provided a few moments that threatened, but ultimately, it was not enough, even with Costelow chancing his arm with cross kicks.
That will be a major concern for Dwayne Peel as his charges head to the Aviva Stadium in a fortnight to tackle a Leinster outfit that has a defensive system that adheres to many of the same principles and tactics as the Sharks.
While the conditions certainly played a massive role and the high error count for both teams shows that it was not easy going in Durban, the penalty count will give the former Wales scrum-half a few sleepless nights.
Scarlets conceded 16 in total, 11 more than the Sharks, who were also incredibly wasteful with their clear territorial advantage, particularly once they entered the 22.
Leinster will not be as wasteful as the Scarlets’ gracious hosts today.
Sharks need improvements and fast
Head coach John Plumtree did not mince his words in the post-match interview, stating that “there was no rugby played here tonight” as the Kiwi coach watched his side knock-on pass after pass.
He went on to highlight the disconnect in roles on attack, which showed with some passes hitting the deck from the midfield pods in what was a frustrating night for the Sharks.
But as Plumtree noted, things weren’t going the Sharks’ way and yet again they were able to grind out a win when a draw or even a defeat looked likely. It’s not the first time in recent weeks that the Durbanites have done this, with the same being true against the Ospreys, to a degree, as well as the tour matches against Edinburgh and Ulster.
Winning is a habit, and judging on the last four rounds of the URC, the Sharks are benefiting from that and in tight matches, too, which bodes well for the knockout stages, but if Munster are more lethal than their recent opponents, then they may have too much of a mountain to climb.
Src: Planetrugby.com - https://www.planetrugby.com/news/sharks-v-scarlets-five-takeaways-as-eben-etzebeth-provides-some-glee-in-a-miserable-urc-encounter
